FARMINGTON, Maine -- The University of Maine at Farmington built a 15-point lead and staved a Colby-Sawyer College rally as the Beavers held on to dispatch the Chargers 73-65 in North Atlantic Conference men's basketball action tonight at Dearborn Gymnasium.

The Beavers (11-8 overall, 11-2 NAC) are scheduled to host New England College Saturday (women at 1 p.m., men to follow), while Colby-Sawyer heads to Waterville to face Thomas College Saturday at 3 p.m.

Pet Sumner (Cramerton, N.C.) netted 21 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead UMF, while Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine) turned in 16 points and nine rebounds and Joe McCloskey (Howland, Maine) added 14 points and nine boards. Dan Kane (Bradford, Maine) set up nine baskets in the win with Kevin Leary (Manchester, Maine) providing five of the Beavers' six blocked shots.

Mike Dias (Carver, Mass.) scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Chargers with Will Bardaglio (Wayne, Maine) chipping in 11 points. Bardaglio, Dias and Koang Thok (Portland, Maine) each made three steals as Colby-Sawyer pressured the hosts into 22 turnovers.

Following a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes with a Sumner buzzer-beating three allowing UMF to enter halftime with a 38-34 lead, the Beavers appeared to seize control of the contest over the first 10 minutes of the second half. UMF outscored the Chargers 27-16 out of the break with a span featuring a troika of dunks, two by Johnson and one by McCloskey, and a trio of 3-pointers with an Andrew Dickey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) trey giving UMF a 65-50 cushion with 9:14 to play.

The Chargers rolled along on a 15-2 rin over the next 7:06, holding UMF to a Johnson layup, with a Bardaglio three trimming the Beaver lead down to 67-65 with 2:08 to play. McCloskey answered with a layup with 1:34 to go to lift UMF to a 69-65 advantage.

Colby-Sawyer got off six 3-pointers over the final 1:17, but could not find the mark, while Sumner and Leary each knocked down a pair of foul shots as the Beavers survived with the 73-65 win.

Pet Sumner	Ben Johnson	Joe McCloskey	Dan Kane	Kevin Leary