Defend The HUB: Mercier Leads Seawolves Past CCRI 85–71

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men's basketball team earned a 85-71 home win over the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) on Wednesday afternoon at The HUB. The victory improves the Seawolves to 10-5 overall and 3–5 in Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

CCRI came out firing on all cylinders, jumping ahead 18-7 midway through the first half behind early threes from Nathan Borden. The Seawolves responded with a timeout and a spark off the bench—Franck Moron (Billerica, Mass.) drilled a jumper, and Chance Mercier (Ellsworth, Maine) knocked down a three to cut into the lead.

SMCC closed the half on a 16-5 run capped by back-to-back buckets from Jace Bessey (Jay, Maine) and a wing three from Moron in the final seconds to surge ahead 44-39 at the break.

In the second half, Sean Bosia (Dracut, Mass.) scored on back-to-back possessions, and the Seawolves began to separate. CCRI closed the gap to 58-56 with just under nine minutes to go, but Mercier took over, burying a pair of jumpers and adding a steal and finish to ignite a 10-2 run.

Sam DeWitt (Hudson, N.H.) and Nathan Mugisha (Rwanda, East Africa) controlled the game down the stretch, helping SMCC close the final four minutes on an 11–5 run to put it away.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Chance Mercier: 22 points, 3 threes, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
• Sean Bosia: 16 points, 8-10 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
• Sam DeWitt: 13 points, 7 assists, 3 steals
• Nathan Mugisha: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
• Franck Moron: 10 points, 2 threes, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• Jace Bessey: 9 points, 4-4 FT, 2 steals
• Ellis Macea: 12 rebounds, 2 assists
• SMCC: 45.3% FG | 36.8% 3PT | 83.3% FT
• Forced 23 CCRI turnovers and tallied 12 steals
• Seawolves outscored CCRI 41–32 in the second half

NEXT UP

SMCC (10-5, 3-5 YSCC) is back at The HUB on Monday, January 12 for a non-conference matchup with MassBay CC. Tip-off is set for 7:00PM.