It was only the seventh game of the regular season schedule, but for Jeremy Kervin, Tuesday’s basketball game against Eastern Maine Community College was a major milestone.

Kervin turned in a sparkling 34-point, 18-rebound, three-blocked shot effort, but that wasn’t it. His Unity College team also came from behind to knock off the EMCC Golden Eagles 75-69, but that wasn’t it. Just being on the court and playing an entire game with no pain … That was it.

Sure, his performance and a second straight victory against an EMCC team that smoked the Rams 93-52 in the Yankee Conference playoffs last season were memorable and gratifying, but that was just part of the overall experience.

“This was a huge game for me. I tore my ACL the last time I played here, so this was a big win emotionally,” said Kervin, a 6-foot-4 junior forward. “It was the last game of the season and a playoff game to go to the next round.”

The Hodgdon native tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee six points and eight minutes into the Feb. 11 game. The news didn’t get much better after that.

“We ended up losing bad,” he said. “Our whole team just kind of hit the wall once they knew I was out and couldn’t come back.”

The conservation/law enforcement major not only worked hard in the offseason to rehabilitate himself physically, he worked extra hard to make sure he would be as good or better on the basketball court when he came back.

Mission accomplished.

“I can’t say enough about him. He’s worked extremely hard coming off ACL surgery. He didn’t miss any of the preseason,” said Unity men’s basketball coach Matt Bennett. “We worked all week on getting the ball in to Kervin because we had the advantage inside. We wanted to have him touch the ball at least once every time down.”

Springfield honors Antone

Shelley Antone-Cormier of Bangor was inducted into the Springfield College Hall of Fame recently.

Antone-Cormier, a former standout athlete at Bangor High School, owns Springfield’s career scoring record for women’s basketball with 1,682 points. She also owns marks for points in a season (544 in 1987-88) and points in a game (40).

Antone-Cormier, who ranks in the top five in several other categories, was named Springfield’s top female athlete during her junior and senior years. She was a Northeast 10 Conference all-star as a senior.

UMPI athletic training gets OK

The athletic training program at the University of Maine-Presque Isle has earned national accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

UMPI earned the recognition after developing a curriculum-based athletic training program as required by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the nation’s governing body for Certified Athletic Trainers.

UMPI developed several new courses to make it compliant with the CAAHEP and revised its program upon recommendations from a committee that reviewed the program last fall.

“This is an important milestone for UMPI’s athletic training program,” said UMPI President Nancy Hensel. “The accreditation validates the quality of the program at UMPI and also meets the requirements for our students to sit for board certification.”

UMPI expects its program to complement northern Maine high school athletic programs in addition to the Maine Winter Sports Center.

MMA football receives honors

Joe Crowe of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine has been named to the All-New England Football Conference first-team offense.

The sophomore guard from Gorham was instrumental in helping the Mariners achieve a school record for rushing yards in a season with 2,879. The previous mark of 2,691 was set in 1981.

MMA ranked fifth in the nation and second in the NEFC in rushing offense and third in the league in total offense.

Senior quarterback Pat Bard of Winslow and junior fullback Don Thibodeau of Albion were honorable mentions, ranking second and third, respectively, in NEFC total offense.

‘Kill the Killer’ effort a success

Volleyball teams in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, including Colby College of Waterville, Bates College of Lewiston and and Bowdoin College of Brunswick, recently completed a “Kill the Killer” campaign as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The effort was designed to raise money to aid in breast cancer research and also to help young women become more educated about breast cancer.

Members of the 11 NESCAC teams solicited monetary pledges for each “kill” their team recorded in matches. Their efforts resulted in a check for $15,000 being presented to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a national organization dedicated to supporting breast cancer research and assisting people effected by the disease.

Hamilton USM wrestling captain

Junior Phil Hamilton of Skowhegan and Chris Rispoli of Londonderry, N.H., have been named the captains of the University of Southern Maine wrestling team for the second straight season.

Hamilton, who will compete in the 184-pound class, had a 12-8 record last season and once was named the Pilgrim League Wrestler of the Week.