News from college sports around the country
The Sanford Mainers swept the top seeded Vermont Mountaineers on Monday evening, advancing to the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League championship series for the first time since 2016. Will seek their third summer league title when they meet the Newport Gulls beginning Wednesday evening-
The Sanford Mainers lost a heartbreaker Saturday night in 10 innings in the decisive game of the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series, as the Newport Gulls made it back to back titles winning their eighth Fay Vincent Sr. trophy overall-
Cooper Flagg becomes first men's collegiate basketball player to sign a deal with Gatorade-
Cooper Flagg named ACC Rookie of the Week. The Newport native is averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists this season in his freshman year for the Duke Blue Devils.
Story here- https://goduke.com/news/2024/11/18/mens-basketball-flagg-named-acc-rookie-of-the-week.aspx
Ohio State built a 31-7 third quarter lead, and held off Notre Dame 34-23 to win their 9th College Football National Championship and first since 2014.
Story-
Saint Joseph’s College men's basketball falls in NCAA Division III First Round
The University of Redlands (California) opened the game on a 12-0 run and built a 20 point first half lead on Friday evening, defeating Saint Joseph’s College (Maine) 89-79 in a men's basketball first round Division III Tournament contest played in Medford, Massachusetts.
After the tough start, the Monks got back within seven with 3:14 left in the first half on a layup by Silvano Ismail (Cheverus High School). That is as close as they'd get, as the Bulldogs (23-4) scored the next 10 points to take over again. The loss for St. Joseph’s snaps their 18 game win streak, falling for the first time since December 30th to Bates College. Ismail finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Remijo Wani (Portland High School- 3-9 three-pointers) also had 19 points, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Wani Donato (Portland High) also contributed by getting into double figures with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Monks season comes to an end with a record of 24-5.
Bowdoin women's basketball eases past Brooklyn College in a first round NCAA Division III Tournament game Friday night
The #1 nationally ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears used a big first quarter run, and raced out to a 28 point halftime lead in cruising past Brooklyn College 66-42 in a first round NCAA Division III Tournament game played at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick on Friday night.
The visiting Bulldogs had a pair of early leads over the first few minutes of the opening quarter, but then the Polar Bears used a huge 24-2 spurt to take control in building a 27-7 advantage at the end of 10 minutes. Callie Godfey scored seven of those 24 points, and the lead was 44-16 at halftime as the NESCAC Champions were on cruise control in improving to 28-0 on the season.
Dior Dorsey had 16 points in the loss for Brooklyn College, while Alina Estrella added 12 points. The Bulldogs end their season with a record of 17-12. Abbie Quinn (Bangor High School) led Bowdoin with 14 points, Godfrey put in 13, while Syndey Jones added 11 points and nine rebounds. Melissa Leone, Rachel Story, and Grace Kinum also contributed six points each. The Polar Bears shot 76.9% (10-13) and 80% (4-5) from three-point range in the first quarter to take that early control. Bowdoin moves into the second round in Brunswick on Saturday as they face Cortland out of New York at 7:30 p.m. The Red Dragons are 25-3 and have won 14 straight games.
#1 Bowdoin College gets past SUNY Cortland Saturday night in Brunswick in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season
Sydney Jones led four players in double figures with 18 points Saturday night, as #1 nationally ranked Bowdoin College used a strong fourth quarter to pull away for a 67-54 win over SUNY Cortland in a second round game of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick. The victory secures a second straight trip to the Sweet 16 for the Polar Bears.
It was very tightly contested throughout, as both teams held a lead over the first three quarters. 12 first half points from Jones had Bowdoin holding a 28-26 halftime edge. Cortland took their final lead on two free throws by Joleen Lusk 42-40 with 2:26 left in the third quarter, but the game would go to the fourth tied at 44-44. A three-pointer by Maria Belardi 34 seconds into the final period would give the Polar Bears the advantage for good, and they would outscore the Red Dragons 23-10 over those final 10 minutes to march to their 17th Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
Jones (3-8 three-pointers) also grabbed eight rebounds to go along with her team-high point total in the win for Bowdoin. Carly Davey had 13 points and five rebounds, Grace Kinum put in 12 points, while Belardi finished with 10 points. Jackie Funk led SUNY Cortland with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Lusk ended up with 12 points and five boards. The Red Dragons had their 14 game win streak snapped in ending their season with a final record of 25-4. The Polar Bears (29-0) will take on Smith College (28-2) next Friday, March 14th in a Sweet 16 matchup. The sectional sites and game times will be announced by the NCAA on Sunday afternoon.
The University of Maine-Augusta falls in a first round game of the USCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Johnson & Wales University (Charlotte, North Carolina) outscored the University of Maine-Augusta 25-9 in the second quarter on Wednesday afternoon in pulling away for an 82-67 win in the opening round of the USCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament at Villa Maria College in Buffalo, New York.
After a slow start by the Moose in falling behind 14-7, they would come to life in the first quarter with a 13-1 run to take as much as a six point lead and 20-15 after 10 minutes. Molly Hay (Carrabec) had seven points, Sage Fortin (Cony) had four, and Lillian Cox (Madawaska) added a basket for two points to account for the scoring during the spurt. UMA shot 77.8% (7-9) in that first quarter. It was all Johnson & Wales in the second to take control of the game. They used their own 13-1 run to start the period, and a late three-pointer by Maliah Preston increased the Wildcats advantage to 40-29 at the halftime break. The Moose shot just 1-7 in the second quarter and never got closer than 10 the rest of the way, as the lead would go to as many as 24 in the second half.
Fortin led the #5 seed University of Maine-Augusta in the defeat with 23 points (3-4 three-pointers). Hay contributed 12 points, while Cox recorded a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alisyn Alley (Stearns) chipped in nine points, five rebounds, and five assists. The Moose (26-4) will play in the consolation bracket against Penn State Beaver on Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Johnson & Wales University had four players score in double figures in the win led by a 19 point and eight rebound performance from Laken Powe. Jordan Durant had 13 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds, Gabby Tapley had a double double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Preston finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting from the three-point arc. The #4 Wildcats are now 16-10 and will play either top overall seed Christendom College or Penn State Shenango in the semis on Friday at 1 p.m.
Vermont wins on the road over Albany and captures their eighth America East Women's Basketball Title
Nikola Priede scored a game-high 20 points, and the Vermont Catamounts shot 50% (12-24) from the field in the second half on Friday evening in defeating the Albany Great Danes 62-55 in the America East Women's Basketball Championship at the Broadview Center in Albany, New York. With the victory, UVM punches a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Priede (9-13 FG) added nine rebounds and two steals to go along with her game-high point total for Vermont. Catherine Gilwee contributed 12 points, and Anna Olson recorded 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot. Conference Player of the Year Kayla Cooper led Albany in the loss with 18 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Jessica Tomasetti had 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. The Great Danes (26-6) will get an invite to either the WNIT or WBIT Tournament after their first defeat all season at home (16-1). UVM (21-12) will await their location, opponent, and gametime of their trip to the Big Dance during the NCAA Selection Show at 8 p.m. on Sunday. The Catamounts fell to UConn in their last tournament game in 2023.
Bowdoin women's basketball suffers first loss of the season, knocked out of the NCAA Division III Tournament by Smith College for a second straight year
The Smith College Pioneers outscored the #1 Bowdoin College Polar Bears 18-8 in the third quarter on Friday night, and held on for a 53-47 win in a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick.
Both teams held a first half lead, with the biggest coming for Bowdoin in the second quarter at 22-16 on a three-pointer by Melissa Leone as the Polar Bears took a two point edge to the break. The sectional hosts took their final advantage on a Sydney Jones three-pointer at 27-26 with 6:31 left in the third quarter. The Pioneers responded with a run of 12-3 to end the period to take over the lead for good. That lead was extended that to as many as 10 in the fourth, before Bowdoin made one more push getting within four points late. Smith College hit shot 8-10 from the foul line in the final 45 seconds to hold on.
Jones led Bowdoin College in the loss with 19 points (3-6 three-pointers) while also adding nine rebounds, four steals, two assists, and two blocked shots. Grace Kinum contributed 11 points and hauled down six rebounds. The Polar Bears end a fantastic season at 29-1. Hannah Martin had 16 points in the victory for Smith College (6-6 free throws), while Jane Loo put in 12 points to go along with six rebounds. The Pioneers (29-2) advance to the Elite 8 for a second straight season. Smith College also came to Brunswick and knocked out Bowdoin last season in that Elite 8 round, before losing in the national title game to New York University.
It was a tough day for UMaine and Husson University baseball and also Maine softball, as all three teams dropped doubleheaders on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Bears baseball team dropped their final two games of their America East openers at Binghamton on a walk-off in game one 9-8, and 8-3 in five innings (rain) in game two. Drew Reynolds, Dean O'Neill, Brody Rasmussen, Evan Menzel, and Myles Sargent all homered in the game one loss. Maine (5-17, 1-2 America East) will play their home openers on Tuesday and Wednesday against Thomas and Husson at Mahaney Diamond, before hosting NJIT in the conference home openers next weekend.
Husson baseball fell to #5 nationally ranked Salve Regina in Rhode Island 8-0 and 7-3. Jackson Curtis (Ellsworth High) was the leader on the day for the Eagles (4-6) with two hits and one RBI. Hunter Curtis (Ellsworth), Tanner Evans (Old Town), and Ryan Bousquet had a pair of hits in the game two defeat. Husson is at UMaine on Wednesday, and then opens up North Atlantic Conference play at Lesley University next weekend.
Maine softball played their America East openers at Bryant, falling 9-3 in the first game before dropping a tough walk-off loss in game two 9-8. Bailey Snowberger had a huge day in game two for the Black Bears. Snowberger helped the guests rally from down 7-1 after four innings to ahead 8-7 in the sixth. The freshman had a three-run homer in the fifth, and an RBI double in the sixth. She finished with four hits and five RBI. The Black Bears (6-19, 0-2 in America East) will square off with the Bulldogs again on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.
