PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – After leading by as much as 13 in the second half, the University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team was unable to hold the lead, dropping a highly anticipated North Atlantic Conference (NAC) battle on the road, 93-89, to the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

The Records:

Farmington dropped to .500 on the season, moving to 10-10 overall with a 7-3 record in NAC play. The Owls improved to 16-4 overall and 9-2 in conference play.

How it Happened:

The two teams came out hot. Farmington knocked down four of their first five shot attempts, including back-to-back threes from seniors Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine) and Dylan Griffin (Saco, Maine). But five quick points, including a three from Ahke McMichael, helped the Owls' offense get going early as Farmington clung to a 10-9 lead in the opening minutes.

The teams battled for every point, trading buckets for much of the first half. Brice Lawrence drilled a three-pointer with just under 10 minutes left in the half, making it a 22-21 game with the Beavers holding a slight advantage. After Lawrence's three, a quick 6-0 run, sparked by Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine) and Zach McLaughlin (Hampden, Maine), gave Farmington a seven-point lead.

As he did for much of the night, McMichael hit a three to stop Farmington's momentum. Two minutes later, Charlie Mellick hit a floater in the lane to pull UMPI back within two, 30-28.

Two possessions later, Chadbourne nailed a deep three to spark a 7-0 run, pushing the Beavers' lead to 37-28 with four and a half minutes left in the half. Farmington maintained a nine-point advantage, taking a 46-37 lead into the break.

McMichael scored the first points of the second half, drilling a transition three to cut the deficit to six. However, the Farmington defense held the Owls to just three points over the next six minutes, allowing the Beavers to extend their lead to 54-41 with 13:34 left in the game.

After being held scoreless for six minutes, the Owls broke out of their cold shooting slump in a big way, scoring 10 points in the next two minutes and going on a 10-1 run to pull within four. The run was capped off by a three-pointer from the top of the key by James Yamashita.

McLaughlin responded with four straight points for the Beavers, pushing Farmington's lead back to eight, 59-51, with 9:08 remaining.

The two teams continued to trade baskets. The Owls cut it to a one-possession game on several occasions, but each time, Farmington would hit a big shot to push their lead back to two possessions.

With 1:48 remaining, Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Maine) converted a three-point play to make it 78-72. On the ensuing UMPI possession, McMichael hit a mid-range jumper to cut it to four. After a Farmington turnover, McMichael hit another mid-range jumper to make it a two-point game with 1:14 left.

Sophomore Brayden St. Pierre (Readfield, Maine) was fouled on the next Farmington possession and split his two free throws to keep it a one-possession game. McMichael stayed hot, drilling a deep three from the wing to tie the game at 79.

A good defensive possession for UMPI forced a Chadbourne miss and gave the Owls the ball back with a chance to win. After a timeout, Myles Jones drove baseline against Anthony and went for a reverse layup to win the game. Anthony stood his ground and swatted the shot, preserving the tie and sending the game into overtime.

The Owls scored the first four points of the overtime period, and Chadbourne drilled a long three from the left wing to make it an 83-82 game with just under four minutes left. The Owls responded with an 8-2 run, making it a seven-point game and all but ending the contest. Anthony hit a contested three from the top of the key with 34 seconds left to cut it to four, and Gilbert Jean Mendez missed a pair of free throws on the next UMPI possession. However, the Beavers couldn't draw any closer, shooting just 2-of-6 from the line in overtime.

Stats of the Game:

Farmington shot 46.6% (34-for-73) from the field but just 32.0% (8-for-25) from beyond the arc and 59.1% (13-for-22) from the free-throw line in the loss. The Owls shot 41.0% (32-for-78) from the floor and 39.4% (13-for-33) from three. UMPI also shot 66.7% (16-for-24) from the free-throw line. The Owls held a 45-37 advantage on the glass.

Leaders - Farmington:

• Chadbourne led the way for the Beavers with a team-high 22 points, knocking down 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.
• Griffin finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals while shooting an efficient 7-for-13 from the floor.
• McLaughlin added 12 points and four rebounds, while Anthony chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds, and two blocks.

Leaders - Presque Isle:

• McMichael finished with a game-high 36 points, shooting 13-for-25 from the floor and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. He also added six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Dwaine Williams finished with 15 points and four rebounds, knocking down 3-for-8 from deep.
• Jones finished with 10 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.

UP NEXT:

The Beavers are back in action at 3:00 PM tomorrow in a non-conference battle on the road against the University of Maine at Fort Kent.