By The Beacon Sports Staff

One of the hottest rivalries in the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) takes center stage tomorrow evening when the Mustangs of Central Maine Community College visit the Hutchinson Union Building gym.

Over the past six years the rivalry has seen overtime thrillers and buzzer-beaters with Jordan DeRosby draining a corner jump shot à la Keith Smart and Michael Jordan. Both Smart and Jordan drained buzzer-beating jump shots from the left-hand corner, winning major games for the University of Indiana and the University of North Carolina respectively. A year after DeRosby’s jumper, the SeaWolves would lose on a buzzer-beater by Mustang Kaleb Benjamin.

The men SeaWolves are riding a three-game winning streak against the Mustangs. Last year the ‘Wolves opened the series, winning in Auburn 72-57, winning at home 76-67 and ending the Mustangs’ postseason dreams in the semifinal of the YSCC Elite-Eight Tournament (84-74).

Two years ago it was Central Maine that had the ‘Wolves’ number, winning both regular season games and ending the ‘Wolves postseason dreams in the YSCC Elite Eight. The series that year was extremely competitive, as the ‘Wolves fell short by 9, 2 and 3 points.
Overall the men SeaWolves hold an 11-game win margin over the Mustangs with a 62-51 record. The lady ‘Wolves find themselves seven games behind C.M. in the win column with an 18-25 overall record.

On the ladies’ side of the court, the Mustangs enter Wednesday’s showdown riding a four-game winning streak. The last SeaWolves win came on Feb. 10, 2016, when the ‘Wolves won on the Mustangs’ court 58-53. Last season the ‘Wolves would find themselves leading CMCC after three quarters in the semifinal game of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) in Pennsylvania. The Mustangs would explode for 23 points in the final quarter, eliminating the SeaWolves and moving on to win the USCAA National Championship.

In the 2014-2015 season the lady SeaWolves split the season series (losing at C.M. 66-62 and winning in South Portland 81-67). The ‘Wolves would win the three-game series, walking off the court victorious in a YSCC Elite Eight semifinal thriller 62-58.
The Beacon reached out to Women’s Assistant Coach Patrick Haviland for some thoughts concerning Wednesday’s game. “Defense will win this game. Period,” were Coach Haviland’s thoughts.

The Beacon wishes both teams great success Wednesday evening and hopes to see a large part of the SMCC student community in the HUB gym supporting their SeaWolves classmates and enjoying what some have called “the best small-college basketball rivalry in Maine.”

Left, Dylan Silvestri and Ryan Cloutier battle for a rebound against CMCC in last year’s YSCC semi-final game. The SeaWolvs look to extend their winning streak against the Mustangs.
Right, Jordan Fahrquharso and Emily Keene look to help he Lady Seawolves get back in the winning column against the Mustangs Wednesday evening.