Box Score WATERVILLE, ME --- Host Thomas and 2015 NCAA qualifier Bates both picked up victories Saturday as the Charlie Ryan Classic kicked off at Larry Mahaney Gymnasium.
Thomas 63, UM-Fort Kent 57
Down 24-19 with 6:46 to play before halftime, Thomas (1-2) used a 13-0 run fueled by six points each by Levi Barnes and Carlos Gonzalez to take a 32-24 lead. Qaadir Ali stopped the run with a 3-pointer and Rosevelt Smith added a layup to draw UMFK (4-3) back within three before the Terriers countered with a three of their own by Justin Murray and a layup by Barnes. Ali closed the half with a layup to send the teams to the locker rooms with Thomas up 37-31.
In the second half, the Terriers pushed the lead to 11 points at 46-35 with 14:27 to play, only to see UMFK erase the deficit with 13 straight points. Barnes stopped the rally with a layup at the 7:45 mark. Fouled on the play, he made the ensuing free throw to give Thomas back the lead. Two free throws by Benson Arogbo put UMFK ahead briefly, but Tyheem Simon put the Terriers up for good with a jumper with 6:05 to play.
The Terriers received a game-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting from Levi Barnes. He was 4-of-8 from three-point range and added eight rebounds. Tyheem Simon added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Carlos Gonzalez was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Ian King had a team-high 10 rebounds for Thomas, which shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the floor and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from 3-point range.
Joe McCloskey scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead UMFK. Qaadir Ali added 12 points, while Rosevelt Smith hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds.
Bates 79, Norwich 49
In the second game of the night, Bates used a 22-4 run early on to create some breathing room en route to a 79-49 win over Norwich. Malcolm Delpeche filled the stat sheet for the Bobcats (1-0), finishing with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots. Marcus Delpeche and Shawn Strickland each added 10 as Bates shot 49.2 percent from the field.
Norwich was limited to 35.0 percent shooting and was just 2-of-18 from behind the 3-point arc. Ryan Fitzgerald and Mike Hogervorst each had 10 for the Cadets (1-2).
Thomas kicks off the second day of the Classic with a noon matchup against Norwich. Bates and UMFK play in the finale at 2 p.m.
