FARMINGTON – University of Maine at Farmington senior Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) entered Saturday afternoon’s senior day contest needing 37 points to reach 1,000 points for his collegiate career. Mickle had it going on offensively, in what was his final regular season game in Dearborn Gymnasium. Mickle drained a stepback three with 34 seconds left to play to score his 37th point of the game and eclipse the 1,000 point mark for his career. The Beavers blew out the visiting Moose of the University of Maine at Augusta, 106-80.
After the opening ten minutes of the ballgame were back and forth and highly competitive, the Beavers closed out the half on a 29-6 run to open up a 28-point lead heading into the 2nd half. Mickle scored 17 of his 37 points in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 6-11 from the field, knocking down a pair of threes. Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine), Ethan Forrester (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Brock Flagg (Brewer, Maine) each had eight points in the opening half for Farmington.
While the Beavers had the offense rolling in the 1st half, shooting 52.9% (18-34) from the field, Farmington also had their defense clicking on all cylinders as well. The Beavers held the Moose to just 31% (9-29) shooting from the field in the half while also forcing 11 turnovers.
UMA opened the 2nd half on a quick 10-2 spurt, hitting their first five shots of the half to claw back within 19. But the Beavers asserted their dominance in the paint, getting into the lane and all the way to the rum whenever they wanted. Four straight layups Chadbourne, Forrester, and Mickle helped the Beavers reclaim a 26-point advantage.
First-year guard Mason Desjardins (Jackman, Maine) came off the bench and provided a huge spark offensively for Farmington. Desjardins shot 4-5 from beyond the arc over the course of three minutes. Desjardins finished the game shooting 5-6, finishing with a career-high 15 points.
Mickle’s offensive onslaught continued in the 2nd half, scoring 20 points, including ten points in the final 5:28 of the game. Mickle, a transfer from Southern Maine Community College, is the 34th player in University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball history to reach the 1,000 collegiate point milestone.
The Beavers had five players in double-figures led by Mickle’s career-high 37. Chadbourne dropped 18 points, knocking down 4-9 from beyond the arc. Forrester stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Flagg finished with 10 points while Desjardins had 15 in ten minutes off the bench.
The Moose were led by Yonas Medfu who finished with 19 points. Elijah Smith added 18 points off the bench. Trevor Beals posted 16 points and five rebounds while Donte Sharp finished with 11 points in just 17 minutes.
The Beavers finished their regular season with a 17-8 record after today’s win and had already secured a spot in the North Atlantic Conference playoffs. With conference games still to be played on Monday, the Beavers won’t know their playoff matchup until the conclusion of those games.
