FINAL SCORE: #8 St. Joseph’s College (VT) Fighting Saints 75, #9 University of Maine Presque Isle Owls 71

March 2, 2016

FINAL SCORE: #8 St. Joseph's College (VT) Fighting Saints 75, #9 University of Maine Presque Isle Owls 71

RECORDS: St. Joseph's (VT) 20-9; Maine Presque Isle 13-12

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, PA

IN BRIEF: Saving the most exciting game for last to conclude day one of the USCAA National Championships, St. Joseph's College Vermont overcame a 19-point second half deficit to defeat Maine Presque Isle to advance to the quarterfinals of the Men's Division II Tournament.  The Fighting Saints were led by Antonio Gordon off the bench, who led all scorers with 29 points, including a three-point bucket with 25 seconds left to play in order to secure the win.

 

ON THE COURT

  • The game was tight for the first five minutes, with no team gaining a multiple possession lead until Maine Presque Isle went up by 4 on a Kevin Collins three-pointer to make it 11-7 at the 14:44 mark.
  • St. Joseph's brought the game to within one with 6:13 to play when an Anthony Paul layup made it 20-19 Owls. 75-71
  • Over the last six minutes, however, Maine Presque Isle went on a 12-4 run, to go into half with a 34-23 halftime lead.
  • The second half started with another Owls run, as they enjoying a 47-30 lead at the first media timeout (14:56).
  • At the 14:14 mark, Maine Presque Isle held their largest lead of the game 49-30.
  • The Fighting Saints then managed a 15-5 run to pull within 9 at 10:30, 54-45.
  • The next five minutes was a back-and-forth affair, with Maine Presque Isle leading 64-53 at 4:58.
  • Coming out of the final media timeout, the Fighting Saints used full-court pressure to reel off 8 straight points to cut their deficit down to 64-60 with 3:36 to go in the game.
  • Maine Presque Isle then made two quick buckets to go back up 9 with 3:05 remaining, before St. Joseph's scored 7 straight points to make it a one possession game, 69-67 Owls with 2:15 to go.
  • After Maine Presque Isle's Brandon McGill hit a free throw to go up 70-67 with 1:59 to play, St. Joseph's scored 8 straight points, capped by an Antonio Gordon three-pointer to take a five-point lead with only 25 seconds left to play.
  • The Fighting Saints held off the Owl's final push to overcome a 19-point second half deficit to win the game 75-71.
 

 

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Bench points was a big difference maker in this contest, as the St. Joseph's reserves outscored the Maine Presque Isle reserves 39-10. 
  • Steals were also a key for the Fighting Saints as they had 18 picks and 34 points off 26 Maine Presque Isle turnovers. 
  • St. Joseph's Antonio Gordon came off the bench to lead all scorers with 29 points, while teammate Travis Threewitts scored 12.
  • Maine Presque Isle had three scorers in double digits, led by Kevin Collins' 25, followed by Brandon McGil (13), and Chase Vicaire (12).

 

NEXT UP

For their come-from-behind efforts, St. Joseph's will face #1 seed Berkeley College NY Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Mathlo.  Maine Presque Isle will face #10 Central Maine C.C. is the consolation bracket Thursday at 1:15pm at Mathlo.