Amanda Hotham snared an offensive rebound and converted a layup with time running to provide the winning basket in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 59-58 home victory over Central Maine Community College Saturday afternoon. CMCC entered the game with a 20-1 record and was the No. 1-ranked team in the USCAA.
UMPI trailed by eight points at halftime and was down by four with 30 seconds left when McNally, a senior from Sherman, drained a long three-pointer. Following a missed shot by the Mustangs with 15 seconds to play and a rebound by the Owls’ Kristin Thompson, point guard Darby Toth drove the length of the court and fed McNally for an open 15-foot jump shot. It rimmed out, but Hotham, a sophomore from Fort Fairfield, grabbed the rebound and placed the ball into the basket for the upset win.
McNally finished with 20 points, 14 which came in the second half. Hotham had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Owls and Toth added nine points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Junior forward Rebecca Campbell of Washburn scored eight points and collected nine boards.
UMPI moved to 17-6 on the season following Sunday’s 70-49 home victory over Fisher College of Massachusetts. McNally had 20 points, five rebounds and three assists and Sydney Churchill of Fort Fairfield totaled 13 points, including three three-pointers, and hauled in five rebounds. Hotham had 15 points and nine rebounds.
On Feb. 1, Toth tallied 17 points, four assists and three steals while not committing a turnover in a Feb. 1 72-54 win over the SMCC Seawolves in a game played in South Portland. Hotham netted 17 points to go along with nine rebounds. McNally and Thompson had 16 and 11 points, respectively.
UMPI will close out the regular season by traveling to UM-Machias Thursday before heading to Washington D.C. to participate in its first Great South Athletic Conference basketball tournament.
Owl men win on Senior Day
With his father in the stands watching him play collegiate basketball for the first time, England native Michael Warner made his final collegiate home game a memorable one. He scored a game-high 24 points to lead the UMPI men to a 96-93 victory over No. 1-ranked CMCC Saturday at Wieden Gymnasium.
The Owls, now 8-13 on the season, held a 49-43 lead going into halftime using the long-range shooting of seniors Warner and Claude Louis. Louis made four from beyond the arc and Warner added two and was a perfect five for five from the field to help build the Owl advantage.
Chase Vicaire spurred a 21-6 Owl run after the Mustangs closed to within four points with 8:22 to play. He scored 12 points in the next six minutes, including a pair of threes.
Trailing by five with five seconds left, Shaun Hill of CMCC was fouled as he made a three-pointer and hit the ensuing free throw, but UMPI’s Derek Healy hit a pair of free throws to provide the final points.
UMPI had lost 126-71 in its first meeting with the Mustangs last month. On Feb. 1, UMPI dropped an 86-75 decision to SMCC in South Portland. UMPI took on Colby College in Waterville Tuesday and will wrap up its regular season Thursday at UM-Machias.
