Written By; Jameson Bloch '26

FARMINGTON, Maine — The University of Maine at Farmington men's basketball team will face 10th-ranked Montclair State University on Friday at 5:15 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.

Conference Tournament Recap

UMF

The Beavers opened the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament in the semifinal round against the fifth-seeded SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers. UMF jumped out to an early lead and maintained control throughout the game.

Sophomore guard Zach McLaughlin (Hampden, Maine) delivered a historic performance, scoring a career-high 40 points. Junior forward Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine) dominated the glass, finishing with 19 rebounds, while sophomore guard Gabe Michaud (Gorham, Maine) led the team in assists with eight. With four minutes remaining, UMF held its largest lead of the game at 42 points before securing a 94-63 victory.

In the conference championship, UMaine Presque Isle traveled to Farmington. The Beavers took a seven-point lead into halftime, but the second half belonged entirely to UMF.

McLaughlin again led the team in scoring with 19 points, while Reynolds and Michaud both recorded double-doubles. Reynolds finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds, while Michaud added 12 points and 10 assists.

Junior guard Braydon St. Pierre (Readfield, Maine) showcased his defensive prowess with five steals and three blocks while guarding UMPI's leading scorer, McMichael. St. Pierre also contributed offensively with 15 points and four rebounds.
UMF went on to claim the NAC Championship with an 84–58 victory, with McLaughlin earning Tournament MVP honors.

Montclair State

The Red Hawks entered the NJAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing with a 17–1 conference record.

In the semifinal, they faced fifth-seeded Rowan University. The game was tied 42-42 at halftime, and Rowan controlled much of the early second half, holding the lead for the first 11 minutes and building a lead of as many as 12 points. However, once Montclair State regained the lead, they never relinquished it.

Sophomore guard Kabrien Goss (Trenton, N.J.) led the Red Hawks with 25 points, while sophomore forward Myles Primas (Mount Laurel, N.J.) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Montclair State secured an 89–75 victory.

Montclair State then faced The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the NJAC championship game. Goss again led the team in scoring with 18 points, and the Red Hawks had six players finish in double figures. Despite the balanced effort, Montclair State fell to TCNJ by a score of 83-81.

Even with the loss, Montclair State earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament thanks to its outstanding season.

Matchup

Montclair State entered the tournament with a 25-2 overall record and captured the NJAC regular season title with a 17-1 conference mark. According to D3hoops.com rankings, the Red Hawks have been ranked in the top 15 since the start of the season, including two weeks at the No. 1 spot.

Montclair State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament largely due to its strong NCAA Power Index (NPI) ranking, finishing 15th among all Division III programs.

Both of the Red Hawks' losses this season came at the hands of TCNJ, once during the regular season and then again in the conference championship.

Key Players

UMF

• Zach McLaughlin leads the Beavers in scoring and ranks fifth in Division III with 25.8 points per game. He was recently named the NAC Player of the Year.
• Jason Reynolds leads the team in rebounding and ranks first in Division III with 15.5 rebounds per game. He is also second on the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game and was recently named NAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
• Gabe Michaud leads the team in assists and ranks 10th in Division III with 6.1 assists per game. He was named to the NAC Third Team All-Conference.

Montclair State

• Jacob Morales (Montvale, N.J.) leads the team with 19 points and six rebounds per game and was recently named NJAC Player of the Year.
• Kabrien Goss leads the team in assists with 5.8 per game and is second in scoring with 14.7 points per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Conference.
• Cristian Nicholson (Mine Hill, N.J.) leads the team in steals with 1.8 per game, ranks third in scoring with 11.4 points per game, and is second in assists with 4.7 per game.

The Other Matchup

Montclair State is the host for a four-team pod that includes the first round matchup between Bates College and Yeshiva University. That game will be played at 1:00 PM this afternoon. The winner of both first round matchups will square-off on Saturday with a gametime to be determined once the matchup between the two teams is known.