FARMINGTON, ME – University of Maine-Farmington (2-2) shot 59.6% from the field in an 83-74 victory over Saint Joseph's College (1-3) on Monday evening.
The Monks had five players score 10 or more points, but it would not be enough as the Beavers, who received double-digit performances from four players, managed to hold off the Royal Blue during a markedly improved second half by the visitors.
Saint Joseph's shot just 28% (7-25), including a 3-14 (21.4%) effort from beyond the arc, from the field in the first half but rebounded in the second stanza with a 54.3% (19-35) clip. The Monks outscored the Beavers by a 47-38 margin after the break but the impressive comeback bid fell short.
Senior Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) paced the Monks with 16 points while juniors Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) and Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) tallied 13 points apiece on the night. Senior Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) added 12 off a 4-9 three-point shooting performance and sophomore Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) contributed 11 coming off the bench in the setback.
The win was UMaine-Farmington's first in five tries against its in-state and former conference rival. Farmington's last win over St. Joe's was a 69-56 victory during the 2008-09 campaign.
Junior guard Pet Sumner drained a career high seven 3-pointers to lead UMaine-Farmington with a game-high 27 points, one shy of his career high. Senior center Ben Johnson added 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field with three dunks, and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Senior forward Andrew Dickey tallied 11 points in the first half, before he was sidelined for the rest of the game with an injury, and senior forward Garrett Clemmer logged 10 points.
UMaine-Farmington held a commanding 41 to 14 advantage on the glass, and the Beavers' 11 offensive rebounds converted to 18 second-chance points. For the Monks, the rebound tally is the lowest number grabbed in a single game in program history. The previous mark, 19, was set nearly 32 years ago to the day (11/24/81) versus Bentley University.
After shooting under 33 percent from the floor in each of its last two outings, UMaine-Farmington broke out of its shooting slump right from the get-go against St. Joe's.
The Beavers outscored the Monks 26-5 over the game's first eight minutes, culminating with a traditional three-point play by Johnson with 13:44 remaining in the first half followed a minute-and-a-half later by a Sumner trey.
UMaine-Farmington's lead briefly reached 20 points several times during the first half, and the Beavers went into the locker room at the break with a 45-27 advantage.
Seven straight Farmington points to open the second half extended the Beavers' lead to 52-27. A 19-4 run for the Monks later in the frame brought St. Joe's back to within five, 68-63, with 4:31 remaining, but the Beavers stopped the run on a Nick Hilton layup and the Monks were forced to begin fouling.
UMaine-Farmington went 9-of-10 at the free-throw line over the final 1:30 to preserve the win.
The Beavers open North Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 3, against Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, while Saint Joseph's College will host the University of Southern Maine on Sunday, Dec. 1.
