Box Score WATERVILLE, Maine --- Four Thomas College players finished in double figures led by senior guard Justin Murray (Winslow, Maine / Winslow) with 19 as the Terriers topped the University of Maine at Farmington, 88-76, on Saturday night to earn the split in the season series against their North Atlantic Conference rival.
Murray finished 6-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and dished out a game-high six assists. Senior guards Levi Barnes (Skowhegan, Maine / Skowhegan) and Mike Akanji (Lincoln, R.I. / Lincoln) added 17 each for Thomas (7-8, 3-5 NAC), while freshman point guard Dayne Savage (Caribou, Maine / Caribou) had 12.
Logan Nichols scored a game-high 28 points to lead UMF (1-12, 1-6 NAC). He was 6-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from long distance, and was a perfect 12-for-12 at the charity stripe. Most of his points (21) came in the second half as the Beavers worked to stay in the contest. Eric Berry added 17 points, while Sean Muprhy posted eight points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Terriers streaked out to a 7-0 lead and led 22-14 after a Barnes layup with 12:13 to play in the first half. The Beavers charged back with a 16-0 run over the next 4:25 to lead 30-22 before Savage hit a jumper to halt the run. After the teams traded baskets to make it 32-24 with 7:20 to play, Savage drained a three and Barnes hit shots on back-to-back trips down the court to cut the UMF advantage to just one at 32-31.
Back-to-back threes by Murray and Savage and a free throw by junior Tyheem Simon (Far Rockaway, N.Y. / Lawrence) gave the Terriers a 38-35 lead with 1:55 to play, but jumpers by Berry and Ryan Rice pushed UMF back out in front in the final minute of the half. Akanji hit from long distance with 45 seconds left only to see it answered by a three from Murphy as the Beavers took a 42-41 halftime lead.
Barnes tied the game at 47-47 on a jumper with 15:45 to play, kickstarting a 10-0 run by the Terriers that saw Akanji score the remaining eight points on a layup and back-to-back threes. The Beavers would remain close the rest of the way, mainly on the strength on Nichols' free throw shooting, but would not regain the lead.
Thomas went 15-of-18 from the free throw line, including 14-of-16 in the second half, to help hold off any hopes for a Farmington rally. The Terriers shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the field and were 13-of-26 from three-point range.
With 17 points, Barnes passed Jarrad DeVaughn (1,575 points; 2009-13) for sixth place on Thomas' all-time scoring list. He now has 1,582 career points. Next on the list is 2015 Thomas Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Scott Raymond '01 with 1,689 points.
The Terriers are idle until next Friday (Jan. 22) when they host Colby-Sawyer at 7:30 p.m.
