LEWISTON, Maine – UMaine-Farmington junior Nate Carson (Orrington, Maine/Brewer) hit 3-pointers when his team needed them most, helping guide the Beavers to a 72-66 win over Bates College in men's basketball action Monday night at Alumni Gym.
Junior center Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) did the heavy lifting for the Beavers, logging his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead a quartet of UMF players in double-figures.
But it was Carson, who finished the night with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field with five 3-pointers, who hit the clutch shots to get UMaine-Farmington (5-1) out of trouble time-and-time again.
Three times in the span of four minutes in the second half, Carson canned a 3-pointer to give the Beavers the lead – twice erasing a one-point Bobcat lead, and the third time breaking a 53-53 tie with 7:19 to play, giving UMF a lead it would not relinquish.
Carson again came to the rescue in the waning minutes, when Bates (2-4) whittled the UMaine-Farmington lead down to one point, 67-66, with 1:30 remaining following a layup by the Bobcats' Graham Safford. Carson hit his fourth trey of the half, fifth of the game, with 59 seconds on the clock to extend the Beavers' lead to four points.
After a Bates timeout and failed 3-point attempt, Garrett Clemmer (Windham, Maine/Windham) made a layup with 32 seconds showing on the clock to stretch the UMF lead to six points, 72-66.
The Bobcats went 0-of-4 from the field over the final 30 seconds, allowing the Beavers to complete the win.
Playing its third game in four days, UMaine-Farmington turned in its best shooting performance to date this season. The Beavers also went 10-of-16 (.625) from 3-point range, and outrebounded the Bobcats, 33-30.
Clemmer finished with 15 points, while Andrew Dickey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) charted 12 points and eight boards. Junior guard Yusuf Iman (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) logged six points and dished out 11 assists – the most since Travis Magnusson handed out 11 assists against Thomas on February 21, 2006.
Bates recorded three players in double figures, led by Safford and Sean Cunningham with 13 points each and Mark Brust with 12. Ed Bogdanovich grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his eight points.
UMaine-Farmington returns to the court on Friday, Dec. 7, when it hosts New England College in a North Atlantic Conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Dearborn Gym.
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