Men's basketball: UMaine-Farmington falls short in NAC final against SUNY Delhi

Tony Blasi, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine
·2 min read

Feb. 25—FARMINGTON — It took the last four minutes of the game for SUNY Delhi to steal the North Atlantic Conference men's basketball title right out from under host University of Maine at Farmington on Saturday.

The Beavers' shooting suddenly went cold on Saturday afternoon at Dearborn Gymnasium, but the Broncos got hot from the perimeter, allowing SUNY-Delhi to escape with an 83-77 victory to capture the NAC crown and punch its ticket to the NCAA Division III tournament.

UMaine-Farmington built a 41-34 lead at halftime, after beginning the game with 11 unanswered points.

The Beavers were still cruising on offense and maintained their distance from the Broncos — until the last four minutes when SUNY Delhi outscored UMaine-Farmington 13-7 after the game was tied 70-70. The Broncos outscored the Beavers 49-36 in the second half.

SUNY Delhi senior guard Jacob Beach described the Broncos as a second-half team. Beach threw in 18 points and went 4 for 4 at the free-throw line.

Beach tied the game with his jump shot at 70-70 with 4:04 left in the game.

Mavenson Therneus provided the Broncos with their first lead of the game after he stole the ball and leaped to stuff it for a dunk on a fast break with 3:31 left. Sophomore guard Lester McCarthy landed a 3-pointer, putting SUNY Delhi ahead 75-70 with 2:43 left in the game.

Therneus, who scored a game-high 21 points, drilled one of his four 3-pointers, giving the Broncos a solid 78-71 lead with 2:03 remaining.

With the Beavers still struggling with their shooting in the waning minutes, the Broncos scored five more points to pull off the comeback victory.

UMaine-Farmington senior guard Terion Moss, the NAC Player of the Year, deposited the team-high 20 points. He also had nine rebounds and four assists. To help the cause, 6-foot-9 senior center Jack Kane collected 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Kyle Donlin scored 13 points and dished out six assists.

The Beavers' season ends with a record of 19-8, including a 13-1 mark in NAC play, with the lone loss on the road at SUNY Delhi.

The Broncos take a 20-8 record into the NCAA tournament.