Owl hoop squads sweep Knights

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The University of Maine at Presque Isle basketball teams recorded a sweep in their home doubleheader against Vermont Tech last Wednesday.
The UMPI women overcame a poor first half to win going away, 66-49. Vermont Tech’s Paige Wells had 10 of her game-high 18 points in the first half and point guard Ama Baker sliced and diced through the Owl defense to garner seven assists in the first 20 minutes of play that saw UMPI leading 26-25 at the half.
The Owls regrouped and came out of the locker room on a 12-3 run that put them ahead 38-28 with 13:46 left in the game.     The Knights battled, but the Owls took a 13-point lead at the 9:09 mark when freshman Sydney Churchill of Fort Fairfield made the second of her four three-pointers on the evening. Vermont Tech would get no closer the rest of the game.
Churchill led the Owls with 16 points and four rebounds, while Rebecca Campbell and Olivia McNally each had 12 points. Campbell added eight rebounds and three blocked shots and McNally grabbed four boards and dished out five assists to go along with a pair of steals.
Wells led the scorers for Vermont Tech and Baker almost recorded a statistical triple-double for the Knights with 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
The Owls are now 9-3 on the season and next venture to the road for three games in four days against SUNY-Canton, St. Joseph’s of Vermont and Pine Manor beginning tonight.
The Owl men cruised to a 79-64 home victory over Vermont Tech by beginning on a 24-8 run, and withstanding a comeback by the visiting Knights that saw them draw to within three late in the opening half.
With 3:14 to go in the first stanza, sophomore Chase Vicaire banged home a three-pointer to stop the Knights’ flurry. Vicaire added jumpers in consecutive possessions from just inside the arc to give the Owls a 31-24 lead and the hosts led by 10 at intermission.
Jamal Hughes attempted to put the Knights on his back, scoring 20 of his game-high 24 in the second 20 minutes of play, but the hot shooting of UMPI didn’t allow Vermont Tech back into the game. The Owls connected on 19 of 36 shots (52.8 percent) from the field in the second half to secure the victory for UMPI.
Vicaire led the Owls with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Thiago Conceicao and Claude Louis each tallied 17 points. Conceicao also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots. Louis added five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Hughes recorded a double-double for Vermont Tech (3-7) with his 24-point, 10-rebound effort. Nick Ryan added 12 points and five rebounds for the Knights.
UMPI is now 7-5 on the season and next travels to Auburn to take on Central Maine Community College Saturday, Jan. 18.