FARMINGTON, Maine – With 4:43 remaining in the first half, Northern Vermont-Lyndon's Max Milton connected on a jumper to give his Hornets a 40-39 lead in what had been, up until that point a relatively nip-and-tuck affair.
When the contest reached halftime, the situation on the scoreboard was much different.
The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball went on a 19-0 romp to end the first half and carried that momentum through the entire second on its way to a 129-76 victory over NVU-Lyndon on Saturday afternoon at Dearborn Gym.
The Beavers' 129 points is the most by UMaine-Farmington since a 135-91 win over UMaine-Augusta during the 1991-92 season, and the 10th-most by an NCAA Division III team this season.
Eight steals by UMaine-Farmington and 8-of-11 shooting from the field fueled the Beavers' late first-half surge, jump started by a Zach Maturo three-pointer. Zach Brown, Terion Moss, and Drew Storey each tallied four points during the UMaine-Farmington run, which allowed the Beavers to take a 58-40 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half was all UMaine-Farmington, with the Beavers steadily pulling away from the Hornets over the course of the stanza.
A total of eight UMaine-Farmington players cracked double-digits in scoring, including all five starters. Brown led the Beavers with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Moss and Kyle Donlin each finished with 14 points while Jack Kane logged 13 points.
Will Harriman came off the bench to add 12 points, while Maturo and Nathan Poulin chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Northern Vermont-Lyndon's Antonio Carlisle led the Hornets with 24 points on an 11-of-16 effort from the floor. Milton added 12 points off the bench to round out the Hornets' list of double-digit scorers.
Zach Falkenburg, who came into Saturday's game averaging 19.5 points per game for the Hornets, was held to just nine points.
The Beavers shot 57.3 percent with a season-high 51 field goals, and equalled their season-high from beyond the arc with 14 three-point field goals. NVU-Lyndon shot what would ordinarily be an impressive 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the floor – the best any team has shot against UMaine-Farmington this season in terms either of field goal percentage or field goals made.
UMaine-Farmington closes out the semester with a pair of road games before the winter break. The Beavers will travel to Waterville, Maine, on Wednesday night to face Colby College, before heading to Castine, Maine, on Saturday to battle Maine Maritime.