CASTINE, Maine – Lyndon State scored the final seven points of the game to deal Maine Maritime a 76-73 setback in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play on Friday evening. The Hornets (6-18, 6-11 NAC) hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 96 seconds to overcome a five-point deficit. The loss was the Mariners (2-21, 1-16 NAC) 16th in as many games.
A Bradley Reed (Belfast, Maine) layup-and-one gave Maine Maritime a 73-68 lead with two minutes showing on the clock. They were the Mariners' final points of the contest. An intentional foul call on Andy Ball (Hermon, Maine) sent the Hornets' Justin Winston (Washington, D.C.) to the line with 1:36 left in the game. Winston missed on the front end, but cashed in on the back end to make it a four-point contest. Keeping possession following the foul, the Hornets' Steve Gantt (Washington, D.C.) drew a foul and hit on both shots to make it 73-71 with 1:26 left in the game.
The Mariners turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, leading to a Gantt miss from three, but Winston was there to collect. His putback tied the game at 73-73. The Mariners missed on two shots on the next possession. The Hornets' Ben Sackett (Lyndonville, Vt.) collected the second miss and drew a foul. Sacket hit the first and missed the second, but Winston once again secured a key rebound.
The Hornets turned it over after ten seconds, giving Ball a shot to give his team the lead, however, he was just off the mark with six ticks in the game. Jason Gray (E. Thretford, Vt.) collected the rebound for Lyndon and was sent to the line where he hit on both to make it the 76-73 final. David Lord's (Kenduskeag, Maine) turnaround heave from beyond the midcourt stripe missed just left, sealing the Mariners' fate.
Despite early foul trouble, Gantt led his team with 19 points to go with five rebounds. Gray had a team-high nine rebounds. His only points of the night came at the line with 1.6 seconds on the clock. Winston had 14 points and seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Sackett finished with 12 points and five rebounds, as did Devyn Baranauskas (Waterbury, Conn.). Baranauskas recorded six assists and four steals.
Maine Maritime's freshman Brandon Theriault (E. Millinocket, Maine) led all scorers with a season-high 26 points. It topped his previous high of 15. He hit 10-of-13 shots from the field, including a 3-of-3 effort from beyond the arc, and went 3-of-4 at the line. Theriault also collected eight rebounds in working the full 40 minutes. Ball recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. He had four steals and two assists. Tyler Pineo (Corinth, Maine) scored 13 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and a pair of dimes. Reed finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Mariners return to action close out the season tomorrow, hosting Johnson State. Lyndon State wraps its regular season at Husson on Saturday.
LYNDON ST. 76, MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY 73
LYNDON ST. (6-18, 6-11)
Steve Gantt 5-9 6-8 19; Justin Winston 4-5 6-12 14; Devyn Baranauskas 4-6 2-4 12; Ben Sackett 3-15 3-5 12; Asa Smith 4-8 1-1 9; John Williams 2-3 0-0 4; Daquan Vaughn 1-3 0-0 3; Jason Gray 0-8 2-2 2; Chris Paine 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 23-57 21-34 76.
MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY (2-21, 1-16)
Brandon Theriault 10-13 3-4 26; Andy Ball 6-19 0-1 14; Tyler Pineo 4-17 2-2 13; Bradley Reed 4-8 1-2 10; Jason Hatch 3-4 0-0 7; Scott Alexander 1-4 0-0 2; David Lord 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 28-68 7-11 73.
Lyndon St..................... 39 37 - 76
Maine Maritime Academy........ 26 47 - 73
3-point goals--Lyndon St. 9-28 (Ben Sackett 3-13; Steve Gantt 3-7; Devyn Baranauskas 2-3; Daquan Vaughn 1-2; Jason Gray 0-2; Asa Smith 0-1), Maine Maritime Academy 10-22 (Tyler Pineo 3-12; Brandon Theriault 3-3; Andy Ball 2-4; Bradley Reed 1-2; Jason Hatch 1-1).
Fouled out--Lyndon St.-None, Maine Maritime Academy-Scott Alexander.
Rebounds--Lyndon St. 41 (Jason Gray 9), Maine Maritime Academy 41 (Andy Ball 10).
Assists--Lyndon St. 12 (Devyn Baranauskas 6), Maine Maritime Academy 13 (Scott Alexander 4).
Total fouls--Lyndon St. 13, Maine Maritime Academy 18.
Technical fouls--Lyndon St.-None, Maine Maritime Academy-None.
A-107