FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball team needed to stave off an opponent’s rally for the second game in a row as the Beavers survived against Green Mountain College with a 65-57 victory in North Atlantic Conference action today at Dearborn Gymnasium.
The Beavers ran their record to 11-10 (9-3 in the NAC) and are scheduled to visit Lyndon State College Friday. The Eagles dropped to 13-10 (5-7) with Maine Maritime Academy at home Friday.
Eric Taylor (Oakland, ME) notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Ted Neil (Strong, ME) also scored 18 points, Eric Lelansky (Portland, ME) added 10 points and Josh Tanguay (Gorham, ME) pitched in nine points and eight boards.
Like Friday’s 89-83 win over Castleton, in which the Beavers needed to hold off a rally from a 23-point hole, Farmington led by as much as 17 points in the second half, but the Eagles trimmed the deficit to 60-57 with 49 seconds left in the game. Andrew Dean (Gorham, ME) knocked down three of four from the charity stripe and Taylor hit a pair of freebies in helping the hosts finish off the victory.
Rui Carmo (Cape Coral, FL) scored 14 of his team-high 16 points during Green Mountain’s second-half comeback. Gerard Johnson (Binghamton, NY) scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the loss with Fabian Ferreira (Queens, NY) adding 12 points.
Farmington forced 15 turnovers in the opening frame to take a 36-27 advantage into halftime. Dean and DJ Gerrish (Rumford, ME) helped lead the defense with three steals apiece.
The Beavers outscored Green Mountain 14-6 out of the break — Neil scoring seven of the points — to push their advantage to 50-33 with 14:11 left to play in the game. Over the next seven minutes, the Eagles followed with a 15-2 stretch to cut the lead to 52-48.
Green Mountain could not cut the lead down to a single possession until a Carmo layup with 1:44 remaining slimmed the lead to 58-55. After an exchange of baskets, the Beavers were able to hold off the Eagles at the foul line for the 65-57 victory.
