CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball scored seven-unanswered points to claw back from a nine-point deficit in the final two and a half minutes of play, but fell in a heartbreaker to Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday afternoon, 61-59 inside of Smith Gymnasium, in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play.

The Chargers took a five-point lead in the first half at 8:23, but the Mariners scored 10-unanswered points to make it 20-15 with 3:43 remaining. Milani Hicks sparked a 7-2 run for Colby-Sawyer to send the Chargers into the halftime with a narrow 22-21 lead.

Colby-Sawyer's Peter Donato led all players with nine points in the first half, while Tyler Gilson (Thomaston, Maine) led the Mariners with six points in the first 20 minutes of play.

Maine Maritime hung close in the second half until the Chargers went on a 12-2 run midway through the period to take a 45-34 lead. The Mariners continued to fight, closing Colby-Sawyer's lead to just 61-55 following two threes from Brendan Newcomb (Holden, Maine) and a three-point play from Tyler Thayer (Hermon, Maine).

Maine Maritime was strong on defense in the closing minutes, forcing four Charger turnovers. Dylan Stevens (Wells, Maine) and Thayer grabbed jump shots to bring the game within two with 18 seconds remaining, but Colby-Sawyer hung on for the win.

Newcomb led the Mariners with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Thayer ended the afternoon with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal and Stevens and Gilson each added 10 points.

Colby Sawyer's Donato led all players with 15 points and eight rebounds, Taylor Grande and Wol Majong added 11 points each, and Jake Maynard chipped in with 10 points.

Maine Maritime falls to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference, while the Chargers improve to 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in the NAC. The Mariners will return to action on December 19 when they travel to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania to take on Wells as part of the Garnet Holiday Tournament.