FARMINGTON, Maine – University of Maine at Farmington junior Nate Carson (Orrington, Maine/Brewer) drained all seven of his first half 3-point attempts on his way to a career high 23 points, fueling the Beavers to a 78-53 North Atlantic Conference win over Lyndon State College on Friday night at Dearborn Gym.
Carson finished the night 8-of-8 from the field, hitting just one bucket in the second half, and had two rebounds, an assist, and two steals. He led a quartet of UMaine-Farmington (17-5, 12-3 NAC) players in double-figures.
Junior center Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) logged his 14th double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and connected on nine of his 18 attempts from the field while handing out three assists. Yusuf Iman (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) charted 11 points and a team-high five assists, while Andrew Dickey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) finished the night with 10 points.
Lyndon State's (9-12, 8-6 NAC) Devyn Baranauskas (Waterbury, Conn.) paced the Hornets offensively with 13 point, while Jose Fortunato (Boston, Mass.) logged 10 points with five assists. George Carle (Central Falls, R.I.) hauled down a team-best 11 rebounds for the Hornets, while Jason Gray (East Thetford, Vt.) grabbed 10 boards to go with eight points.
Lyndon State's very early 6-2 lead was as good as the night would get for the Hornets, who were quickly buried under UMaine-Farmington's 21-0 run. Carson drained five of his 3-pointers during the surge, with Johnson adding three buckets of his own, to help the Beavers take a 23-6 by the 11:47 mark of the first half.
UMF's advantage reached its widest at 31-9 following an Iman layup at the 8:32 mark, but the Beavers would be held scoreless for the next three minutes while the Hornets whittled the margin down to ten points. Another nine-point run for UMaine-Farmington down the stretch sent the Beavers into the locker room with a 46-27 lead.
Lyndon State pulled to within 11 points, 52-41, with 13:40 to play in the game after a David Lorden layup, but the Hornets could not get to within double-digits of the Beavers.
UMaine-Farmington shot .569 (33-of-58) from the floor, while holding Lyndon State to a .293 field goal percentage. The Beavers also turned the Hornets' 17 turnovers into 21 UMF points.
The win gives UMaine-Farmington its highest win total since the posting a 21-5 record in 1999-2000. The Beavers will attempt to notch win no. 18 on Saturday evening when they host Johnson State College at 3:00 p.m. in Dearborn Gym. Lyndon State continues the two-game Maine swing on Saturday at Thomas College in Waterville.
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