Machias, ME - It took an overtime, but the Monks brought home a difficult 72-67 win over Maine Machias last night. St. Joe's improves to 14-5 overall and has won five games in a row. The Clippers stand at 17-6.
A three-pointer by GR Chad Pulkkinen (Windham, ME) with six seconds to play in regulation tied the score at 59 and sent the game into overtime.
Despite forcing 15 Clipper turnovers in the first half, the Monks carried only a slim 28-25 lead into the break. Pulkkinen scored 9 of his team-high 20 points in the first half and SR Marcus Alexander (Niceville, FL) added 8 of his 16 points.
The teams battled in the second half with the Clippers outscoring the Monks 34-31 but the trey by Pulkkinen sparked the Monks as they went into the overtime period.
Machias scored first to take the lead, but SO RJ Mattison (Hamden, CT) drilled a three to put the Monks up 62-61. SR Matt Plummer (Naples, ME) scored four of his nine points in the overtime to give St. Joe's a 70-65 edge with 1:14 remaining. Pulkkinen closed out the game netting two free throws with 37 seconds to play and SO Elbie Murphy (Loudonville, NY) rebounded a missed three-point attempt by the Clippers to seal the win.
