Wire to Wire: Seawolves Surge Past NHTI

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men's basketball team won both halves to pass NHTI 86–64 at The HUB on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Seawolves to 7–4 overall and 3–4 in Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SMCC got off to a fast start with back-to-back threes in the opening minutes from Chance Mercier (Ellsworth, Maine) and another three from Franck Moron (Billerica, Mass.). The Seawolves then built momentum behind play in the paint from Ellis Macea (Lawrence, Mass.) and Nathan Mugisha (Rwanda, East Africa). A corner three by Jace Bessey (Jay, Maine) extended the Seawolves' lead to 22–9 with 11:38 left in the first half.

Sean Bosia (Dracut, Mass.) converted off a steal and Ebe Efosa-Aguobor (Lawrence, Mass.) providing energy off the bench. Sam DeWitt (Hudson, N.H.) drilled a three off a Mercier assist at the 5:31 mark, and SMCC pushed the lead to 14 at the half, 44–30.

In the second half, the Seawolves continued their effective play. Bosia finished at the rim, then Mercier knocked down his third three of the game to make it 53–39. A Macea layup, followed by a transition score from Mercier, put the game at 57–41 with 14:13 in the second half.

SMCC closed it out with a put-back tip-in from Mercier, a dunk from Bosia off a steal, and a dunk by Macea with just under four minutes to play. Emil Hernandez (South Portland, Maine) added the final bucket to close out the game 86-62.

BY THE NUMBERS

Ellis Macea — 20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Chance Mercier — 18 points, 4 threes, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Sean Bosia — 17 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds
Nathan Mugisha — 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Sam DeWitt — 7 points, 5 assists, 1 steal
Jace Bessey — 8 points, 2 threes
Franck Moron — 6 points, 1 steal
Emil Hernandez — 2 points, 2 rebounds

• SMCC shot 50.7% from the field and 42.9% from three
• Seawolves assisted on 18 of 36 made field goals
• SMCC outrebounded NHTI 35–33
• Bench scoring: SMCC 26, NHTI 22

NEXT UP

SMCC (7–4, 3–4 YSCC) returns to action, tipping off against VSTU-Randolph at 7PM on Friday, Dec. 12 while the team supports the Captain's Cupboard. All proceeds from the game will go to supporting students in need this holiday season. Donations of non-perishable food items or winter clothing will grant free entry into the game!