Men’s Basketball Escapes Machias With Win In Nip And Tuck Affair

MACHIAS, Maine—The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men’s basketball team took care of business at the University of Maine at Machias with a Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) victory 60-58 on Sunday, Dec. 8.

The SeaWolves fell behind by as much as 10 points in the first half and trailed by seven at the break. Sophomore captain Ian Regan (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) netted eight points in the first half on 3-5 shooting.

It was first-year Clay Hardy (Saginaw, Mich.) with eight in the second to help SMCC to a 34-point half—outscoring the opposition by nine. In a game that featured nine ties and seven lead changes, Hardy knotted the score at 56-56 and then traded baskets with Regan to provide SMCC with a 4-point advantage with 30 seconds left in regulation. Machias landed a layup to cut the deficit to two but missed a contested three at the buzzer to secure a bounce-back victory for the Wolves who remain undefeated on the road.

Machias’ Eric Crawford led all scorers in the game with 15 points. Hardy flushed 14 points, getting four rebounds and four steals; and Regan totaled 12 with two assists. Defensively, SMCC improved on its league-leading 63.5 points per game average.

With the result, SMCC improves to 9-2 overall and 6-1 conference play; Machias slips to 2-7 overall, 1-3 YSCC.

The men return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 11 when they play host to the Mustangs from Central Maine Community College in part one of the “best small college basketball rivalry in Maine” at 8 p.m. from The HUB. WATCH on Facebook LIVE or follow the GAME CAST.

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