Posted: Jan 23, 2014
AUGUSTA, Maine – The Augusta Civic Center was home to an intense battle on the basketball court Wednesday night, but it was the home team who came out on top, as the University of Maine at Augusta Moose defeated Unity College 106-85 in Yankee Small College Conference action. The win improves the Moose to 3-7 in the YSCC, while the Rams fall to 0-8 and 0-9 on the season.
Head coach Jim Ford's team was absolutely dominant on the boards, out-rebounding Unity 58-28 in a contest that included ten ties and 15 lead changes. The Moose battled back from an 11 point half-time deficit and were led by sophomore Keith Chesley (Clinton, Maine) who scored a team-high 28 points, including eight free throws in the last 1:24 seconds to help secure the win. Chesley also pulled down 14 boards while junior Brandon Rogers (Turlock, Ca.) continued his stellar play at center, grabbing 21 rebounds while scoring 27 points.
Junior Jessie Smith (Troy, NY) nailed five triples for UMA, coming off the bench to score 24 points in the win, while sophomore guard Tevon Erwin (Albany, NY) had 13 points while dishing out a game-high eight assists and posting four blocks.
Unity was led by sophomore Eddie Kopacz (Thompson, Conn.), who scored a game-high 34 points. Jared Straight (Palmer, Alaska) and Jacob Scoville (Machias, Maine) both added 19 points for the Rams.
UMA will look to continue their solid conference play when they travel to Presque Isle on Sunday afternoon to take on Northern Maine Community College.
Game notes: With his performance tonight, Brandon Rogers leads the YSCC in rebounds, averaging 12.3 per game, and is currently ranked second in the nation.