SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine—The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men's basketball team edged the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) Knights from Vermont Technical College (VTC) 71-68 in its final game at The HUB on Saturday, Feb. 10.
SMCC Athletics and the men's basketball team honored its lone graduating member, Dylan Silvestri (Pelham, N.H.), with a pre-game ceremony for his accomplishments and dedication to the program. Silvestri will earn his associate's degree in May and finish his playing career #5 all-time in rebounding, #10 all-time in steals, and likely with more than 900 points.
Four contributed to the scoresheet for the SeaWolves in the first half and a perfect 18 minutes by first-year Jacobee Burpee (Manchester, N.H.) who went 5-5 shooting to go along with 12 points.
SMCC led by six on a made layup by sophomore Anderson Kavutse (Westbrook, Maine) with 1:37 left in regulation. The Knights went on a 5-0 run to close their deficit to 69-68, but the SeaWolves knocked down their free throws to prevail and split the season series 1-1.
Burpee finished with a season-high 20 points on 7-10 from the field, 3-3 from beyond the arc—jumping to #1 in three-point percentage (51.9) among all USCAA D2 players. Silvestri logged another double-double with 15 and 11; junior Ryan Cloutier (Pelham, N.H.) continues to produce with another 13-point performance.
VTC's Cameron Carter scored a team-high 16 points, Tyrone Hilson tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The SeaWolves wrap up their regular season with an opportunity to climb to #2 in the conference standings at Central Maine Community College on Monday, Feb. 12. Tip off in Auburn is set for 8 p.m. WATCH: http://www.munzingmediasports.com/cmcc/
The YSCC Elite 8 Tournament will be held at NHTI (Concord, N.H.) Friday, Feb. 16- Sunday, Feb. 18; the final seedings to be released Tuesday, Feb. 13.
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