The University of Maine-Augusta men’s basketball team trailed by 21 at halftime and by 24 with 17 minutes left in the second half on Tuesday, but rallied all the way back and got a game winning three-pointer from Dante Sharp at the buzzer to grab a 70-69 win over Andrews University in a play-in game of the USCAA Tournament in Buffalo, New York.
When Damarion Travis hit a jumper with 17:01 left to play, the #10 seeded Cardinals led 45-21. And then came the huge Moose comeback. #7 UMA (20-13) hit 8-12 from three-point range to help stage the rally. Sharp got fouled on a three-pointer with 2:13 to go and sank all three foul shots for their first lead (65-64) since the 17:06 mark of the first half (5-4). Andrews scored the next four points for a 68-65 advantage, before two foul shots from Aviyon Edwards cut it back to 68-67 with 14 seconds remaining. Jonathan Pelote made 1-2 at the line with eight seconds showing on the clock, before the Moose raced back up the court where Matthews found Sharp open and with the season on the line he drained the three-pointer as time expired. Sharp had a game-high 27 points (9-14 FG, 6-9 three-pointers) to lead the way. Rocco Chang added 19 points, while Matthews finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocked shots. The University of Maine-Augusta, playing in their first USCAA Tournament since 2009, moves into a quarterfinal game on Wednesday night at 8:15 against #2 Cincinnati-Cleremont.
Photo of Donte Sharp courtesy of UMA Athletics
