CASTINE, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team dropped their North Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at the hands of Maine Maritime Academy, 69-66 on the road. A three-pointer from C.J. Lilljeqvist in the final 80 seconds of the game gave the Mariners the lead and MMA was able to close out the Beavers for their 4th victory of the season. 

Farmington got off to a fast start, opening the game on an 8-2 run to grab the early lead. The Beavers early run was highlighted by a pair of three from junior forward Dylan Griffin (Saco, Maine). The Mariners were able to quickly respond with a 16-3 run to grab an eight-point lead with 11:30 to play in the opening half. 

The Beavers were able to stand strong in the opening half continuing to chip away at the Mariner advantage. But Maine Maritime seemingly had a response to every Farmington scoring spurt. The Mariners were unable to extend their lead beyond eight points in the opening half and took a 40-34 lead into the halftime break. 

The Beaver came out of halftime on fire. Three-pointers from Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) and Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine), as well as a three–point play from Ethan Forrester (Colorado Springs, Colo.) sparked the Beavers to a quick 14-3 run to open the 2nd half to take a 48-43 lead.

Maine Maritime once again had an answer to the Beavers run as Josiah Dancy tallied five of the next seven Mariner points to help Maine Maritime regrab a one-point advantage with 11:45 to play. 

The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the game with neither team able to take a lead larger than four points. 

The Beavers were clinging to a three-point advantage after a pair of Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine) free throws with 2:16 left to play. Dancy got fouled on the ensuing Mariner possession and hit the second of the two free throws to cut the lead to two. After Will Harriman (Biddeford, Maine) missed a three on the following Beaver possession, Lilljeqvist's three gave the Mariners a one-points lead at 67-66 with 1:20 left to play.

Chadbourne missed a three on the next Beaver possession and Dancy hit the dagger to close out the Beavers. Mickle got a look from three with 16 seconds to play but it rimmed out as the Beavers dropped to 0-1 in NAC play.

Three Beavers finished in double figures led by Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Maine) who tallied 13 points on 5-8 shooting. Anthony also picked up eight rebounds in the game. Mickle scored 12 points, canning three three-pointers while Griffin pitched in with ten points and five boards. 

Josiah led the Mariners with a game-high 19 points. Dancy added seven assists and six rebounds. Curt Heinz pitched in with 13 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Markus Ramirez also added 13 points, hitting 3-4 from downtown for MMA.

UP NEXT

The Beavers will be back in action Tuesday evening when they take on Colby College at home in a non-conference battle. Tip-off is set for 7 PM.