FARMINGTON, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team scored the first 16 points of the game and never looked back, coasting to an 87–49 victory over the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Friday evening in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action.

The Records:

The win for the Beavers is their eighth of the season, moving them to 8-3 overall while they remain unblemished at 5-0 in NAC play. UMPI dropped to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play following the loss.

How It Happened:

Junior forward Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine), who is on an unbelievable run that has seen him named the NAC Defensive Player of the Week in each of the last three weeks, as well as the Maine Men's Basketball Coaches & Writers Association (MMBCWA) Player of the Week for the past two weeks, continued his dominant stretch in the first half against the Owls. Reynolds scored 17 points and hauled in nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of action, including nine of Farmington's first 16 points, all of which were unanswered as Farmington cracked the game wide open early.

The Owls were kept scoreless for the first 4:14 of play, and it wasn't until Tyson Enget hit a pull-up jumper in the lane that UMPI got on the scoreboard for the first time. The Owls pulled within 12 on a few separate occasions, but that was as close as they would get, with Farmington cruising on both ends of the floor.

After an Akhe McMichael layup at the 11:34 mark made it a 24-11 game, Farmington responded with a 20-5 spurt over the next seven minutes of action that all but put the game away with just under 25 minutes to play. Reynolds hit a pair of threes, while Zach McLaughlin (Hampden, Maine) and Brayden St. Pierre (Readfield, Maine) each connected from beyond the arc during the run for the Beavers.

In the closing minutes of the first half, junior forward Charlie Houghton (Dixfield, Maine) recorded a steal and a breakaway dunk to put the Beavers up 30 and firmly swing all the momentum in Farmington's favor heading into the second half.

The Owls came out determined in the opening minutes of the second half, cutting the 50-23 lead down to 20 as they attempted to make a game of it. But the Beavers had an answer, as McLaughlin began to heat up from the field, hitting a pair of threes and scoring ten points in the second half to keep the Owls at bay.

Farmington also received a strong boost off the bench from first-year Tristan Robbins (Caribou, Maine), who scored nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the floor and hauled in six rebounds in the second half as Reynolds dealt with foul trouble.

Stats of the Game:

Farmington:
Field Goal Pct: 50.8% (32-for-63)
Three-Point Pct: 41.3% (12-for-29)
Free Throw Pct: 78.6% (11-for-14)
Rebounds (Total, Off-Def): 49 (11-38)
Turnovers: 14

Presque Isle:
Field Goal Pct: 33.3% (20-for-60)
Three-Point Pct: 18.5% (5-for-27)
Free Throw Pct: 40.0% (5-for-10)
Rebounds (Total, Off-Def): 27 (6-21)
Turnovers: 14

Leaders – Farmington:

• McLaughlin finished with a game-high 20 points, hitting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to go along with two rebounds and two assists.
• Reynolds tallied his seventh straight double-double, finishing with 17 points and ten rebounds in just 15 minutes of action while shooting 7-for-10 from the floor.
• Robbins added nine points and ten rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor in 18 minutes off the bench.

Leaders – Presque Isle:

• Enget shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, finishing with 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
• Akhe McMichael totaled nine points, five rebounds, and four assists while shooting 4-of-7 from the floor.
• Dwaine Williams pitched in with ten points.

Up Next:

Farmington will look to avenge its NAC semifinal defeat to Husson University in a rematch with the Eagles, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Dearborn Gymnasium.