It was a brutal weekend for the University of Maine at Augusta men’s basketball team. Still, because of Brandon Rogers, it wasn’t hard to find a positive sign, either.

Between Friday and Sunday, the Moose lost two games by a total of three points. In the midst of that, Rogers scored his 1,000th career point.

“He scored it in our game Friday night,” UMaine-Augusta coach Jim Ford said. “It was one of his patented up-and-unders. He has got such athletic jumping ability, and really becomes unstoppable around the rim.”

Rogers, a 6-foot-5 junior, is averaging 22 points per game this winter. He’s also got to the free throw line 248 times in 24 games.

“His skills in the paint have been really, really outstanding,” Ford said. “He can leap out of the gym. Most of Brandon’s points are going to the rim. He has worked endlessly on his outside shooting game, but he just enjoys playing with people around the basket.”

That athleticism also serves Rogers well on the boards, where he is averaging 13.1 rebounds per game, good for second in the USCAA Division 2.

Advertisement

“When you see like a pack, a triangle rebounding situation, he’s like a foot above everyone else,” Ford said.

The brutal part of the weekend came in the results. On Friday, UMA led Eastern Maine Community College by two points in the final seconds.

Ford said EMCC called timeout with two-tenths of a seconds left, and the officials reverted the clock back to 2.1 seconds. EMCC got the ball to Brett Deniger, who had already hit nine 3-pointers on the day. Ford said Deniger was trapped and banked in a 45-footer at the buzzer while falling out of bounds, giving EMCC the win.

Two days later, the Moose faced Vermont Tech in a very different game. This time UMA lost 49-47 after missing a shot at the buzzer.

“I said (to the guys), ‘We have lost five games to the top five teams in the conference in situations where we had a chance to win,'” Ford said. “I said to the team, ‘The shining light is the improvement that we’ve made from last year to this year.’ Last year, we weren’t competitive with the top teams. This year, every team in the conference knows we’re dangerous.”

Lawrence grad Keith Chesley leads the entire USCAA Division 2 in scoring with 23.7 points per game. Chesley is also closing in on the all-time men’s scoring record held by his father, Greg. Erskine grad Caleb McGuire has been hounded by injuries most of the season, but scored 22 and 18 points in back-to-back games last week. Then there’s Maranacook grad Taylor Wilbur, a freshman who is averaging 17.0 ppg.

Advertisement

Wilbur and second-semester newcomer Richard Brown have also been handling point guard duties when the Moose lost both of their point guards — one to grades, and the other who had to leave the team because of time commitments. The Moose will likely enter the Yankee Small College Conference tournament as the seventh or eighth seed, but Ford remembers when they went in sixth in 2009, and won it all.

“It’s the law of averages right now,” said Ford, whose team is 0-5 in games decided by six points or less. “It’s time for us to hit that big shot, or make the game-breaking moment. I have a lot of confidence that we can get that done.”

• • •

The UMaine-Farmington women’s basketball team won two games this weekend in typical UMF fashion. The Beavers trailed both Lyndon State and Johnson State at halftime, and didn’t have anyone score more than 14 points in either contest. UMF won both games with defense, depth, and balance, just as the Beavers have done all season.

UMF is now 9-5 in the North Atlantic Conference and tied with Colby-Sawyer for fourth place. This is even more impressive when you consider that the Beavers are sixth in the conference in both points per game and points allowed.

The Beavers have shown they can play with anybody in the conference. Castleton is 13-1 and in first place in the NAC, and beat UMF by 10 when the teams met in late January. The Beavers were down only six with six minutes left, but were held scoreless over their next five possessions.

Advertisement

Five players are averaging at least 7.5 ppg for the Beavers, but Meghan Smith is the top scorer at exactly 10.0. Smith is also the leading rebounder at 7.7 per game, followed by Winslow grad Elizabeth Ferry, at 6.7 per night. UMF is deep enough that Madison grad Bianca Stoutamyer leads the team in minutes per game at a relatively low 29.4.

UMF doesn’t do anything amazingly well, but doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses either. The Beavers are third in the league in shooting percentage, fifth and rebounding, and fourth in free throw percentage. Defensively, UMF is fifth in the NAC in opponent’s shooting percentage. The Beavers are second in the league in free throw attempts, and that’s been a big part of their success.

In some ways, the Beavers are like the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks — the whole looks greater than the individuals — and while you can see teams in the league beating them you wouldn’t want to bet too much against them, either.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.