The sophomore forward received a dish beneath the basket but was fouled with two seconds left Wednesday. That sent Giguere to the line with his Central Maine Community College Mustangs needing both free throws.

“I knew I just had to calm myself,” said Giguere. “That’s all it is. I get myself amped up too much, and I ‘ve just got to relax and focus.”

So the Edward Little grad calmly stepped to the line and swished both free throws to send the game to overtime. From there, the Mustangs finally got the jump on the University of Maine at Fort Kent. CMCC opened the lead in the extra session and finished off the Bengals for a hard-fought 72-67 win at Kirk Hall.

“I had a shot against Navy-Prep, and I missed the game-tying 3,” said Giguere, who finished with six points. “So I wanted to redeem myself with the free throws.”

Samson Oleyami led the Mustangs (4-3) with 24 points. He had controlled the ball in the final seconds of regulation while looking to create an opportunity. It was his drive that led to  an open Giguere.

“Sam’s the focal point of our offense,” said CMCC coach Dave Gonyea. “When we open things up, he can find the shooters and get to the basket. When he mixes his game up, he can be tough to stop.”

Justin Cocroft added 13 points and seven rebounds, including some key boards in overtime. UMFK (0-1) got 17 from Adam Bouchard and 16 from Yoshives Belizaire.

The Mustangs were down by as many as 11 in the first half and had to battle back. Though CMCC rallied to take the lead twice in the second half, the Bengals still held the lead late in regulation. UMFK was up by 60-55 with 4:56 left.

“The kids worked really hard,” said Gonyea. “The second half, I thought we rally controlled the glass, despite our size disadvantage, and we had a lot of pressure defense.”

The Mustangs forced 30 turnovers in the game.

It was a 3 from Cody Hadley that got the Mustangs within 60-58 with 4:48 left. After a short jumper by Bouchard, Jalen Lincoln scored on a fast break to get within 62-60 with 1:45 remaining. Bouchard scored in the paint with 1:32 left, but CMCC got a nice Oleyami basket off a give-and-go. Then after a stop in the final minute, Oleyami’s pass set up Giguere’s free throws.

“We still haven’t shot that well yet,” said Gonyea, whose team shot 31.3 percent from the floor. “We’re making up for it with our pressure defense.”

In the overtime, both teams turned the ball over on their first couple possessions. CMCC broke the ice when Cocroft tipped a loose rebound to Oleyami for the basket with 2:55 left. A Hadley steal lead to a goaltending call and a 68-64 lead with 2:35 remaining.

UMFK got as close as 70-67 but a lengthy CMCC offensive possession, aided by two huge offensive boards by Cocroft, kept the Bengals at bay. Then another defensive stop and free throws by Jalen Lincoln sealed it.

“We’ve had a hard week,” said Giguere. “It’s been like five games in six days. We need a break soon.”

The Mustangs looked weary from the outset. After playing on the road Tuesday, CMCC faced an eager UMFK team that started strong. The Bengals hit eight of their first 11 shots to open up the 11-point lead. CMCC shot 5-for-18 to start the game.

CMCC rallied to start the second half. The Mustangs scored 11 straight to take a 40-39 lead. Cocroft hit a pair of 3’s while Oleyami had a drive and a 3 to lead the comeback. UMFK retook the lead and held it for most of the second half, but the Mustangs stayed within reach.

“We knew we played a bad half, and we knew we had to come out strong in the second half,” said Giguere.”

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