BANGOR, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington's drive for a second North Atlantic Conference men's basketball championship lasted five minutes longer than planned, but came up seven points short of the goal as the Beavers fell to Husson University, 96-89, in the conference title game Saturday afternoon at Newman Gymnasium.

Husson (26-2) captured its fourth NAC title in the last six seasons with the victory, and advances to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.

UMaine-Farmington (13-15) was making its first appearance in the NAC championship game since 2010 and just the third in program history.

Junior Pet Sumner sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer – his only trey of the game – with five seconds remaining in regulation, knotting the game at 79-79. Husson's attempt at a game-winning layup was ruled to have left the hand after the horn, forcing the extra session.

In the overtime session, UMaine-Farmington scored first on a layup by senior center Ben Johnson. Some clutch offensive rebounding by Husson on its next four possessions turned into a 9-0 run, including 3-pointers by NAC Player of the Year Trevon Butler and Aaron Willis, to give the Eagles an 88-81 lead with 1:27 showing on the clock.

The Beavers would pull to within five points three times over the next minute of play, and cut the margin to one possession at 92-89 with 22 seconds remaining following a jumper by Johnson.

Husson's Corey Wood hit a pair of foul shots with 18 seconds on the clock to extend the Eagles' lead to five points. A pair of late Farmington layup attempts wouldn't fall for the Beavers, and a late foul call on UMF sent Mike Gonzales to the line for two shots, both successful, to seal the win.

Sumner's trey late in the second half capped a remarkable comeback for the Beavers, who trailed by eight, 70-62, with 3:40 left in regulation. A pair of Nick Hilton foul shots and 3-pointers by Garrett Clemmer and Nate Carson helped pull Farmington to within one possession of Husson heading into the final minute, where the Beavers stayed within striking distance to set the stage for Sumner.

Johnson led UMaine-Farmington with 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, and completed the double-double with 20 rebounds. Clemmer finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while senior Sam Leal tallied 12 assists to go with two points and two rebounds. Senior Andrew Dickey and Sumner charted 12 and 10 points respectively.

Johnson and Leal were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Castleton State's Chad Copeland, Lyndon State's David Johnson, and Husson's Butler and Wood. Butler was selected as the Tournament MVP.

Butler logged 28 points for the Eagles on 11-of-18 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Phil Leighton finished with 18 points, and Donte Cottonham ended with 11 points including nine on 3-point field goals. Willis had 14 points for Husson off the bench.

UMaine-Farmington shot 50.0 percent from the field, slightly better than Husson's 47.0 percent shooting clip, and the Beavers shot 74.1 percent over their 27 trips to the free-throw line. But the Eagles connected on 16 3-pointers, one shy of their season high, including two in the overtime period.

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