CASTINE--Senior co-captain Curt Heinz recorded game highs of 32 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots, and sophomore Jack Banks poured in a career-high 21 points off the bench, to propel the Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball squad to an 85-68 victory over visiting Vermont State University-Johnson at Smith Gymnasium on Monday night.

Maine Maritime snaps a five-game losing streak to improve to 4-5 on the season and 1-2 in the North Atlantic Conference, while VSU-Johnson drops to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in the NAC.

Maine Maritime Highlights

• Banks made nine of his 11 field goal tries, including 3-for-3 from three-point range, plus he grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists.
• Freshman Gabe Hagar scored a career-best 12 points on four treys.
• Heinz finished 11 of 19 from the field while notching season bests in points, assists and blocks.
• Junior Josiah Dancy (5 points, 4 rebounds) chipped six assists.

VSU-Johnson Highlights

• Jason Baker led the team with 18 points on five 3-pointers and he grabbed seven rebounds.
• Matthew Carter tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
• Raymond Baka chipped in 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists before fouling out.

How it Happened

• After holding a slim 39-36 halftime lead, MMA outscored the Badgers 46-32 in the second half to pull away.
• The game featured four ties and six lead changes--all in tightly contested first half.
• The teams traded baskets as neither squad led by more than two possessions over the first 20 minutes.
• Both the Badgers and Mariners made big shots and used their inside game to generate offense; for the contest, MMA had a 38-36 scoring edge on points in the paint.
• After a Baker 3ball with 53 seconds left before the break gave VSU-Johnson its last lead, Heinz and sophomore Maurcus Gibson made back-to-back layups 38 seconds apart to put MMA ahead for good. The Mariners never trailed in the second half.
• But it was a different story in the second half as MMA's depth showed to the tune of a 26-10 advantage in bench points.
• After the Badgers cut a 12-point deficit to 59-55 with 9 minutes and 12 seconds left, the Mariners responded with a 14-3 run over the next 4 minutes to forge a 73-58 cushion.

Inside the Boxscore

• The Badgers lead the all-time series 26-14, but the Mariners have won four of the last seven meetings.
• Maine Maritime produced season bests with 85 points, 32 field goals made, 70 field goals attempted, 34 three-point attempts, 25 assists and just eight turnovers.
• Heinz leads the NAC with 13.4 rebounds per game. He is third in scoring with 19.7 points per outing.

Next Up

• Maine Maritime has a quick turnaround hosting Vermont State University-Lyndon at 5 p.m. Tuesday in another NAC match-up at home.