PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, used hot shooting and strong second half defense to shut down the College Park Skyhawks Sunday, 115-91 at the Portland Expo.
Maine (11-6) was led by Two-Way Player Tremont Waters, who finished with 27 points and 8 assists. Fellow Two-Way Player Tacko Fall added a monster double-double, with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Trey Davis added 20 points off the bench, while Bryce Brown added 14. Jaysean Paige scored 13 points, and Yante Maten contributed 10 in the win. Maine out-scored College Park 60-39 in the second half, and dished out 30 assists as a team.
College Park (10-9) was led by Cat Barber, who finished with 18 points in the loss.
Waters and Brown opened the scoring with two quick threes. The Skyhawks answered, with Barber dropping in a 15-footer to cut it to 8-6. The teams would trade baskets, with Maten’s hook shot extending the lead to 4. A pair of Fall dunks extended Maine’s lead to 20-11. Brown’s 4-point play put the Claws up 11. Barber tried his best to keep College Park in the game, scoring 12 points in the 1st quarter. Trey Davis’ four point play helped maintain the lead, and the Red Claws led 33-28 after 1.
In the 2nd, the Red Claws and Skyhawks traded buckets early. Davis’ running lay-up made it 44-40 Maine. The Red Claws struggled turning the ball over. Mark Ogden tied the game with his 2nd and 3rd effort put-back, and Charlie Brown, Jr. put College Park up 49-48. Waters got the lead back with a deep three. The Red Claws led 55-52 at halftime, with Waters leading the way with 12 points. Barber paced College Park with 16 at the break. Both teams shot over 50% in the first half, and combined for 25 turnovers.
Tacko started the 2nd half with a pair of buckets, recording his 6th double-double of the season. Waters’ three put Maine up 65-61. Brown’s second-chance three put Maine up 71-63 and forced a College Park timeout. Davis hit a three to extend the Claw lead to 9. The Skyhawks went on a 4:00 scoring drought, and Tacko’s three-point play made it 81-70. Brown buried a three late in the quarter, and Maine led 84-72 after 3.
In the 4th, Maten’s put-back slam put Maine up 93-78. Barber stopped the run for College Park with a driving lay-up. Tacko and Davis continued to pace the offense, as the Red Claws lead swelled to 20 at 103-83. The Red Claws would out-score College Park 31-19 in the 4th, holding the Skyhawks to 39 points in the second half, cruising to victory. Maine shot 52.9% (45-85) from the field, 40% (16-40) from three-point range, and 7-18 from the free throw line. College Park shot 43.7% (38-87) from the floor, 23.1% (9-39) from downtown, and 4-6 from the charity stripe.