The University of Maine at Fort Kent men's basketball team made their first trip to the NAIA II National Tournament this past spring and they've followed up their record setting season with some other significant visits in Fort Kent this April. 

The team has begun a tradition of visiting two different generations following their basketball season at UMFK the last few years.

On April 14, they made their third annual trip to Northern Maine Medical Center's Forest Hill Rehab & Skilled Nursing Center to team up with residents for a game of modified basketball. Forest Hill Activities Director, Linda Bergeron, set up a basketball hoop roughly four feet high to accommodate many of the residents confined to wheelchairs. Eight UMFK team members and Head Coach Eric Werntgen then took part in a competitive eight-on-eight game, which combined four members from each group.

The UMFK team members included players from five different US states and three different countries (Yoshives Belazaire, Miramar, Florida; Terence Dockery, Detroit, Michigan; Brandon Fox, Deptford, New Jersey; Goran Nagradic, Kutina, Croatia; Manny Odugbela, Providence, Rhode Island; Othniel Hyliger, Sandy Point, St. Kitts; Devon Speaks, Bronx, New York; Jeremy Thomas, Detroit, Michigan). The team members and Forest Hill residents had a great time sharing in friendly competition.

On April 29, the team made their third straight appearance with the Fort Kent Elementary School fourth graders in an activity organized by fourth grade teacher Shelly Lausier.

UMFK team members Yoshives Belazaire, Miramar, Florida; Terence Dockery, Detroit, Michigan; Brandon Fox, Deptford, New Jersey; Yair Gal, Ashdod, Israel; Goran Nagradic, Kutina, Croatia; Manny Odugbela, Providence, Rhode Island; Devon Speaks, Bronx, New York; Jeremy Thomas, Detroit, Michigan and Head Coach Eric Werntgen gave a geography lesson for three fourth grade classes. 

The team discussed where they traveled during the season, as well as where each player was from. They shared interesting facts about their respective homelands and then held a trivia contest with four lucky winners who received a UMFK t-shirt. Players then signed autographs for the four graders to close the activity.

UMFK Athletics are members of the NAIA and proponents of the Champions of Character initiative which stresses Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership as the five core values followed by student-athletes participating in NAIA intercollegiate athletics

NAIA Champions of Character Web Site: http://www.championsofcharacter.org/index.php