FARMINGTON, Maine - Colby College took a 46-39 lead into halftime but came out of the intermission on fire, using a 19-10 run in the opening six minutes to open up a 16-point lead to separate themselves from the University of Maine at Farmington in a non-conference battle in Dearborn Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. The Beavers cut the Mules lead to nine on a pair of occasions but were unable to draw any closer, dropping the contest, 98-76.
The first half was a game of runs. The Mules had the first, jumping out to a quick 12-3 lead just 2:38 into the game, hitting five of their first eight shot attempts, including threes from Lucas Green and Max Poulton. Senior guard Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine) was scorching hot early in the 1st half, hitting his first four three-point attempts to keep the Beavers within striking distance.
A Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) layup with 13:54 to play in the half closed out a 10-2 run from the Beavers to pull back within a point at 14-13. But Colby responded with a quick 13-3 spurt to extend their lead to 11.
Once again the Beavers had an answer. First-year guard Brock Flagg (Brewer, Maine) helped spark a 17-5 run for Farmington to help the Beavers grab their first lead of the game. Flagg scored seven of his 11 points during the run. Mickle added a pair of important threes on the run for Farmington.
A putback layup from Savion Stroud with 3:55 to play in the 1st half gave the Mules the lead for good and ignited a 10-2 run to end the half.
After shooting 46.3% (19-41) from the field in the opening half, the Mules' offense got rolling in the 2nd half, knocking down 61.1% (22-36) from the field and 6-12 from beyond the arc to close out the Beavers en route to picking up their 5th victory of the early season.
The Beavers aimed to keep pace in the 2nd half, whittling the Mules 16-point deficit back down to ten with 8:11 to play. But the Mules didn't falter, continuing to hit shot after shot, closing the game on a 22-10 scoring run.
Jack Lawson had a big game for the Mules, controlling the paint on both ends of the floor. Lawson posted a game-high 27 points on 13-20 shooting. He also grabbed ten boards and dished out four assists. Max Poulton chipped in with 19 points on 8-17 shooting. Marcos Montiel added 14 points off the bench while Liam O'Connell finished with 13 points and Lucas Green pitched in with 12.
The Beavers had four in double-figures, led by Mickle and Chadbourne with 15 apiece. Chadbourne knocked down 5-9 from downtown and tallied three steals. Flagg added 11 points and five boards off the bench on an efficient 5-7 shooting while Will Harriman (Biddeford, Maine) finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Both teams are now five in 5-4 following Tuesday's game.
UP NEXT
The Beavers return to action on Friday evening when they host Lesley University at 5:30 in a North Atlantic Conference contest at Dearborn Gymnasium.
