Paul Smith's, NY – CMCC Men's Basketball made it back-to-back wins on their YSCC road trip, with a 107-92 victory against Paul Smith's College. The Mustangs pulled away midway through the first half but still had to hold off a Bobcats squad that got within single digits multiple times in the second half. Khaden Moore was one of four Central Maine players in double figures with a team-high 25 points.
In the first half, the teams stayed within a basket of each other for the first nine minutes. Talon Brooks gave the hosts the early lead with two three-pointers to go up 6-4, while four members of the starting lineup, Will Duke, Ryan White, Alexandre Brigitte, and Moore each made an early basket for the visitors to lead 8-6.
The Mustangs slowly started to pull away around the midpoint of the half. A 15-15 game turned into a six-point lead after shots by Tim Herbert, Keiontay Marsh, and J.T. Pound. Duke and Luke Jamieson knocked down triples to go up 29-22, while Moore had seven points in a span of just 1:32 that pushed the lead to 40-26. The Bobcats would close it up before the horn to head back to the locker room down by only 11.
A 16-4 run early in the second half saw Paul Smith's pull to within four, down just 67-63 with 11:28 left on the clock. That seemed to wake up the CMCC offense. Creighty Dickson had a pair of layups and Ryan White connected on a three-pointer. Jumpers by Pound and Moore pushed the lead back to double digits where it stayed the rest of the game.
Central Maine went 6-for-7 from beyond the arc in the second half with Jaden Williams and Duke also getting in on the act. The YSCC league-leaders recorded their largest lead of 22 points when Brigitte made a layup with 4:34 to go. From there, the Mustangs saw out the rest of the game, finishing with 107 points for their second-best offensive performance of the season.
Paul Smith's was paced by Yashiro Hurst Jr. and Talon Brooks who had 27 and 25 points respectively. Lamarcus Preston (20) and Larenz Miller (13) also reached double digits to help keep the game close. CMCC also had four players with 10+ points. Moore's 25 led Duke (23), Pound (16), and White (12). Pound marked his return from injury with nine rebounds, finishing one away from a double-double. The Mustangs had their best shooting percentage from beyond the arc at 62.5%, and the ten three-pointers made were one shy of the team's season-best 11 from a victory vs Roxbury CC in the first semester.
Central Maine now heads into the second half of their busy four-in-four road trip, taking on VTSU-Randolph on Thursday afternoon. The Mustangs and Knights go into the game tied for fifth in the latest USCAA poll, with CMCC having one the first meeting at home, 79-74 to close out the first semester.
