UMPI men hoping to gain playoff berth

    The University of Maine at Presque Isle men’s basketball team earned a 117-114 overtime win over the Roos of SUNY-Canton Thursday afternoon in Sunrise Conference college basketball action.     With the win, the Owls finished the regular season at 6-15 and 6-8 in conference play. The outcome of a regular season game held Tuesday between College of St. Joseph’s of Vermont and Vermont Technical College determined whether or not the Owls will grab the No. 4 seed and qualify for the conference tournament. If St. Joseph’s wins, the UMPI men move into the playoffs. The post-season begins Saturday at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, N.H.
    At Potsdam, N.Y. Thursday, UMPI was led by Ray Mitchell of Cleveland, Ohio, who earned a statistical  double-double in the win with  36 points and 11 rebounds. Patrick Manifold of Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom added 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Owls. Guard Kyle Corrigan of Caribou scored 26 points in a 10-for-14 shooting effort from the floor and dished out four assists in the win. Chris Coffin of Presque Isle chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds.
    SUNY-Canton was led by Tony Valentine, who finished with 27 points.
    The Roos held a 60-50 half-time advantage and also led for most of the second half, but the Owls were able to force overtime with a huge Mitchell power bucket from the paint with just seconds remaining on the clock. The lead changed throughout the five-minute overtime session, with the Owls pulling out the win by sealing the game on the foul line.
    Last Wednesday, in a matchup against the Bobcats of Paul Smith’s College, UMPI fell by a score of 82-67.
    The Owls were led by Manifold’s 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Mitchell added 16 points and nine boards. Corrigan chipped in with 10 points and four assists in the loss.
    Steven Edwards paced the Bobcats with 39 points.
    The Owl women earned two Sunrise Conference road wins this past week and with the two victories, the team finished the regular season at 9-12 overall and 9-3 in conference play.
    On Thursday, the Owls earned an important 57-53 win over the Roos of SUNY-Canton.
    Sophomore guard Emily Moore of Lisbon led the Owls with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals.  Freshman Emily Pelletier of Fort Kent  finished with 13 points.
    Julie Peers of Caswell chipped in with eight points and six boards.
    UMPI held a 27-15 halftime advantage and were ahead by as many as 18 points in the second half before seeing their lead melt away. However, the Owls kept their composure down the stretch to earn the win.
    Last Wednesday at Paul Smith’s College, the Lady Owls placed all 10 players in the scoring column with a 70-24 conference win.
    UMPI’s balanced scoring attack was led by Kallie Pelletier of Madawaska, who finished with 11 points. Peers and Kathy Kilfoil both added 10 points.
    The Owls return to action this weekend as they have qualified for the Sunrise Conference Tournament. As either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, UMPI will play a 5 p.m. semifinal game on Saturday, Feb. 27. The probable opponent is SUNY-Canton. A victory would advance the Owls into the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m.