UMaine Fort Kent Ends Knights Win Streak at 15

The UMaine Fort Kent came into the SHAPE Center for Saturday afternoon’s showdown looking big, strong and well rested.   The Tigers rolled over Sunrise foe SUNY/Canton the previous weekend and spent the week getting ready to take on the undefeated Knights. The Knights laced up for their fifth game in eight days and had played the previous evening.

At the outset, Fort Kent flexed its muscles, jumping to a 7-1 lead.  The Tigers had three dramatic blocked shots on the Knights first three possessions.  The Knights found their bearings, hit the open man and went on a 15-5 run to take the lead, 15-6 behind the 3 point shooting of Kevin Carr and tough inside play by Trent Roleau and Nick Simpson.  The Knights held the lead through the first half and went to the locker room with a four point edge, 43-39.

The Knights came out strong in the second half, opening a 51-39 lead after the first two and a half minutes of play.  Fort Kent slowly battled back.  After Trent Roleau picked up his third foul the Tigers took over the offensive boards.  On four consecutive possessions UMFK scored on offensive rebounds.  Meanwhile, the Knights went cold from the floor, going four and a half minutes without a score.

Fort Kent took its first lead, 61-59 with 5:40 remaining.  The teams battled to a 65-65 tie with just over four minutes to play.  At this point, Fort Kent went on a 9-0 run to take a 74-65 lead.  VTC failed to score in four consecutive possessions.  The Knights closed to 74-68 on Alex Tyrrell’s three point shot and were able to force UMFK into two late game turnovers that provided opportunity to close the gap.  The Knights did not cash in on the turnovers and Fort Kent preserved the win, 76-70.

“This was a disappointing loss for us,” said Coach John Dyer after the game.  “Fort Kent is a big, strong team.  They beat us on the offensive boards and they consistently got to the foul line.  We didn’t rebound aggressively and they put the brakes on our running game.  During those last five minutes, it was pretty clear to me that our guys had nothing left in the tank.  We were stagnant offensively. If we qualify for the final four in the Sunrise, my guess is that we’ll be seeing Fort Kent there.  They are a really tough team.”

Kevin Carr and Nick Simpson led the Knights with 23 and 20 points respectively.