AUGUSTA, ME - The University of Maine-Machias (3-3) men's basketball team prevailed 96-83 over the University of Maine-Augusta (2-6) Tuesday night at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Moose were in search of their first home victory Tuesday night while the Clippers were pushing to snap their woes, having lost their last three division games and an exhibition against the University of Maine-Presque Isle.
It appeared the Clippers would set the pace in the first ten minutes of the game with Jesse Gray nailing down a couple three-pointer's and Darrius Clark using his speed to draw fouls and converting on his first four free-throw attempts.
But a 12-point Clippers lead dwindled to single digits in large part to the rebounding and three-point shooting of Dustin Simpson-Bragg (3-7, 15 points, 9 rebounds) and Jordan Holmes ability to get to the line (6-8, 6 points) much the same as Clark was doing at the other end.
UMM took a 51-46 lead at the halftime while the back-and-forth nature of the first half carried over to the second.
The second half opened with fireworks at both ends resulting in several lead changes in the first five minutes. UMA held a five point lead before the Clippers settled in around the midway point, eventually taking the back end building on it 77-66 with 8:58 remaining in the game before Moose head coach Jim Ford was forced to call a timeout to rest his players.
UMM's Darius Clark continued to push the pace after every missed Moose opportunity trying to take advantage of tired legs while Travonne Thompson capitalized in the paint with easy lay-ups or by converting at the free-throw line.
Thompson ended the night with 23 points and 15 rebounds (9 in the second half) while shooting 7-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Clark added 22 points of his own to go along with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.
UMM focused on clock management after taking a 12-point lead in the final ten minutes as the Clippers chewed up the shot clock and largely played keep away down the stretch.
Despite the lopsided result, much of the game was closely contested with both teams receiving help from bench points (UMM 20, UMA 21), points off turnovers (UMM 21, UMA 18), and second chance opportunities (UMM 20, UMA 20).
Bragg-Simpson finished as the leading scorer for the Moose with 30 points and 13 rebounds while Holmes ended with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists.
UMA will look to rebound on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. when the head on the road take on Hampshire College at Central Maine Community College.
Contributed by Alex Shehata.