HENNIKER, N.H. – Five different players finished in double-figures to lead the University of Maine at Farmington past New England College, 85-76, in North Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Bridges Gym.

UMaine-Farmington improves the 16-5 overall, 11-3 in NAC play. The Beavers' win, coupled with Husson University's loss at Castleton State College, allows UMF to slip back into first place in the NAC standings with just four games left on the schedule. New England College fell to 1-19 overall, 1-12 in the NAC.

Leading the way for UMaine-Farmington was junior center Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) who posted his 13th double-double with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  Garrett Clemmer (Windham, Maine/Windham) finished with a team-high 20 points, while Andrew Dickey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) chipped in 17 points.  Yusuf Iman (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) dished out a game-high seven assists to go along with 11 points.

Nate Carson (Orrington, Maine/Brewer) rounded out UMaine-Farmington's list of double-digit scorers with 12 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 mark at the free-throw line.

NEC's Abdirahman Mohamed led the Pilgrims with a game-high 29 points on 11-for-16 shooting.  Ryan Schmitz chipped in 11 points, while Jaskin Melendez and Joel DeMadet finished with 10 points each.

The two teams battled back-and-forth through the entire first half of play, including eight lead changes and six ties.  The Beavers posted their largest lead of the half midway through the frame, as they would lead 18-11 at the 11:04 mark following a pair of Johnson foul shots.  

The Pilgrims responded with a 16-3 run over just four minutes to grab a 27-21 lead with just under seven minutes to play. Schmitz and DeMadet each contributed six points to the NEC run, but the Pilgrims' advantage was trimmed to three points, 39-36, at the intermission.

Five lead changes and three ties over the first eight minutes of the second half eventually gave way to an 11-0 UMaine-Farmington run, with Iman hitting the last five points of the surge on a back-to-back jumper and 3-pointer. That left the Beavers with a 63-54 lead with 9:21 showing on the game clock.

A Clemmer free throw just over two minutes later stretched UMF's lead to double-digits, 68-58, and the Beavers led by at least ten points the rest of the way.

UMaine-Farmington has the first part of the week to prepare for its next contest on Friday, Feb. 8, when it hosts NAC foe Lyndon State College.

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