WATERVILLE, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team was selected to finish first in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) East Division in the NAC Coaches Preseason poll after they received four first place votes in the poll that the conference released this afternoon.
The Beavers return a healthy group of players led by D3hoops.com preseason third team All-American Terion Moss (Portland, Maine) and MMBCWA Defensive Player of the Year Jack Kane (Cumberland, Maine). The Beavers also return a senior group of Nathan Poulin (Williamstown, Vermont), Kyle Donlin (Warren, Maine), Drew Storey (Cumberland, Maine), Mark Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) and Silas Mohlar (Readfield, Maine) who each played a significant role on last year's team and will provide a lot of shooting, length, and energy for the Beavers this season.
The Beavers will also be returning sophomores Dylan Griffin (Saco, Maine) and Will Harriman (Biddeford, Maine) who will each play important roles for the Beavers. Griffin started in 18 games a year ago, averaging 5.8 points per game to go along with 7 boards per game.
The Beavers added talented Southern Maine Community College transfer Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) to the mix this year. Mickle averaged almost 14 points per game a year ago for the Seawolves.
Head Coach Sam Leal also brought in a talented and deep freshmen class that includes Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Conn.), Mohamed Daud (Minneapolis, Minn.), Charlie Rask (Hillsboro, Oregon), Cole Banks (Chelsea, Vermont), Mohamed Artan (Portland, Maine), and David Gadsby (Blue Hill, Maine).
The Beavers will be looking to capture their first NAC title since 2010 after falling in the NAC semifinal at the hands of Husson University at the buzzer.
The Eagles were chosen to finish second and received one first place vote while UMaine-Presque Isle received one first place vote and was chosen to finish third.
In the West, SUNY Delhi was selected to finish first after receiving four first place votes. SUNY Poly received the remaining two first place votes.
Poll Results
West
1. Delhi – 34 (4)
2. Poly – 32 (2)
3. NVU-Johnson – 22
4. Canton – 18
T-5. Cobleskill -10
T-5. Cazenovia – 10
East
1. UMaine-Farmington – 34 (4)
2. Husson – 30 (1)
3. UMPI – 25 (1)
T-4. Maine Maritime – 15
T-4. NVU-Lyndon – 15
6. Thomas – 7
