By The Beacon Sports Staff

Oumar Keita DESTROYING it in the paint over two defenders, scoring another 2 of his 11 points against the Moose. Photo courtesy of Jacob Clowes

With four games remaining in the Yankee Small College Conference season, the men’s basketball team heads into what some may think is the most challenging part of the season for them. This Thursday the ‘Wolves travel to Concord, New Hampshire to battle it out with the conference’s top team, New Hampshire Technical Institute. The Lynx hold an impressive 11-1 conference record, with their only loss coming at the hands of the University of Maine-Machias Clippers.

Former YSCC member team the Saints of the College of St. Joseph’s of Vermont will visit SMCC on Saturday, Feb. 3, and on the following Wednesday the Wolves will venture to Auburn to take on the Mustangs of CMCC. The regular season will end on Saturday, Feb. 10, when the Knights of Vermont Tech visit SMCC.

If all remains as it is now, the SeaWolves will be seeded in the third-place slot for the YSCC Elite Eight Tournament. As is the case in any sporting conference, the SeaWolves are the masters of their own destiny. With victories against NHTI, CMCC and Vermont Tech, the ‘Wolves could place themselves in a more advantageous position setting up a deeper run in the tournament.

Regardless, the games need to be played, and if there is one thing about this SeaWolves team, it is that they seem to be hitting the right stride at the right time. After a road win against Williamson College in Media, Pennsylvania, Head Coach Mat Richards said, “We had a great opening to the game with efficient offense, defensively controlling the glass. This lead us to a complete game effort — something we had to have to get the win. Coach Michael’s teams are always very disciplined and play extremely hard. Getting the result today was a statement for our team, a team that is starting to play its best basketball at the right time of the season.”

The SeaWolves would secure a 17-point win (82-65) against the Williamson Mechanics on Jan. 20 behind the offensive efforts of Gregory Trinidad. For the second game in a row, Trinidad tallied 26 points. The 6-foot guard has netted 13 3-pointers on 19 of 32 from the floor over the course of the two games.

Against the Mechanics, the SeaWolves jumped all over Williamson, building an early 25-9 lead going on to grabbing a 12-point halftime lead (40-28). Trinidad and Ryan Cloutier broke even with Williamson’s first-half total, combining for 28 points after 20 minutes of play.

The second half saw Williamson cut SMCC’s lead to 5; however, with defensive stops and effective offensive execution, the ‘Wolves would drain 42 points in the second half, securing a 17-point road win. Co-captain Dylan Silvestri recorded his ninth double-double of the season, posting 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Cloutier, the most efficient of them all, flushed 22 points on 80 percent shooting while hitting 4-6 from downtown.
Silvestri’s effects against the Mechanics earned him YSCC Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 27.

For the fourth and fifth time this season, the SeaWolves have broken into triple digits in the scoring column. Against the University of Maine-Augusta Moose, the ‘Wolves won 113-70, and in the following road game against the Black Sheep of Hampshire College, the men posted a 108-44 victory.

Tyler Mickle being aggressive in the paint, scoring 2 of his 4 points against the Moose. Photo courtesy of Jacob Clowes

Six SeaWolves broke into double-digit scoring. Ryan Cloutier led the team effort with 19 points, his fifth consecutive game with 13 or more. Both Cloutier and co-captain Dylan Silvestri scored their 800th career point in the game, as Silvestri moved up the ranks in all-time rebounding. He is now in sole possession of sixth highest rebounder with 558.
First-year Oumar Keita notched his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and first-year Sean Bowering scored a season-high 11 points.

Prior to hitting the road against Williamson College, Unity College visited the Hutchinson Gymnasium on Jan. 16, where the ‘Wolves managed a 24-point win against a feisty Unity Rams team. The SeaWolves started out strong, jumping out to 15-2 score to start the game. The Rams, who always seem to find a way to be competitive, chipped away at the lead, cutting SMCC’s lead to 5 on a 3-pointer by Den Suehiro as the halftime horn sounded.

Early in the second half, Unity pulled to within one (34-33), after which the ‘Wolves started to pull with a 13-2 run, gaining separation.

Seth Provencher shaking off his defender and scoring 2 of his 6 points against the Moose. Photo courtesy of Jacob Clowes

The SeaWolves were fueled by Gregory Trinidad, who drained seven 3-pointers in the second half. Trinidad would net eight threes for the game. SMCC wouldn’t let up as they built a 24-point lead, the largest of the night, and went to complete the season sweep.
This was Trinidad’s first game in which he set a new season-high with 26 points for himself while leading all scorers for the game. The Pelham Connection, Dylan Silvestri and Ryan Cloutier, both players who attended and played for Pelham High School as teammates, combined for 30 points. Silvestri earned his eighth double-double of the season.

The Beacon would like to wish the Men SeaWolves the best of luck as the 2017-18 season winds down.