The University of Maine-Augusta men’s and women’s basketball teams are getting set to open their season on Saturday night at Central Maine Community College in Auburn when they host Vermont Tech.
The men’s team comes off a 5-23 record in 2018-19, including a 4-12 mark in league play. The Moose return senior forward Nate Begin (Waterville HS), senior forward Nathan Martin (Winslow), junior guard Israel Brown, and sophomore guard Patrick Robertson (Kents Hill). UMA had a successful preseason in blowing out in Unity last Friday night by 58 points, and then losing a close six point contest to Saint Josephs College in Standish on Monday.
The newcomers that should be known about and will provide plenty of excitement in this new season include: Freshman guards Brian McPherson II (Atlanta, Georgia) Fred Martinez (Puerto Rico), Camron Johnson (Odessa, Texas), Christopher Govan (Midland, Texas), Elijah Smith (Odessa, Texas), Matija Anjelkovic (Serbia), and Jaryn Wilson (Edward Little HS). Freshman Connor Davies out of Maine and Monmouth Academy also joins the Moose while the team also adds junior guards Daquann Hayes out of Chicago, Illinois and Jalen Wright from Staten Island, New York. Head Coach Jim Ford returns for his 15th season at the helm.
The women’s team is working hard and also prepping for their season opener on Saturday under first year Head Coach Jim Seavey. Coach Seavey has an impressive 230 wins in 20 seasons at the Maine high school level winning three Western Maine basketball titles one in Class A in 2010 and two in Class B in 2003 and 2004. He helped his teams to 14 tournament appearances in 20 seasons. He coached the varsity girls program at Greely High for six seasons, Scarborough for five, and also Freeport for two.
The Moose are coming off a 10-15 season in 2018-19, with an 8-8 mark in the Yankee Small College Conference. They were eliminated in the league quarterfinals by New Hampshire Techinical Institute. UMA has had one preseason game to prepare for the new season, a 64-34 win at Unity last Friday night. Returning players include senior forward Kate Stevens (Carrabec HS), junior guard Mallory Chamberlain (Erskine Academy), sophomore guards Jenna Petrovic (Winslow HS) and Sydney Leblanc (Madison HS). Also returning is 5-10 sophomore forward Cassidy Lessner (Highview Christian Academy).
The newcomers include sophomore forward Madeline Suhr (Brunswick HS), freshman forward Kaeti Butterfield (Monmouth HS), and freshman guards Autumn Sudsbury (Cony HS) and Hope Butler (Oceanside HS).
The season openers begin at 6 p.m. Saturday with the women’s game followed by the men at 8 p.m.
