BUFFALO, New York- The UC Clermont Cougars beat the University of Maine Augusta by a score of 96-84 on Wednesday. The first half was back-and-forth and concluded with a 44-41 halftime advantage for Clermont. The Cougars would then explode for 52 points and pull away in the second half.
AJ Robinson converted on an and-one to give the Cougars an 18-10 lead with 12:23 to go in the first half. Maine Augusta went on a 25-10 run and took a 35-28 lead after a made lay-up from Rocco Chang. Clermont closed out the half on a 16-6 run.
Caden Zeinner connected on a three-pointer to extend the lead to 63-51 less than 6 minutes into the second half. The offense really started clicking for the Cougars. They always had an answer for every time that Maine Augusta would cut the lead to single digits. Landon Naylor made a lay-up to give the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 88-73 with just 3:49 remaining.
Robbie Johnson shot 6-for-11 from three while finishing with a team-high 22 points. Landon Naylor shot 8-for-9 from the free-throw line while finishing with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Caden Zeinner shot 4-for-7 from three and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line while finishing with 17 points, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Kenyon Gardner had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 blocks. AJ Robinson shot 8-for-11 from the field while giving the Cougars 17 points and 8 rebounds off of the bench.
Aviyon Matthews shot 7-for-9 from the field while finishing with 18 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Rocco Chang made two triples while finishing with 16 points, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. Khalif Bettis had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Derrick Daigle led the team with 9 rebounds.
The Cougars shot 44% from three, 80.8% from the free-throw line, and won the rebound battle 50-38. Maine Augusta shot 38.1% from three and out shot Clermont from the field (49.3% to 41.6%). They struggled from the free-throw line, only converting on 6 of their 14 attempts.
Written by Eli Altherr