Maine Lakes News

Friday evening's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's basketball game between the University of Maine at Farmington and Husson University could prove to be a game in the NAC East standings as the Beavers took down the Eagles, 82-76 at home. The Beavers improve to 10-7 on the season, 6-1 in NAC play, and take control of 1st place in the NAC East. The Eagles drop to 7-10 on the season with a 5-1 record in conference play.

The game between the two teams was a hard-fought, physical battle, in front of a raucous Dearborn Gymnasium crowd that mirrored the atmosphere of a playoff game. The two teams struggled to score early as they felt one another out. In the 1st half the Beavers shot just 32.5% (13-40) from the field and 25% (4-16) from downtown. The Eagles shot a meager 29.4 (10-34) from the field and 17.6% (3-17) from three in the half.

A three-pointer from J Thomas gave Husson an 18-14 lead with 9:53 left to play in the half. The two teams would go scoreless for the next 2:52 before Kyle Donlin (Warren, Maine) hit a three to break the drought.

After the Donlin three pulled the Beavers within a point, they were able to finish the final seven minutes of the half on a 17-5 run to take a 34-23 lead into halftime.

The Beavers held onto a 13-point lead with 16:00 left to play in the game. The Eagles would get hot however and went on 13-4 run over the next 4:12 to cut the Beavers lead to just 3. But the Beavers were able to respond with a run of their own. The Beavers rattled off a 15-5 run to reclaim a 13-point lead. The Eagles cut the lead to five on a pair of occasions but the Beavers did enough to close out the huge victory.

The Beavers got several strong performances tonight, many of which will not show up in the box score. Terion Moss (Portland, Maine) did what he always does, leading the Beavers on offense, scoring big bucket after big bucket to help the pullout the victory. Moss finished with 22 points and eight assists without committing a turnover. Jack Kane (Cumberland, Maine) was a force inside all night for the Beavers and had his own personal dunk party, throwing down four dunks on the evening. Kyle Donlin (Warren, Maine) tallied a huge double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds while hitting 3-5 from beyond the arc. Silas Mohlar (Readfield, Maine) brought the energy on the defensive end of the court for the Beavers creating several deflections and diving all over the court. Dylan Griffin (Saco, Maine) came off the bench and gave the Beavers great minutes, making a huge three-pointer in a crucial spot to help stop an Eagle run.

For the Eagles Jeremy Moronta came of the bench and scored a team-high 18 points. Justice Kendall tallied 17 points while Scott Lewis added 15 points. 

Original source can be found here