Green Mountain (5-1, 2-0 NAC) received 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals from Carithers who passed the milestone with 3:59 to play in the game.The team got a game-high 22 points from Parker several of which came on incredible alley oop dunks. The senior also was stout defensively posting seven boards and four blocks while dropping five assists. Cameron Anderson (Charlottesville, Va.) and Javier Lugris (Madrid, Spain) each scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UMaine-Farmington's (0-5, 0-2 NAC) Nick Hilton went for 22 points and nine rebounds against the Eagles. Hilton shot 7-of-12 from the floor and made 8-of-9 attempts from the free throw line. Ryan Camire notched 16 points, five rebounds, and one steal. Eric Berry added 14 points for the Beavers and Ryan Rice had a solid game with 10 points and five assists.
The Eagles never trailed in the game and after Hilton's fifth-straight point tied the game at 7-7, the hosts went on a 19-4 run that gave the team the momentum it needed to establish the lead and maintain it until the end.
Parker stole the show and demonstrated why he was so highly touted coming out of high school. He spaced the floor, ran the lanes and protected the rim with a composed demeanor. Several times he soared way up to block what seemed should have been uncontested layups and threw down some of the most impressive jams that have ever been seen at the Mountain.
Carithers reached the 1000th point milestone in his career by hitting on 7-of-14 three-pointers, four of which came in the second half.
The win was even more meaningful due to the difficult nature of the team's opening portion of the conference schedule.
"I couldn't be prouder of our effort being asked to play three games in four days," said Leonelli. "That is a challenging schedule that many teams at any level don't get the opportunity to experience. We were thrilled to be fortunate enough to weather the adversity and come through with the three wins."
The Eagles will be back in action on Thursday when the team hosts NAC foe Lyndon State College at 7:30 p.m. UMaine-Farmington returns home on Tuesday to face the University of Southern Maine at 7:00 p.m.