FARMINGTON -- University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball coach Dick Meader earned his 400th career victory as the Beavers took an 89-88 overtime win over Castleton State College in North Atlantic Conference action
The Beavers (9-10, 4-5) are scheduled to host Lyndon State College Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Spartans (11-9, 6-3) are slated to visit Green Mountain College Tuesday at 6 p.m.
In 35 seasons of coaching at Thomas College (1972-1988) and the University of Maine at Farmington (1993-present), Meader has amassed a record of 400-455.
DJ Gerrish (Rumford, Maine) led five Farmington players in double figures with a game-high 18 points and dished out seven assists, while Roy Burdin (Guilford, Maine) supplied a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards and Andrew Dean (Gorham, Maine) and Eric Taylor (Oakland, Maine) each added 13 points. Pet Sumner (Cramerton, N.C.) added 12 points off the bench in the win, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation, and Danny Kane (Bradford, Maine) handed out nine assists and chipped in nine points.
Tyler Ackley (Scotia, N.Y.) scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Spartans with Mike Knight (Spring Valley, N.Y.) pitching in 15 points and Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) 13 points. Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) added 12 points in the loss, while Greg Hughes (West Rutland, Vt.) put in 11 points.
Farmington made half of its shots from the field (33-66), while Castleton hit 46.7 (28-60). Led by four from Ackley, the Spartans knocked down 13 3-pointers, while the Beavers made 11 with Sumner hitting four.
The Beavers led by as many as 13 points in the opening half and held a 38-27 halftime advantage, but Castleton employed a potent press that allowed the Spartans to score 16 points off Farmington miscues and rally back to a 70-69 lead on an Ackley three with 3:20 left in the game.
After a draw at 73-73, a pair of Knight free throws and an Ackley basket helped the visitors to a 77-73 lead with 58 seconds left in regulation. Burdin knocked down a pair of free throws, but Paul followed with one foul shot to make it 78-75. Tim Gingras (Winthrop, Maine) set up Sumner on the top of the key and the freshman buried the three to tie the game at 78-78.
Burdin opened the extra session with a 3-pointer, but the lead changed four times over the first 3:17 with a Dean layup at 1:43 putting the hosts ahead for good at 85-84. A Burdin layup gave the hosts an 87-84 lead with 31 seconds left in overtime with Knight following with a layup. After Gerrish hit one of two from the charity stripe, Gingras came away with a rebound on a Kevin Eisenbeg (Moultonborough, N.H.) triple. Kane missed the first, but hit a free throw to put the Beavers up 89-86 with under 10 seconds remaing. Knight drove to the basket to cut the lead to 89-88, but time expired as Farmington slipped away with Meader's 400th career win at 89-88 over Castleton.