1/12/08

Men's basketball tripped by Maine Maritime

FARMINGTON -- The Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball team outscored the University of Maine at Farmington 9-2 over the final 2:15 to pull away for a 70-63 North Atlantic Conference win over the Beavers this afternoon at Dearborn Gymnasium.

The Beavers dropped to 6-6 (2-1 in the NAC) and are scheduled to host Tufts University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Mariners improved to 4-7 (2-0) with Lesley University in Castine on Friday.

Derek DiFrederico (Millinocket, ME) threw in a game-high 24 points for Maine Maritime, including a 5-for-6 effort from 3-point range, while Neil Stewart (Rangeley, ME) notched a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Sean Fry (Jay, ME) tallied 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Beavers. Matt St. John (Wayne, ME) chipped in 16 points with Ted Neil (Strong, ME) popping in 12 points off the bench. St. John and Neil each drained four 3-pointers.

Maine Maritime led by as many as nine points in the opening half before taking a 34-29 advantage into halftime. The Beavers tied the contest at 35 in first 2:15 of the second half that kicked off a see-saw affair after intermission. Neil drained a trey with 3:18 left in the game to tie the contest at 61 -- the 15th deadlock of the game.

After Neil's 3-pointer, DiFrederico and Stewart each scored four points to lead a 9-2 run with Farmington missing four field goals and two free throws during the same stretch as the Mariners went on to the 70-63 win.

Box score