GORHAM, Maine -  The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team came out on a mission on Wednesday evening, taking down the University of Southern Maine in an highly competitive non-conference contest in Gorham. The Beavers took the lead at the 14:37 mark of the 1st half and never looked back, picking up the 77-63 victory.

The Beavers offensively were able to get into the paint, seemingly at will, breaking down the USM defense and creating several good looks in the process. Farmington shot a season high 56.1% (32-57) from the field. 

First-year forward Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine) gave the Beavers a huge spark all night, in the first start of his collegiate career. Reynolds scored seven straight points in the first half and his three at 14:37 of the 1st half gave the Beavers the lead for good en route to their 5th victory of the season. 

After the Huskies had cut a Beaver six-point lead back down to one with 12 minutes to play in the opening half, the Beavers responded with a 14-5 run across the subsequent eight minutes to open up a ten-point lead. Sophomores Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Conn.) and Patrick McKenney (Newcastle, Maine) provided the spark on the run for the Beavers, each tallying a pair of buckets while Anthony's fastbreak dunk highlighted the run for Farmington.

The Huskies closed out the opening half strong, Chance Dixon hit a pair of tough jumpers to cut the lead back to five. But a Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) layup right before the buzzer helped the Beavers take a 33-26 lead into halftime. 

The Beavers shot the lights out in the 2nd half, converting on 65.4% of their field goal attempts, extending their lead to as much as 16 points in the half. Anthony and Mickle were key cogs in the 2nd half for the Beavers. Both seemingly got to wherever they wanted on the court, making play after play for Farmington. Anthony used his lanky 6'6" frame to shoot over the top of USM defenders, scoring 13 points in the half on 6-9 shooting. Mickle facilitated the offense, getting into the lane to create offense for himself and his teammates. Mickles scored 10 points and added three assists in just the 2nd half. Mickle also shot a perfect 3-3 from the floor in the half. 

The opening 8:15 of the 2nd half was back in fourth. The Beavers were able to open up a ten-point lead but the Huskies quickly had an answer as back-to-back three-pointers from Dixon cut the Beaver lead to just four at 48-44. 

The Beavers were able to respond with a quick 7-0 scoring spurt, recording three layups to open up an 11-point advantage and kept their foot on the throttle, closing out the Huskies and picking up their sixth win in their last seven meetings against USM.

Anthony finished with a team-high 19 points on 9-15 shooting from the field and added seven rebounds, four of which were offensive. Mickle totaled 17 points on 6-12 shooting from the field. Reynolds picked up his 2nd consecutive double-double, recording 13 points and ten boards. Will Harriman (Biddeford, Maine) and McKenney each chipped in with eight points. 

Dixon scored a game-high 23 points on 8-16 shooting from the field and knocked down three triples. Brady Saunders and Tommy Whelan each pitched in with 11 points for the Huskies who shot 44.8% (26-58) from the field.

The Beavers defense was able to disrupt the Huskies dribble-drive offense while also holding USM to just five three-point makes, their lowest total of the season. 
The Beavers improve to 5-2 on the season while Huskies now drop to 4-2.

UP NEXT

The Beavers open up North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play on the road against Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.