CASTINE, Maine -- The University of Maine at Farmington used a 14-0 scoring run to open the second half en route to a 63-45 win over Maine Maritime Academy in a North Atlantic Conference men's basketball game Tuesday. The Beavers improved to 1-0 NAC, 3-2 overall, while the Mariners fell to 0-1, 0-5.

Senior center Ben Johnson led all scorers with 23 points for UMaine-Farmington and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Senior forward Nate Carson pumped in 10 points and pulled down six boards for the Beavers.

Tyler Gilson paced Maine Maritime with 13 points and Tyler Chiasson added 11. Gilson also recorded a team-best six rebounds.

Trailing 32-31 at halftime, the Mariners took their final lead of the game when Zach Radcliffe drained a three seconds into the second half. The Beavers responded with a 14-0 run, spanning eight minutes, to lead 46-34 with 13:33 left in the game. Johnson and Carson each scored six points in the run for UMF and Nick Hilton added two.

UMaine-Farmington went ahead by as many as 20, 62-42, on a Ryan Ripley layup with 1:24 left in the game.

The first half was much closer with two deadlocks and four lead changes.

The Beavers led by as many as seven twice in the first half, including a 23-16 advantage after Johnson's free throw to complete a traditional three-point play with 8:47 left in the half. The Mariners responded with an 8-0 run to take their first lead, 24-23, with 5:31 left in the opening half. Gilson scored five points in the run and Chiasson three.

Johnson tied the game hitting the front end of two free throws and Pet Summer connected on a pair free throws to give UMF a 30-26 lead with 3:39 left in the half. Garrett Libby made it a one-point game, 30-29, with a three at 2:24 before Andrew Dickey's jumper gave UMF a 32-29 advantage with 1:48 left in the first. Gilson's layup with 51 seconds left in the half made it 32-21 at the break.

UMaine-Farmington returns to action at home on Friday, Dec. 6, when it hosts Johnson State College in the first game of a NAC doubleheader. Maine Maritime hosts UMaine-Augusta on Thursday, Dec. 5, in Castine.

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