BANGOR, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team dropped a seesaw North Atlantic Conference (NAC) semifinal contest on the road at the hands of Husson University, 74–68 in overtime on Saturday afternoon. The loss signals the end of the 2023-24 campaign for the Beavers.

After the teams traded buckets to open the contest, the Eagles clung to an early 10-7 lead with 12:30 to play in the opening half. Husson extended their lead to 19-10 after a quick 9-3 burst led by threes from Eric Ahlers and Luke Caruso.

A three from Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) and a Patrick McKenney (Newcastle, Maine) jumper in the lane pulled the Beavers back within four. But the Eagles had another run in them, responding with a 9-1 run to take their biggest lead of the half, 28-16, with 2:28 to play in the 1st half.

Farmington got hot offensively to close the half, pulling back within one after going on a 13-2 run in the final two minutes and 28 seconds of the half. Threes from Ethan Forrester (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Brock Flagg (Brewer, Maine), and Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine) highlighted the run for the Beavers to get back into the game.

Mickle opened the 2nd half by splashing a three to give the Beavers their first lead since the early minutes of the game at 32-30. The opening 11 minutes of the 2nd half were highly competitive, but the Eagles maintained a marginal lead, leading by no more than five points.

With the Eagles clinging to a four-point lead with under nine minutes to play, Ahlers drilled back-to-back threes to extend their lead to nine and put momentum squarely in Husson's favor.

But the Beavers did not falter. They continued to chip away, as they have throughout their entire season. Threes from Flagg and Forrester pulled the Beavers back within four with under five minutes to play. Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Conn.) went on a 5-0 run of his own to pull the Beavers within one at 59-58.

After a Riles Neff missed jumper and Mickle missed a three at the other end, Flagg snagged an offensive rebound to give the Beavers another opportunity, and Mickle did not miss his second shot, drilling a three from the wing to give the Beavers a two-point lead.

The Beavers forced a Neff turnover on the ensuing Eagles possession, and Forrester hit one of two from the free-throw line on the other end to take a 62-59 lead with under two minutes to play.
Jeremy Moronta hit a jumper in the lane with 55 seconds to make it a one-point game. On the following Beaver possession, Flagg got all the way to the rim, and his contested layup rimmed out, which would have pushed the Beavers' lead back to three.

Neff forced the issue in transition, forcing his way to the rim and drawing a foul on Flagg to go to the free-throw line to shoot a pair with 22 seconds to play. Neff hit the first, but his second free throw rimmed out and was rebounded by Anthony as the Beavers had the ball with the shot clock turned off and the score tied.

After a timeout, Husson's aggressive defense didn't allow the Beavers to get the shot they were looking for, having to settle for a heavily contested three at the buzzer that just nicked the rim to send the game into overtime.

Overtime was a heavyweight battle as both teams had to fight hard for every opportunity they got. A pair of Derek Collin free throws with 1:52 to play broke a 66-66 tie and gave the Eagles a two-point lead.

After an Anthony missed three from the baseline on the ensuing Beaver possession, Neff stuck a three from the top of the key after the Beavers went underneath the ball screen to give Husson a 71-66 lead.

Anthony grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup with 21 seconds to cut the lead to three. But Jeremy Moronta hit three free throws in the closing seconds to seal the victory for Husson.

The game was won on the boards today as Husson outrebounded Farmington 49-37, including 18 offensive rebounds for the Eagles. The 18 offensive rebounds turned into 27 second chance points.

Mickle and Forrester each finished with 18 points to lead the Beavers. Flagg pitched in with 12 points. The Eagles did a good job of denying open looks for Chadbourne, who averaged over three three-point makes per game this season. Chadbourne was just 1-7 from beyond the arc today.

Ahlers scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Eagles. Moronta posted a monster 18 point, 14 rebound double-double, and Neff added 16 points and eight rebounds as the Eagles clinched a trip to Cobleskill next Saturday for the NAC Championship.