College roundup: CMCC men hold off UMaine-Augusta

AUBURN — Malik Farley scored a game-high 20 points and Central Maine Community College withstood second-half runs by University of Maine at Augusta to hold on for a 77-70 Yankee Conference men’s basketball victory Wednesday at Dave Gonyea Court.

DeMarco McKissic picked up a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Mustangs, who led 34-24 at halftime, and Jaeden Henderson added 12 points.

Eric Crawford paced the Moose with 15 points.

BATES’ MCCORMICK GARNERS HONOR: Bobcats sophomore Simon McCormick was named the Rookie of the Week by the Maine Men’s Basketball Coaches and Writers Association on Wednesday.

McCormick, a Cony grad and Whitefield, Maine native, averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals across two games for Bates over the past week.

The guard scored a team-high 18 points in a loss to Colby on Friday, then poured in a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in a win over Bowdoin on Sunday.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 91, CURRY 64: Trailing 11-10 early in the game, the Nor’easters (4-16, 3-10 CCC) used a 19-0 run, paced by 10 straight points from Ray Evans, to pull away and beat the Colonels (2-17, 1-11) at Biddeford.

Alex Kravchuk had 28 points for UNE and Evans finished with 22. Anthony Senesombath chipped in with 10.

Nick Johnson had 15 points for Curry.

SOUTHERN MAINE CC 82, NHTI 67: Ian Regan had 24 points to lead four starters in double figures for the Seawolves (13-4, 10-1 YSCC) as they answered a 11-0 run by the Lynx (14-3, 9-1) with a 15-2 surge to win at Concord, New Hampshire.

Cameren Cousins had 20 points for SMCC, and DeSean Cromwell added 13 and Jack Pyzynski tossed in 12.

Saeer Miller had 20 points for NHTI.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
UMAINE-AUGUSTA 75, CENTRAL MAINE CC 58: The Moose pulled away in the second half for a Yankee Conference win over the Mustangs in Auburn.

University of Maine at Augusta led 41-35 at halftime but clamped down on defense in the second half, holding Central Maine Community College to 25% shooting for the game. The Moose, meanwhile, shot 44.6% from the field.

Madeline Suhr led all scorers with 24 points for UMaine-Augusta, and Sydney LeBlanc added 20.

Safena Te Nana-Williams scored 11 points to lead the Mustangs and Sarah Poli pitched in with 10.

MAINE 58, UMASS LOWELL 36: Caroline Bornemann scored seven points during a 20-2 run in the third quarter as the Black Bears (9-10, 6-3 America East) beat the River Hawks (6-9, 3-3) in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Maine trailed 23-20 early in the third before back-to-back layups by Bornemann put the Black Bears ahead for good.

Olivia Rockwood led Maine with a career-high 13 points. Anne Simon had 12 points and seven steals, Maeve Carroll scored 10 points and Bornemann finished with nine.

The Black Bears forced 24 turnovers and made 13 steals while holding a second straight opponent below 40 points.

Kharis Idom paced the River Hawks with 11 points.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 93, CURRY 51: The Nor’easters (11-8, 9-3 Commonwealth Coast) opened with a 23-10 first quarter, paced by nine points from Jordyn Franzen, as they handled the Colonels (3-15, 0-11) at Biddeford.

Franzen had 16 points to lead six players in double figures for UNE. Abby Cavallaro had 14, Kaylee Beyor added 13 and Juliana Tracey contributed 12 with Madalyn Sanborn and Allie Goodman chipping in with 10 apiece.

Emerson Cherry had 15 points for Curry.

MIT 85, SOUTHERN MAINE 42: Leading 20-18 early in the second quarter, the Engineers (9-7) used a 13-2 run to take control and pull away from the Huskies (4-10) at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Christina Antonakakis led MIT with 23 points, 19 coming in the first half.

Jackie Luckhardt had 10 points for Southern Maine. Lewiston grad Victoria Harris added six points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

SOUTHERN MAINE CC 97, NHTI 57: Aija Andrews had 20 points, shooting 10 for 14 from the field, to lead the Seawolves (16-2, 10-1 YSCC) past the Lynx (7-7, 5-5) at Concord, New Hampshire.

Paige St. Pierre and Hannah Richards each added 17 points for SMCC, with Maddy York coming off the bench to chip in with 13 and Bailey Whitney tossed in 12.

Reserve Jessica Allen had 18 points to pace NHTI.

AMERICA EAST: Stony Brook’s basketball teams will need to receive at-large bids to the NCAAs if the Seawolves want to make it to the tournament this year.

The America East announced that the school is ineligible for conference postseason tournaments because it’s leaving for the Colonial Athletic Association next year. Stony Brook said last week it was leaving the America East.

In the America East bylaws, a member institution’s intention to withdraw from the conference makes that school’s sports teams ineligible to compete in the league’s postseason play, “on a date to be determined by the remaining members of the Board of Presidents.”

That rule has been in the conference’s bylaws since 2005 and was previously enacted in 2012-13 when Boston University left for the Patriot League. The conference’s presidents met last week and unanimously agreed to uphold the bylaws.

“This decision was not made lightly, and the Board of Presidents recognizes that some may disagree with it,” the America East Conference said in a statement. “The Conference has an obligation to prioritize the remaining members who are committed to the league’s advancement and the student-athletes who compete at those institutions, now and in the future.”

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team is currently sitting in first place in the conference and has nonconference wins over St. John’s and Rutgers. The men’s program is in second behind Vermont. Both teams, as well as other Stony Brook sports, would still be allowed to earn at-large bids to any NCAA tournament.