FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball team (2-18, 2-11) nearly erased an 18-point second half deficit on Saturday afternoon, but ran out of time and lost to Castleton University (8-13, 7-7) with a 62-56 North Atlantic Conference loss in Dearborn Gymnasium.
Ryan Camire (Acton, Maine/Sanford) netted a team-high 17 points and his second game with at least 10 points in the last three outings. Camire was hot from the outside by making 4-of-5 attempts from long range and finished 6-of-10 on the afternoon. Ryan Rice (Belfast, Maine/Belfast) knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arc on his way to 10 points for the Beavers. Nick Hilton (Wilton, Maine/Mt. Blue) needed only one more point for a double-double as he registered nine points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Logan Nichols (Minot, Maine/Poland) was efficient at setting his teammates up for success with nine assists.
Castleton used a game-high 22 points from Rob Coloutti to secure the win. Coloutti was 6-of-14 from the floor, all from three-point land, and eclipsed the 1,000 career point total with a three-pointer before halftime. Joshua Horton contributed 12 points off the bench with all 12 coming from long range. Pavin Parrish added 10 points for the Spartans.
Facing an 18-point deficit with 12:33 to go in the game, the Beavers mounted a 23-10 run to close the gap to 51-46 with 3:38 to go in the contest.
The Spartans pushed the lead back to double digits after two timely jump shots, including a three-pointer by Parrish, who got a very friendly roll after the ball bounced off the rim three times before finding nylon with 40 ticks left on the clock.
The Beavers used a pair of long-range shots from Camire and a jumper by Rice to draw within six, but the clock struck all zeros before UMF could force an overtime session.
UMF returns to action on Tuesday with a visit from Maine Maritime Academy.
