RUTLAND — College of St. Joseph basketball was in action just one day this past week. Both the men’s and women’s teams hosted Southern Maine Community College on Saturday, Jan. 9, and the Seawolves came off the bus ready to play. The Lady Saints started the night off by earning a gutsy win over a well- respected Southern Maine CC team. The women are now an impressive 10-1 on the season and are on an eight game winning streak. They are also a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
The men’s team was not as fortunate in their game against the Seawolves. The well- coached Southern Maine team came out firing on all cylinders, and other than one late surge by the Fighting Saints, the Seawolves had their way throughout most of the game. The loss brings CSJ down to 9-5 overall and hands them their first YSCC conference loss of the season, making them 4-1. Here is a closer look at the two games played this week.
Jan. 9
The matchup between the Lady Saints and the Seawolves was a fight to the finish from the very start. In a game that went back and forth throughout, the Lady Saints were able to make enough plays down the stretch to ensure a 60-56 victory. CSJ was led by powerhouse center Regina Steele. Despite getting into foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, she was able to enforce her will when the Lady Saints needed her most. Steele was a beast down low, recording game highs with 18 points, 15 boards, and four blocks. She was also very efficient, shooting an almost perfect 8 of 9 from the field. Mookie Kennedy and Arreonte Anderson did not shoot particularly well from the field, but were each able to add 14 points, which was much needed in a game where getting buckets was not an easy task.
The men’s team was never able to find their stride against the Seawolves, falling behind by a staggering 27 points just before halftime. The Saints fought back in the second half and tightened it up, but eventually lost 70-85. One of the bright spots for CSJ was the stellar play of sixth man Antonio Gordon. He came off the bench to score a game high 25 points and was able to connect on five shots from beyond the arc. Gordon was a big reason the Saints were able to bring the deficit from 27 points down to 11 with ten minutes to go in the second half. Although CSJ fought hard to get back into the game, the Seawolves continued to make shots and never let the Saints get within single digits of them. Kareem Brown played a solid game for CSJ, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. In the end, the Saints could just never find a consistent rhythm and the Seawolves took full advantage of that.
