BIDDEFORD — The University of New England men’s basketball team was seeing double Monday night against Bates College.
Senior twin brothers Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche each had a double-double as the Bobcats beat the Nor’easters 71-68 at Harold Alfond Forum.
Marcus (6-foot, 7 inches) and Malcolm (6-8) used their size on both ends of the floor to play a key role for Bates (3-1). Marcus had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Malcolm finished with 12 points and 10 boards.
“They impact the game in so many ways,” said Bates Coach Jon Furbush. “Even when they don’t score the ball, they draw so much attention away from our shooters to get some space on the perimeter. They did a really great job tonight. Those types of guys only come around once every 10 or 20 years at best, so we’re just going to keep riding them.”
UNE (1-4) had a chance to take the lead late in the game. With Bates clinging to a one-point lead with 21.6 seconds left, UNE missed a shot and players from both teams dived on top of the ball. A jump ball was called and Bates was awarded possession.
Max Hummel was fouled on the next play and knocked down both free throws to push the Bates’ lead to three, 71-68. The Bobcats played tough defense and the Nor’easters’ Drew Coveney missed a 3-pointer at the end of the game.
Hummel finished with a game-high 22 points.
“We executed in the last two minutes like I hoped we would for 40 minutes,” said Furbush. “Better late than never. I was really happy with how well we started communicating, switching when we had to, and we got the stops when we had to get them.”
The Bobcats took a one-point lead at the half when Jerome Darling (10 points) was fouled taking a 3-pointer at the buzzer. He made all three free throws to give Bates a 38-37 lead.
Hummel paced the attack early for Bates, scoring 11 points in the first half. Malcolm Delpeche chipped in with six points, four rebounds and three blocks.
“(The Delpeche brothers are) long and physical, so just even the idea of them being there gets other people thinking about them,” UNE Coach Ed Silva said. “If you’re going to try and get into the paint or you want to post up, you’re going to second guess it because they’re there.”
Coveney and Jean-Luc Parker helped UNE get back into the game late in the first half. Parker scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, and Coveney had five points and five assists.
Coveney finished with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
“He’s a tough matchup,” said Furbush. “He can really shoot it, he drives so well, and he’s strong around the basket. He’s a hell of a player.”
UNE scored the first nine points of the second half with Parker, CJ Autry and Drew Washington all hitting 3-pointers.
The Bobcats slowly chipped away at the lead and went ahead on a pair of free throws by Tom Coyne with 11 minutes left.
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