Palm Beach Atlantic’s Jonathan Maples (Panama City, Fla./Tennessee Temple U.) and Matt Bringman (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida CC) each scored 16 points while Jake Smith (Troy, Ohio/ Edison CC) tallied 14 to lead the Sailfish past Southern Maine.
With the loss Southern Maine opens its 2004-2005 campaign with a blemish to stand at 0-1 while Palm Beach Atlantic improves to 2-0 on the young season.
Senior forward Ryan Garland (Hermon, Maine/Hermon) led Southern Maine with a game-high 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, including a three three-point field goals. Husky senior captain Jason Levecque (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) was the only other Southern Maine player in double figures tallying 13 points . The 6-2 guard also added three assists and two rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field connecting on six out of 12 attempts.
With the game in a dead heat at 15-14 in the favor of Palm Beach Atlantic mid-way through the opening half, the Sailfish put together a 10-0 run to take a 25-14 lead with seven minutes to go until the halftime break.
Smith jumpstarted the run for Palm Beach Atlantic nailing two free throws. The Sailfish’s Joe Pigniatello (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) followed with an offensive rebound and put-back, while Jason Brooks (Tallahassee, Fla.) hit back-to-back free throws before Smith found Spencer Lee (Daytona Beach, Fla.) for a three-point field goal to cap the decisive run. Palm Beach Atlantic outscored the Huskies 20-14 the rest of the way to enter the second half with a formidable 45-28 lead.
The Sailfish quickly pushed the lead to 20 in the opening seconds on the second half as a jumper from Jesse McCue (Hampden, Maine) fell and Eddie Willingham (Sanford, Fla.) converted a free throw to put Palm Beach Atlantic ahead 48-28.
The Huskies would trim the lead to 16 on back-to-back scores from Mike Francoeur (Somersworth, N.H./Cheshire) and Garland, but it was as close as they would get the rest of the way as Palm Beach Atlantic held on for the win.
Southern Maine will play the loser of the UMaine Farmington and UMaine Presque Isle game in the consolation round Saturday at 1 p.m.