WATERVILLE, Maine – Maine Maritime men's basketball beat Thomas College, 87-80 Tuesday evening in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) matchup.

How it Happened: The Mariners got off to a quick 7-2 lead, sparked by Cameron Kingsbury (Port Clyde, Maine) who splashed a three to start off the night. The Terriers answered with seven quick points, until Maine Maritime scored 13 unanswered points to make the score 25-10 with ten minutes left in the half. Thomas crawled their way back into the game, getting within two points of the Mariners with 0:40 seconds left in the half before Markus Ramirez (Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit a layup to bring the score at halftime to 40-36 in favor of the Mariners.

The Terriers came out to a quick start in the second half, hitting two three pointers to take their first lead of the night. The next twelve minutes of play had extremely competitive, back-and-forth action with no team leading by more than three points. The Mariners then went on a 9-2 run to give themselves a 75-70 point lead with five minutes remaining in the game. The game continued with both teams trading baskets until Cameron Gerlach (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and Ramirez both hit a pair of foul shots to put away the game and claim a 87-80 victory.

Inside the Numbers: Curt Heinz (Stuttgart, Germany) led the Mariners by recording a double-double with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, along with three blocks and one steal. Ramirez also added a game-high 21 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steal. Carter Rubin (Littleton, Colo.) chipped in 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block, while Malachi Reincke (Houston, Texas) came off the bench with 13 points, five rebounds, and one steal.

Thomas College was led by Sawyer Deprey who tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and one block. Trevor Reed added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal, while Zach Nickerson came off the bench with 12 points.

The Mariners shot 47.7% from the hardwood and 34.5% from beyond the arc, while Thomas shot 41.3% from the floor and 37.5% from three point land.

Up Next: The Mariners improve to 3-11 overall and 2-4 in conference, while Thomas falls to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in conference. Maine Maritime returns to action on Tuesday, January 25 at 5:30pm when they travel to Bangor, Maine to take on Husson University in a NAC matchup.