UMFK men's basketball drop two at Bates College Tip-Off Classic

LEWISTON - The University of Maine at Fort Kent men's basketball team shot a frigid 27 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times as they lost to Wentworth Institute of Technology 61-43 in their second game at the Bates College Classic Saturday afternoon in Lewiston, Maine.

Wentworth (2-0) turned the 23 UMFK turnovers into 21 points and used a 9-0 run with 16 minutes remaining to build a 20-point lead putting the contest out of reach.  Jeremy Thomas of Detroit, Mich. who was named to the Bates All-Classic team, led UMFK with 14 points and Jorge Metesanz of Sevilla, Spain had 11 points off the Bengal bench.

The previous game also went to the opponents of UMFK.

The Bengals fell to host Bates College 71-69 in a back and forth battle in the first game at the three-team Bates Tip-Off Classic Friday night inside Alumni Gymnasium at Lewiston, Maine.

UMFK (4-3) overcame a 14-2 disadvantage in turnovers in the first half to lead 33-31 at intermission, thanks to a 27-9 edge on the boards and a team field goal percentage of .650 (13-20).

The lead changed hands 11 times, and the game was tied on five occasions in a game that came down to the last possession.  Senior guard Manny Odugbela of Providence, R.I., scored a game-high 20 points to go with three steals for UMFK, while junior backcourt mate Jeremy Thomas of Detroit, Mich. and senior forward Othniel Hyliger of Sandy Point, St. Kitts added 12 points apiece.  Junior forward Pablo Llamas of Leon, Spain led the Bengals in eight rebounds and four assists, and also tied for the team lead in blocked shots with sophomore forward Jan Brylowski of Montreal, Quebec, with three.

Odugbela drove for a layup to cut the game to two with 50 seconds left, but the Bengals couldn't take advantage of two offensive boards in the waning seconds of the game.

UMFK had the chance to inbound the ball from halfcourt with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, but an offensive foul was called before the inbound pass, putting Bates at the line and cancelling out any hopes for a miracle shot by the Bengals.

UMFK (4-4) will be off for Thanksgiving and return to action Friday December 2 when they face host Colby College in the Colby Invitational in Waterville, Maine at 7 p.m.  They play Fisher College the next day, December 3, in the three-team classic at 4 p.m.