Bengal Basketball Successful in Home Opener
Both UMFK Bengal Basketball earned victories over in-state rival, the University of Maine at Machias on Tuesday evening. In what was the first home doubleheader of the season, the Women won by the score of 76-52, and the Men won 92-69.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the UMFK Women jumped out to a blazing hot start with Madison Fenner connecting on two 3-point shots in the opening minutes. The full-court press of the Bengals was too much for the visiting Clippers to handle as the turnovers piled up for the Clippers, and the layups piled up for the Bengals. UMFK put up 50 points at the half behind the solid contribution inside from Ivette Trujillo.
In the second half, the pace slowed ever so slightly as the 2-3 zone of Machias altered the tempo of the game, but the Bengals continued to play hard and compete for the full 40 minutes. The Bengals showed tremendous hustle and grit as they won the rebounding margin, were first to the floor for loose balls, and were saving balls from going out of bounds left and right. The Bengals’ record now moves to 5-1 with a trip to upstate New York and Vermont coming up this weekend.
In the second half of the doubleheader, the UMFK Men’s Basketball team put the pressure on the visiting Clippers and came out with the win, 92-69.
Perhaps some of the first home game jitters got to the Bengals as they were cold from the floor to start. However, when they cranked up the heat in the full-court defense, the Clip Ship began to sink due to multiple consecutive turnovers. Coincidentally, as the home team got engaged defensively, the shots started falling, and the game turned in their favor. The Bengals’ 2-3 zone in the second half created a tough matchup for the Bengals in the second half as the home team was easily able to cruise to victory.
Freshman Bryce Gilbert had a career-high with 21 points, and Jacob Powell was tremendous off the bench with four 3-pointers and 16 total points.
The Bengals take on NCAA Division 1 opponent U-Mass Lowell on Friday night before heading North to Vermont for two more games. The Bengals’ record moves to 3-8.