UMF Men's Basketball Opens their Season With a Dominant Win Over CMCC
No. 25 Jordan Anthony shoots a free throw (Zach Myers).
November 17, 2024
Zach Myers, Editor
In their opening game of the season, the University of Maine Farmington Beavers blew out the Central Maine Community College Mustangs by a final score of 98-81.
The first half of the game was highlighted by the Beavers being able to take advantage of CMCC’s mistakes. The Mustangs committed three personal fouls and two traveling violations in the first half, almost all leading to scores by UMF. The Beavers were also able to go on many runs during the first half, opening the game with a 10-2 advantage within the first two minutes. Senior center Dylan Griffin highlighted this great first half for the Beavers as he was a continuous presence on defense, having two blocks in the first half while also being a great leader for the team. Another presence in the first half, and throughout the game, was first-year coach Quinn Newton. Throughout the half, he was yelling out to his players and directing them beautifully, which was a key reason why UMF had a dominant first half, taking a 49-34 lead into the second half.
The second half would see UMF put the game away within the first five minutes of the frame. The Beavers would continue to take advantage of their amazing defense, jumping out to a 28-point lead within the first six minutes of the second half. The Mustangs would make what I would call a “garbage time comeback,” and they were able to make the game reasonably close. Garbage time in sports means when a game is out of reach for the losing team and the rest of the game is basically a practice scrimmage. The score got as close as 14 points with a few minutes left in the game as CMCC used the Beavers's script of scoring off of great defense. This would be fruitless, however, as UMF was able to pull away and make the game officially over in the final two minutes, allowing them to come away with a comfortable win. While this is a scrimmage game and will not count towards their official record, the game was a promising start to the Beavers season.
No. 54 Jahkai Veal waits for the ball to be inbounded (Zach Myers).
