Castine, ME - The Mariners from Maine Maritime Academy used solid defense en route to a critical win over UMaine Farmington 65-53 Saturday in North Atlantic Conference action. The win propels MMA into the 6th spot for the upcoming NAC play-offs.

With the win MMA improves to 10-14 overall and 5-9 in conference play while the Beavers fall to 10-14 overall and 6-8 in NAC play.

The Mariners fell behind early in the first half and was trailing 15-7 with 11:49 to go before they inched their way back into the contest. The Mariners ended the half on a 20-9 run and took a 27-26 lead into the break.

MMA took advantage of some UMF turnovers and played tough defense to start the second half and increased their lead to eight points with just over ten minutes remaining. The Beavers closed the gap to 37-34 but got no closer as the Mariners connected on 12 of 15 free throws in the second half to put the game away.

Shawn Dostie (Bowdoinham, ME) led the Mariner attack with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Ben Russell (Farmington, ME) chipped in with 12 points and six assists. Dom Drake (Brewer, ME) collected a game high eight assists in the victory.

The Beavers were led by Pet Sumner (Cramerton, NC) who scored 11 points while Eric Taylor (Oakland, ME) collected 10 points. Andrew Dean (Gorham, ME) played well in the loss, collecting eight points and a team high 10 rebounds.