STANDISH, Maine - University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball (1-2) picked up its first win of the season by beating Saint Joseph's (1-2) 72-64 on Monday at Harold Alfond Center.

UMF which held a slim 31-23 lead at halftime, led by as many as 22 points in the second half.  Saint Joseph's got as close as six points, but the Beavers hit enough free throws at the end to pull out the victory.  The Beavers have held second-half leads in all three games this season, in the past two, UMF was unable to hang on.  

UMF was lead by a trio of freshman, Issac Witham (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) scored 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting, Billy Ruby (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) scored 15 and hauled down nine boards, and Riley Robinson (Dixfield, Maine/Dirigo) added 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Saint Joseph's was led by Darian Berry's 10 points, 9 assists, and four rebounds.  Marc Corey added 11 points and Andrew Ruffen scored 10 points off the bench.

The Beavers shot 54% from the field compared to 37% for the Monks.  Saint Joseph's made more three-point field goals 10 to 5, but UMF held an advantage at the charity stripe 17 to 10.

With the win, UMF avenges a 60-56 loss at home last year and snaps a two-game losing streak to the Monks.

UMaine-Farmington will host Husson on November 29th (5:30pm) in their conference opener.  Saint Joseph's will travel to USM on Sunday (7:30pm) to play the Huskies.