YSCC Basketball Tournament Semifinal Recap

Auburn, ME – It was an action-packed Saturday in the YSCC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals at Central Maine Community College. The tournament produced its first upset and got its first game that came down to the wire.

The women's games were played first, featuring #2 UMaine Augusta holding off #3 Southern Maine 74-70, and #1 Central Maine cruising past #4 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 112-43.

UMA and SMCC produced a lengthy opening game that came down to the final minute of play after a battle of more than two hours. YSCC Player of the Year Bella Petrocci hit three early three-pointers to start things off, but Southern Maine stayed close and tied the game at 9-9. However, the Moose turned it on over the rest of the first quarter, taking a 24-11 lead. All-Conference selection Julia Reed scored 10 points in the second quarter, helping jumpstart the Seawolves offense, though they still trailed 42-32 at the break. SMCC's high-pressure defense held UMA to just 10 points in the third quarter, closing the gap more, and took their first lead of the game with 5:13 remaining to go up 63-62. UMaine Augusta showed why it is the #2 ranked team in the USCAA, overcoming the pressure and battling back. The score was tied at 70-70 in the final seconds before Yvonne Roberge drew a foul and made both free throws. SMCC had a chance to inbound the ball in the front court with 2.9 seconds left, but Roberge picked off the pass, drew another foul, and calmly sank both shots to secure the 74-70 victory. Petrocci led all scorers with 24 points.

The second semifinal of the women's bracket was not nearly as close. CMCC started off with a 12-4 lead after four minutes and went up 22-10 after the first quarter. The Mustangs added 22 points in the second quarter with nine different players contributing, as head coach Andrew Morong rotated 16 total onto the floor. The defense also limited ACPHS to just six points, putting the reigning champions up by 28 heading into the locker room. The hosts blew the game open in the third with a staggering 41 points, and managed the game against an exhausted ACPHS squad to win by 69 points. The Mustangs had 14 players score at least one field goal and five finished in double figures, including a game-high 16 points from All-Conference selection Ava Smith. Sam Howland had a team-high 12 points for the Panthers who finish their season 16-8 overall. That sets up a third straight matchup between CMCC and UMA in the championship game.

On the men's side, #4 SMCC produced the first upset of either tournament bracket, defeating #1 seed and archrival CMCC, 82-68, while #2 UMA produced a comeback for the ages to rally past #3 VTSU-Randolph, 72-61.

Southern Maine was up first, battling tournament hosts Central Maine. All-Conference selection Chance Mercier had an incredible performance, going off for 31 points on a 9-for-20 shooting effort with four three-pointers, nine free throws, and eight rebounds for good measure. The Mustangs led early on, going up 12-5 after just 5:07, but that seven-point edge would be the team's largest lead of the game. The Seawolves nosed out in front at halftime, 30-27, but really showed their stuff in the second half by quickly building a double-digit lead. CMCC twice got the deficit back to single digits, making it 71-62 with 2:59 left, only to see the Seawolves make their foul shots in the final minutes to seal the upset victory. Khaden Moore, another All-Conference pick, had a team-high 15 points, as Central Maine ends its campaign with a 20-11 overall record.

The last game of the day saw UMaine Augusta rally from down 15 points at the half to outscore #3 Vermont State University-Randolph by 26 and pull away to a 72-61 victory. The Knights had the #2 Moose on their heels in the first half thanks to 16 points from YSCC Player of the Year Jaylon Calvin. The senior guard shot 7-for-10 from the field and dealt out five assists while playing all 20 minutes of the opening frame. UMA, who had trailed by as many as 19, regrouped in the locker room, and began the slow process of chipping away the deficit. All-Conference pick Rocco Chang scored four consecutive layups early in the half, giving his team momentum. An emphatic Kobe Edwards slam dunk made it 50-43 with 12:12 left and Keith Sharp cut it to a one-possession game with 7:49 on the clock. The Moose took the lead with five minutes to go, stifling any chance of a VTSU-Randolph comeback by continuing to sprint up-and-down the floor for fastbreak chances. When the buzzer went, UMaine Augusta had completed an amazing comeback to book the program's first appearance in the YSCC title game. Calvin finished with a game-high 27 points while Chang put up 23 in the win.

The tournament concludes on Sunday with the men's and women's championship games. The women's bracket gets things started with #1 CMCC and #2 UMA tipping off at noon with the men's game to follow, featuring #2 UMA vs #4 SMCC, scheduled for a 2:00 pm start.