Box Score

WATERVILLE, ME-Thomas (5-2, 2-2 NAC) was able to pull off a second half comeback in a 93-88 victory over New England College (0-4, 0-9) in a North Athletic Conference (NAC) men's basketball contest Saturday Afternoon at Mahaney Gymnasium.

New England College and Thomas battled back and forth in a first half that included four ties. The Pilgrims took the largest lead of the half when they went up by nine points but the Terriers were able to get back to a deficit of four points by halftime trailing 52-48.

Freshman Levi Barnes (Skowhegan, Maine) had a game leading 23 points in the first half for the Terriers while junior Franklin Salvador (Somerville, Mass.) added 10. Sophomore Ryan Schmitz (Redding, Calif.) had a team-high 17 points for the Pilgrams while senior Abdirahman Mohamed (Biddeford, Maine) had 10 points.

New England College increased its lead to nine points to start the first half but the Terriers charged back to take the lead with 12:00 minutes left in the game. Thomas never gave up the lead after and ended up winning by five. Barnes led the game with a career 35 points, with Salvador adding in 19, while freshman Justin Murray (Winslow, Maine) pitched in for 13. 

For the Pilgrims, Schmitz had a team-high 23 points. Sophomore's Joel DeMadet (Brooklyn, N.Y) and Jonathan Byrnes (Bethel, Conn.) each had a double-double with points and rebounds for New England College.

Thomas will be back in action after the holiday break when they travel to Quincy, Mass. to play a non-conference contest against Eastern Nazarene College (4-3) on New Year's Day with a start time of 1:00 pm. Eastern Nazarene College is a new opponent added to the schedule this year.