The inspiring postseason run by the UMF men’s basketball team came to an end with a 94-82 loss to Elms today in the finals of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship in Bangor. The Beavers received another strong effort from Travis Carrier (Auburn, ME), who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, and pulled within four late in the game before falling.
UMF led for much of the first half, building a seven-point lead with 4:32 to go at 39-32. Elms finished off the half with a 13-5 run taking a 45-44 lead into the locker room and built a 10-point lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half to lead 69-59with 10:19 left to go. The Beavers then cut the lead to four, 73-69, with 6:26 but would get no closer.
In addition to Carrier’s effort, four other UMF players finished in double figures. Fellow senior Travis Magnusson (Thomaston, ME) finished with 11 points and a game high seven assists while a trio of sophomores rounded out UMF scoring as Isaac Hutchinson (Oakland, ME), Matt St. John (Wayne, ME), and Sean Fry (Jay, ME) finished with 18 points, 15 points, and 14 points respectively. Carrier and Magnusson were named to the All-Tournament team.
Elms used a balance attack to key its victory, placing five players in double figures, led by tournament MVP junior David Williams’ game-high 34 points.
UMF finished its season at 13-15.