By The Beacon Sports Staff

Ryan Cloutier slamming the ball down with authority against the College of St. Joseph, making the crowd scream and ending the game with 10 points. Photo by Jacob Clowes

The 2017-18 YSCC regular season ended this past Saturday afternoon in the Hutchinson Gymnasium when the Vermont Tech Knights visited South Portland with the intent of winning both regular season games against the SeaWolves. The Knights, who took the first meeting 89-86 in Randolph, Vermont, would find themselves in a similar situation to the SeaWolves in the November meeting.

The Vermont Tech Knights would get on the scoreboard first, after which the SeaWolves would respond with 6 straight points. The lead would change three times and be tied five times over the course of the first 20 minutes of play. Twice, the SeaWolves would build 8-point leads that Vermont Tech would cut back into.

After 10 minutes of play, with the Wolves holding a five-point lead, Dylan Silvestri would work his moves under the basket scoring on a layup, earning a trip to the line as he was fouled on the play. Silvestri would complete the old-fashioned three-point play grabbing the Wolves their first eight-point lead of the half.

Over the course of the next eight minutes, the Knights would work their way back tying the score at 30 apiece, setting up what one could considered a momentum changing play. The Knights would outscore the Wolves 15-7 tying the game at 25 before they would tie the game again at 30.

With 1:59 left on the clock and the SeaWolves inbounding the ball to the side of the basket, the Wolves executed a perfectly timed inbound lobe pass to Ryan Cloutier who made his way down the right had side of the lane. Cloutier who has finished the play off numerous times this season, nestled the ball in his right hand at its apex allowing his momentum to finish the play off with a thunderous statement dunk.

The Wolves would build another eight-point lead (38-30) before Vermont would cut SMCC’s lead to six heading into halftime.

Dylan Silvestri in his last game at the HUB, showing us how good of a player he is. Here, Silvestri forces his defenders off him as he drives into the paint, scoring 2 of his 15 points against the Knights and ending the game with a double-double with 11 rebounds. Photo by Jacob Clowes

The second half opened with Anderson Kavutse draining a three-pointer padding the Wolves lead to nine.

As the beginning of the second half panned out the Wolves would build a 13-point lead (48-35) off of a Timothy Dixon three-pointer and two Dylan Silvestri foul shots.

Again, the Knights would put together an offensive string rattling off ten straight points to get within three (48-45). After trading baskets, Vermont was again able to knot the score and level the playing field at 51 apiece with 9:51 remaining. The next minute of play saw Vermont grab a short-lived lead as SMCC would tie the game at 54 with 8:34 left on two fouls shots by Jacobee Burpee. Vermont Tech would respond grabbing another lead on a Tyrone Hilson three-point jumper.

With 7:02 remaining and SMCC down by three (60-56) Timothy Dixon buried two consecutive three-pointers to pull the Wolves within one and to grab a two-point lead (62-60).

The Wolves would pad their lead to seven on a two and three-pointer by Jacobee Burpee and a layup by Anderson Kavutse.

With 58 seconds remaining and Vermont Tech down by five, the Knights would claw their way to within one (59-58). Over the course of the final minutes, the Wolves had numerous chances to extend their lead only to watch missed laps and turnovers foil the opportunities.

Free throws by Jacobee Burpee and Anderson Katvutse with 28 and one seconds remaining sealed a hard-fought win for the SeaWolves.

The Wolves finished their regular season last night when the traveled to Abrn to take on CMCC. The game which was originally scheduled for last Wednesday was postponed because of school being cancelled due to snow.

Sean Bowering driving into the paint, beating his defenders and going for the layup in a dominant game against the College of St. Joseph; Bowering would end the game with 3 points. Photo by Jacob Clowes

A week ago this past Saturday, the College of Saint Joseph’s of Vermont visited the Hutchinson Gym taking on SMCC in a non-conference game. St. Joe’s who was in the YSCC is an independent school right now searching for a conference to join.

In the early stages of the game, both teams traded buckets until SMCC went on a 15-0 run separating them from the Fighting Saints in front of an electrified crowd. The Wolves outscored St Joe’s by a 22-point margin in the first half and shot near 58.0 percent in the second to win the last 20 minutes.

Sophomore Timothy Dixon scored a season-high 23 points on his way to his first SeaWolf of the Game performance. Dixon was an efficient 9-11 from the floor through 24 minutes, his only misses coming from beyond the arc.

Dylan Silvestri would tally 23 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. The six-foot three-inch center netted his 120th offensive rebound of the season, a statistic that he leads in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I and Division II players.

First-year point guard Jacobee Burpee contributed to the SeaWolves’ 53.2 percent shooting making 4-4 from the field finishing with 14 points.

The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men’s basketball team attained the 100-point total for the sixth time this season racking up 107 points while holding St Joe’s to 73.

The SeaWolves Travel to Concord New Hampshire to participate in the YSCC Elite Eight Tournament on Friday. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the USCAA Nationals in Pennsylvania.