Box Score

CASTLETON, Vt. – February 24, 2012 –The  Colby-Sawyer men's basketball team advanced to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship game after defeating the University of Maine-Farmington 72-62 in overtime, in semifinal action at Glenbrook Gymnasium on the campus of Castleton.

The Chargers (20-7) will play top seed Castleton in the NAC Championship game on Saturday at 4:30 pm. Castleton advanced with a 94-81 win over Husson in earlier semifinal action. UMF's record dips to 16-11.

Colby-Sawyer was led by NAC Rookie of the Year Koang Thok (Portland, Maine). He scored 17 points on 7-15 shooting. Senior Will Bardaglio (Wayne, Maine) poured in 15 points. Senior James Tobin (Brookline, N.H.), who scored the game-tying hoop near the end of regulation, added 14 points. Junior Corey Willis (Easton, Mass.) contributed 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

UMF was led by All-NAC First Teamer Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine). He shot 8-12 for a game best 18 points and matched that total with 18 rebounds. Senior Dan Kane (Bradford, Maine) scored 12 points and had a game-high seven assists. Freshman Joe McCloskey (Howland, Maine) was the third Beaver to reach double-figures with 11 points.
UMF controlled the boards by a 46-34 margin. Colby-Sawyer used 20 UMF miscues to turn into 26 points.

The teams traded the first two baskets in the extra session, but Colby-Sawyer held UMF to one more made field goal for the rest of the frame. The Chargers made four field goals and connected on six of eight free throws to secure the 72-62 victory.

Maine-Farmington quickly erased their eight-point halftime deficit in the first two minutes of the second frame. A pair of baskets by Sumner and Johnson gave the Beavers their first lead of the game 36-34. The Chargers fell behind for a second time two minutes later, but responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead 47-38 and held the Beavers without a field goal for six minutes. The game of runs continued in the second half as UMF went on a 9-1 run over the next four minutes capped by a Johnson two-handed slam. Thok pushed Colby-Sawyer's lead to 55-51, but once again the Beavers had an answer. A basket by McCloskey and four straight points from Kane gave UMF a 57-55 lead with less than 30 seconds to play. After calling a timeout, Colby-Sawyer ran an out of bounds play to perfection, which results in a game-tying layup by James Tobin. UMF put up a heave at the buzzer from 26 feet, but it came up short sending the game into overtime.

Colby-Sawyer jumped out to an early 8-2 lead on the heels of a pair of three-pointers from Willis and Tobin. UMF quickly cut the deficit on a pair of jumpers from Johnson and Sumner. The Chargers led 13-10 at the 11:03 mark and then widened the gap by holding the Beavers scoreless over the next 4:45. After Sumner stopped the drought, Colby-Sawyer's Thok responded with five points of his own to put Colby-Sawyer back on top by nine at 22-13. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes before Colby-Sawyer's lead ballooned to its largest of the half at 32-21. Kane hit a trey in the Beavers' last possession of the half to cut the Chargers lead to 32-24 at the break. Colby-Sawyer's Bardaglio led all scorers with 11 points, including three makes from beyond the arc.