NEC Men’s Basketball Grabs First Victory of the Season
HENNIKER, N.H. – New England College men’s basketball grabbed their first win of the season defeating the visiting Maine Maritime Academy Mariners 89-82 Saturday afternoon.
With the win the Pilgrims improve to 1-11 overall and 1-5 in NAC play. The loss drops the Mariners to 3-7 on the season and 2-3 in NAC play.
NEC would open the game building an early 11-4 lead and would continue to build on that lead grabbing their largest lead of the opening half up 38-22 with just over three minutes remaining on the clock. Maine Maritime would battle back late in the half including shooting an impressive 87% from the foul line to head into halftime down 34-46.
NEC would go up 20 just minutes into the second half of play but again Maine Maritime would claw their way back shooting over 51% from the field to trail just six points with 6:41 remaining in regulation. A layup by Paul Campbell (Camden, Maine) with :38 seconds on the clock would get the Mariners within five but the Pilgrims would close out the final seconds 4-for-6 from the foul line to solidify the 89-82 victory.
Leading the way for NEC was the combination of Ryan Schmitz (Redding, Calif.) and Abdiraham Mohamed (Biddeford, Maine) who each finished with 22 points. NEC’s Jonathan Byrnes (Bethel, Conn.) finished with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with 11 points and seven assists, while Jaskin Melendez (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in nine points for the Pilgrims.
Leading the way for Maine Maritime Academy was Paul Campbell who led all scorers with 25 points. Andy Ball (Hermon, Maine) finished with a double-double scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Logan Poirier (Winterport, Maine) scored 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
NEC returns to action Thursday, Jan. 10 when they travel to battle NAC opponent Castleton State College. Maine Maritime Academy will hit the court on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they travel to take on in-state conference for University of Maine Farmington.
Published: January 5, 2013
