By The Beacon Sports Staff

For the second time in the history of the SeaWolves basketball program, SMCC hosted a community college from Michigan. A little more than a week ago, the St. Clair County Community College Skippers journeyed east for a two-game road trip. According to Matt Richards, SMCC’s Athletic Director and the Men’s head basketball coach, the SeaWolves previously hosted Rochester College in 2009.

The possibility of scheduling the Skippers for the 2017-18 season was first presented to AJ Burton, an assistant on the SMCC men’s basketball team, last winter break by St. Clair assistant basketball coach Craig Archer, who is Burton’s brother-in-law. Burton also played his first two years of college basketball at St. Clair.
The Skippers would go 3-1 on their road trip. The women Skippers topped Massasoit Community College 104-64, as the men would beat Holyoke 88-76.
The Lady SeaWolves would take to the floor against the lady Skippers in the first game of the day’s competition. First year SeaWolve Emily Emerson would open the scoring for SMCC, as the ‘Wolves would grab a small lead in the beginning of the game. Emerson would lead all scorers, posting 5 points in the opening 10 minutes of play, as the Wolves built a 17-9 lead.

The second quarter saw the Skippers open up with a 4-minute, 17-point run that propelled the Skippers to a 26-17 lead before SeaWolves forward Emerson broke the SMCC’s scoring drought.
The ‘Wolves would outscore the Skippers 20-6 in the final 6 minutes of the second quarter, taking a 37-32 lead into halftime. First year SeaWolves Emerson and Abigail Ramirez would help the SeaWolves’ cause, as they scored 13 and 7 points respectively in the first half.

Play in the third quarter intensified, as the SeaWolves could not build upon their lead, and the Skippers could not cut into it. After 30 minutes of play, SMCC held onto their 5-point lead (53-48) as Emerson again provided the bulk of the scoring (8 points). SeaWolves first-year point guard Ramirez would help the effort, adding 5 points.
The final 10 minutes of play saw the ‘Wolves outscore the Skippers 16-13, securing an 8-point win (69-61). The win would be the SeaWolves’ second in a row. Alicia Ruth would lead the scoring for the ‘Wolves, draining 8 points on two-of-four shooting from behind the three-point arch. Emerson would post 5 points, bringing her total for the day to 26 points. The first-year forward would also be perfect from three-point land, making all three she launched from downtown.

First-year point guard Abigail Ramirez would break into double-digit scoring, making this her third time scoring 13. The feisty point guard would also grab eight rebounds and record seven blocks — all of which is remarkable for any 5’1” point guard.
Second-year guard Alicia Ruth ended the contest with 12 points, while maintaining a 30.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arch this season.
St. Clair’s Brooke Junaud led her team with 15 points, as Skipper teammate Zhiyon Mitchell posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.

After the contest, SeaWolves Head Coach Katie Bergeron stated, “A result today against a talented SC4 team was what we needed before we dive into a three-game road slate. Playing from behind, down nine points in the second, and finding a way to get up 12 in the fourth is encouraging. Both Emerson and Ramirez have emerged as a high-low threat.”

The day’s second game would start off with the SeaWolf men jumping out to an eight-zip lead. First-year forward Willie Brown opened the scoring, draining a three-pointer after 1:14 of play. Second-year forward Ryan Cloutier pushed the lead to five on a jumper 36 seconds later, after which Dylan Sylvestri’s one of two and Brown’s two for two from the free-throw line would push the SeaWolves’ lead to eight.

Over the course of the first half, the Skipper’s would hack away at the SeaWolves’ lead, cutting it to three at the sound of the half-time buzzer. The ‘Wolves would hold an 8-point lead (14-6) at the 10-minute mark, as Brown and Cloutier would provide the majority of the scoring with 5 and 4 points respectively.

The SeaWolves would only manage to score 12 points the second 10 minutes of the first half, allowing St. Clair to claw their way back into the contest. Brown and Jacobee Burpee’s three-pointers provided half of the scoring down the stretch.
Twenty-five seconds into the second half, Skipper Sam Pleszak’s layup would cut the SeaWolves’ lead to 1. The ‘Wolves would outscore the Skippers 23 to 17 to build a 7-point lead. Highlights include: three-pointers from Cloutier and Brown, which bookended 4 points from Anderson Kavutse, an old-fashioned 3-point play by second-year guard Timothy Dixon, 8 points generated by Dylan Sylvestri and Gregory Trinidad (4 points each), a statement dunk by Cloutier that briefly pushed SMCC’s lead to 9, and a Sylvestri layup that pushed the lead back to 9.

The final 10 minutes of the contest saw the Skippers outscore the SeaWolves 26-11. SMCC’s lead would last until the 1:15 mark; however, it was missed shots, free throws and turnovers that would aid the Skippers’ rally.
The SeaWolves were led by Junior forward Cloutier, who finished the day with 16 points, including an acrobatic put-back dunk. Dylan Silvestri would record his second double-double of the year, 10 points and 10 rebounds; and first-year forward Willie Brown had a notable performance, with 13 points, 3-6, from three-point range.

In a post-game interview, Head Coach Matt Richards stated, “Although a loss, this game showed us valuable lessons that we plan to correct as we move forward in conference play. The Skippers were deep off the bench with a variety of skill sets — kudos to them for playing to the final whistle.”

The SeaWolves return to the Hutchinson Gymnasium on Nov. 30, when they will take to the court against New Hampshire Technical Institute in a Yankee Small College Conference game. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. for the men’s game and 8 p.m. for the women’s.