CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball fell to Johnson State College, 66-62 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in North Atlantic Conference action inside of Smith Gymnasium.

The two teams battled back-and-forth early in the first half until the Badgers used a six-point run to take a 13-7 lead at 10:45. The Mariners closed the gap to two at 9:23 but the Badgers built another six-point lead (19-13) with 8:18 to go.

Back-to-back baskets by Tyler Thayer (Hermon, Maine) cut Johnson's lead to 22-21 at 6:00, and a layup from Tyler Gilson (Thomaston, Maine) gave the Mariners a 23-22 lead at 5:28. The Badgers outscored the Mariners 9-4 in the closing four minutes of the half to take a 31-27 advantage into the intermission.

Thayer led all players with 13 points in the first half and Benjamin Holl led the Badgers with nine points.

The Badgers built up an eight-point lead at 18:04, but the Mariners battled back once again to close the gap to 40-39 with just over 13 minutes to play. Johnson State responded with a 9-1 run to take a 48-41 lead at 9:50.

A Nick Judge (Cushing, Maine) layup sparked a seven-point run for the Mariners, cutting the lead to 53-52 at 3:26. The Mariners kept the gap within one possession and Nicholas DePatsy (Waldoboro, Maine) sank a three with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 57-57. Marqwon Wynn's three missed the mark on the other end, sending the game into overtime.

Kawaun Chavis made a three to open up overtime. Turnovers plagued both teams early in extra time, before Judge made a jumper to close it within one at 2:06. Chavis made a jumper and came up with a defensive rebound on the other end, to set up a jump shot from Wynn, making it 64-59 with 49 seconds to go. DePatsy sank a three to close the gap to two with 38 to play, but the Badgers hit both from the line in the final seconds to hang on for the 66-62 win.

Thayer led all players with 19 points, adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Judge ended the afternoon with 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.

Chavis led the Badgers with 17 points, while also adding six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block and Demetrius Slade tallied a double-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds, and chipped in with four assists, four blocks and two steals.

The Mariners fall to 3-12 overall and 0-8 in the NAC, while the Badgers improve to 7-8 on the season and 4-4 in the conference. Maine Maritime returns to action on Friday, January 20 at Green Mountain College for a 5:30 p.m. conference battle.