CASTINE, Maine – Andy Ball's (Hermon, Maine) second-chance layup just before the buzzer delivered Maine Maritime Academy its first win of the season, a 52-50 victory over Maine-Augusta. It was the Mariners (1-3) first victory of the 2011-2012 campaign.
Benjamin Russell (Farmington, Maine) sliced into the lane and went to the hole for a layup with two seconds remaining. That's when Augusta's (1-11) Leo Familia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rejected his shot, but the loose ball caromed into the hands of Ball. Ball, who posted 14 points and a dozen rebounds, popped home the game-winning basket with only a few tenths of a second remaining for the sixth and final lead change of the night.
Maine Maritime led by as many as 11 points in the game, and held by eight, 40-32, with 11:34 left in the game. A pair of Wiley Walter (Arlington, Texas) free throws followed by a jumper on the next Moose possession cut the lead in half. Walter, who led Augusta with 14 points, did not miss in the second half, connecting on two treys and a jumper for 10 second half points. Unfortunately for Augusta, the senior fouled out in the waning moments of the game.
Augusta tied it up, 40-40 when Familia hit a layup with 8:13 remaining. He gave his team a lead on the next trip hitting a pair from the stripe, and then stretched it to three points with a free throw on the next trip down. Familia finished the game with 10 points.
The Moose cashed in on 14-of-22 trips to the line, compared to MMA's 4-of-9 effort at the stripe. The three-point differential Familia produced was as large a lead as either team saw down to the wire.
The Mariners trailed 48-47 with 91 ticks on the clock. That's when Wily picked up his fifth foul sending Ball to the line for a pair. The Mariners' junior hit on the front end to knot it at 48-48. The Mariners did not trail the rest of the way.
Ball collected the rebound off of Darius Vanagas' (Orlando, Fla.) missed three pointer on Augusta's next possession. Tyler Pineo (Corinth, Maine) then missed on a Mariners' three, but Shawn Dostie (Bowdoinham, Maine) was there to collect. Dostie's putback with 35 seconds remaining made it 50-48 in favor of MMA.
Dostie posted his third-consecutive double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Seven of his boards were on the offensive end. MMA produced 14 points on 16 offensive boards in the game.
After Dostie gave his team the lead, Aaron Cochran (San Antonio, Texas) banged home the final pair of his 12 points on the night with 15 seconds left to knot it at 50-50, setting the stage Ball's late-game heroics.
The Mariners return to action on Saturday, opening their North Atlantic Conference slate at Husson. Maine-Augusta returns to action tomorrow night against Nashua Community College at the Civic Center.
MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY 52, ME.-AUGUSTA 50
ME.-AUGUSTA (1-11)
Wily Walter 4-7 4-4 14; Arron Cochran 4-7 2-2 12; Leonel Familia 3-9 4-6 10; Darius Vanegas 3-11 0-2 7; David Prior 0-1 3-4 3; AJ Coleman 1-4 0-0 3; John Elgani 0-0 1-2 1; Josh Croswell 0-1 0-2 0; Martin Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Total 15-40 14-22 50.
MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY (1-3)
Andy Ball 6-13 2-3 14; Shawn Dostie 6-13 1-3 13; Tyler Pineo 3-11 0-0 8; Shawn Silva 3-6 1-2 7; Brandon Theriault 2-5 0-0 5; Scott Alexander 1-5 0-0 3; Benjamin Russell 1-7 0-1 2; David Lord 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 4-9 52.
Me.-Augusta................... 20 30 - 50
Maine Maritime Academy........ 31 21 - 52
3-point goals--Me.-Augusta 6-20 (Arron Cochran 2-3; Wily Walter 2-3; Darius Vanegas 1-7; AJ Coleman 1-1; Josh Croswell 0-1; Leonel Familia 0-5), Maine Maritime Academy 4-20 (Tyler Pineo 2-6; Scott Alexander 1-4; Brandon Theriault 1-3; Benjamin Russell 0-3; David Lord 0-2; Andy Ball 0-2).
Fouled out--Me.-Augusta-Wily Walter, Maine Maritime Academy-None.
Rebounds--Me.-Augusta 32 (Leonel Familia 10), Maine Maritime Academy 43 (Shawn Dostie 14).
Assists--Me.-Augusta 10 (Arron Cochran 2; Leonel Familia 2; AJ Coleman 2; Josh Croswell 2), Maine Maritime Academy 10 (Benjamin Russell 4).
Total fouls--Me.-Augusta 19, Maine Maritime Academy 15.
Technical fouls--Me.-Augusta-None, Maine Maritime Academy-None.