FARMINGTON, Maine – Maine-Farmington's Andrew Dickey netted 21 points to lead the Beavers to a 63-50 win over Maine Maritime in a North Atlantic Conference men's basketball game Saturday.
The win sends the No. 6 seeded Beavers into this week's NAC Tournament Quarterfinals with an 11-14 overall record, 9-9 in the NAC. UMaine-Farmington will play No. 3 seed Colby-Sawyer College on Tuesday in New London, N.H.
Maine Maritime closed out its season with a 2-23 overall record, 1-17 in the NAC, and took a loss in Head Coach Chris Murphy's final appearance on the Mariner bench. Murphy announced his retirement on January 22, ending his 22-season tenure as head coach at Maine Maritime Academy.
Dickey was 6-of-13 from the field with three 3-pointers, and was 6-of-7 at the free throw line on his way to his game-high 21 points. That leaves the senior forward just 10 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points as the Beavers head into the post-season.
Senior Ben Johnson charted 14 points and 16 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Junior Pet Sumner added eight points off the bench, and senior Sam Leal tallied six points to go with his six assists and two steals.
Maine Maritime had three players finish in double figures, led by Jason Hatch with 17 points. Tyler Chaisson and Kyle Boucher each logged double-doubles, with Chaisson finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Boucher put together a line of 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks.
The teams waged a see-saw battle throughout much of the first half, with the Beavers hanging onto a slim 26-24 lead as late as the 2:58 mark of the frame.
A Johnson layup breathed a little life into the Farmington offense, and the Beavers outscored the Mariners 11-4 over the remainder of the half and went into the locker room at the break with a 37-28 lead. Dickey connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the half, accounting for much of UMF's halftime margin.
The Beavers extended their lead early in the second half with a pair of quick scores by Johnson and Dickey to make the score 42-28.
Maine Maritime slowly chiseled away at Farmington's advantage, and by the 11-minute mark had pulled to with five, 47-42, on a Brad Reed 3-pointer.
Five points was as close as the Mariners could get, however, and UMaine-Farmington began to slowly extend its lead over the final five minutes. A pair Dickey foul shots with under a minute remaining pushed the Beaver lead to double-digits, 60-50, and reserve Justin Meader added a late 3-pointer for the final margin of victory.