FARMINGTON, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team (3-18, 2-11) stepped up in the final seconds to hold off a late scoring attack by Maine Maritime Academy (4-17, 3-11) to secure a 58-57 North Atlantic Conference win on Tuesday night and earned head coach Dick Meader his 450th career win as a head coach.
Logan Nichols (Minot, Maine/Poland) matched a game-high 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting with all of his field goals coming from beyond the arc and made 3-of-4 attempts at the line. Sean Murphy (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) added 11 points for the Beavers off the bench and also knocked down a trio of three-pointers. Ryan Rice (Belfast, Maine/Belfast) and Nick Hilton (Wilton, Maine/Mt. Blue) scored nine points apiece with Hilton grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds.
Dylan Price led the Mariners with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and charted four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Brendan Newcomb and Dylan Stevens contributed nine points each for MMA.
The Beavers got off to a rocky start in the first half but quickly erased a 13-point gap behind the three-point shooting of Anfernee Dent (Jackson, Miss./Daegu) and Murphy. MMA made a small run to close out the half and held a 36-27 lead at the break.
UMF clawed its way back into the game in the second half and used points in the paint to secure a five-point lead with 33 ticks left on the clock. MMA's Zachary Radcliffe came up big for the Mariners with a four-point play after sinking a deep three-pointer and then the ensuing foul shot.
On the next trip down the floor, the Mariners caused a turnover by the Beavers and then launched a potential game-winning jump shot in front of their own bench, but the shot was long and bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
With tonight's win, Dick Meader earned his 450th career win as a head coach in 40 seasons on the sidelines. Meader accrued 169 wins in 17 seasons at Thomas College before taking over the helm of UMF basketball at the start of the 1993-1994 season, where he ranks second all-time in program history with 281 wins.
UMaine-Farmington travels to Colby-Sawyer on Friday night.