Heating Up: SMCC Pushes Past Word of Life in Second Half

POTTERSVILLE, N.Y. — The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men's basketball team tallied 48 second-half points to take down Word of Life 87–74 on the road Friday night. The victory pushes the Seawolves to 5–2 overall and 2–2 in YSCC play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

SMCC opened the night striking first on a three-pointer from Sam DeWitt (Hudson, N.H.), who set the tone early with back-to-back triples in the opening minutes. Ellis Macea (Lawrence, Mass.) controlled the glass from the start, grabbing multiple defensive rebounds and scoring through contact to put the Seawolves up 10–5 at the first media stretch. 

Word of Life briefly surged - behind timely shooting from Xander Eason, taking a 25–17 lead midway through the first half. SMCC answered when Chance Mercier (Ellsworth, Maine) drilled two threes, Nathan Mugisha (Rwanda, East Africa) attacked inside, and Franck Moron (Billerica, Mass.) buried a three at the 2:39 mark. A late jumper from Mugisha in the closing seconds sent SMCC into halftime with a narrow 39–38 lead. 

In the second half, Mercier came out firing, knocking down threes on consecutive possessions to spark a 10–2 run. DeWitt pushed the tempo, finding Mercier and Mugisha in transition, while Macea dominated the offensive boards to extend possessions. SMCC extended its lead to double digits at 52–40 after another Mercier three and didn't look back. 

In the closing stretch, Sean Bosia (Dracut, Mass.) powered in two finishes, Bessey added a three at the 8:40 mark, and Ebe Efosa-Aguobor (Lawrence, Mass.) capped the night with a transition dunk in the final seconds to seal the 13-point win. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sam DeWitt — 19 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 threes
• Chance Mercier — 18 points, 5 threes, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
• Nathan Mugisha — 15 points, 9 rebounds
• Ellis Macea — 10 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists
• Franck Moron — 8 points, 5 rebounds
• Jace Bessey — 7 points, 3 rebounds
• SMCC shot 44.7% from the field and 40% from three
• Seawolves won the rebounding battle 50–39
• Bench scoring: SMCC 30, Word of Life 17

NEXT UP

SMCC (5–2, 2–2 YSCC) returns to action on tomorrow November 22 when they visit Paul Smith's College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM.