FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington took control of the second half Thursday night in a 83-71 victory over Maine Maritime in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action in Dearborn Gymnasium.
The Beavers move to 11-13 overall and 10-7 in NAC play while the Mariners fell to 5-19 overall and 2-15 in conference action.
UMF’s Issac Witham scored team high with 20 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor, 6-9 from three with three assists. Teammate Amir Moss scored 18 points on 6-12 shooting, 6-9 at the free throw line with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The Beavers opened up the game with two quick threes’ from Witham. The Mariners came right back and tied the game at six when Tyler Thayer made a layup. UMF jumped out to a 14-8 lead after Amir Moss hit a layup with just under 12 minutes to go in the first half. The Beavers then jumped out to a 12-point lead when senior Ryan Camire added a spark to the offense when he came in off the bench and hit three straight threes which made the score 25-13.
The Mariners battled back and took the lead at the half with the score at 36-35 after Brendan Newcomb hit a three at the buzzer.
Witham started the second half the same way he started the first with a quick three that gave the Beavers a 40-38 lead. UMF went on a 12-2 run in the first five minutes to push their lead to nine with 15 minutes to go.
The Mariners battled back once again and pulled with three when Adam Richardson made a layup but Tyus Ripley came right back down the floor and hit a layup of his own. Maine Maritime pulled within one when Nick Judge hit another three which made the score 59-58. Senior Camire hit another three 20 seconds later which started another run for the Beavers.
UMF pulled away and finished the game with a 83-71 victory.
