Lesley University, 72 at UMaine Farmington, 86

Records: 
Lesley University Lynx (2-16, 0-8 NAC)
UMaine Farmington Beavers (10-7, 7-1 NAC) 

Location: Farmington, Maine-Dearborn Gymnasium

Date: Sunday, January 19, 2025

THE LEAD – In a hard-fought contest with UMaine Farmington Beavers, the Lesley University men's basketball team came up short Sunday afternoon, falling 86-72. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Early in the first half, after Farmington jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, Tarell Joseph (Hempstead, N.Y.) knocked down a three to make it a one-point game (4-3). However, the Beavers offense gave itself some breathing room thanks to a 10-2 run for a 14-5 advantage before calling timeout. Simon Chadbourne led the early Farmington run with five points. 
• Coming out of the break, Lesley clawed its way back and found themselves down two (19-17) thanks to a 12-5 rally. Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fla.) spearheaded the scoring stretch with four points. 
• Despite being down a basket, the Beavers regained momentum and extended their lead to eight (29-21), leading to a Farmington timeout with 4:32 left before halftime.
• For the remainder of the first, Lesley outscored the hosts 13-4 and ended up down two (36-34) going into halftime. CJ Leonard (Raynham, Mass.) led the late push for the Lynx with six points.
• As the second half got underway, the squad grabbed its first lead of the afternoon when Howard converted a layup to make it 37-36. For the next few possessions, both sides traded baskets. While the Lynx were down three (42-39), Leonard capitalized on a crucial and-one opportunity that tied the game at 42 with 16:24 to go. 
• Later in the half, Farmington started to pull ahead and went up eight (50-42) after Zach McLaughlin made a layup. Lesley responded the very next possession as Nathaniel Maldonado (Bronx, N.Y.) knocked down a three to make it 50-45 before Lesley called a timeout. 
• After the timeout, Farmington continued to keep its distance and found itself up by as much as 15 (71-56) with less than six minutes to go (5:43). Even with the large lead, Lesley would not go away and pulled within eight (71-63) behind a 7-0 stretch. Hezekiah Brown (Stafford, Va.) led the late rally, scoring four of the seven Lynx points. 
• Although Lesley found themselves within single digits late in the second, Farmington halted the Lesley momentum and did not let the Lynx get any closer while pushing its lead to 10  (77-67) before the Lynx called a timeout with 2:03 remaining. After the timeout, Lesley would get within seven (78-71) with 1:11 left when Brown hit a layup, but it would not be enough as the Beavers held on for the eventual 86-72 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Howard led the Lynx with 14 points on the day. Lesley saw two others scoring in double figures, with Brown and Leonard finishing with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
• Leonard grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds Sunday afternoon. With his 10 rebounds, Leonard posted his first career double-double (12 points/10 rebounds).
• McLaughlin led all scorers with 17 points off the bench for Farmington. 
• Dylan Griffin finished with a double-double Sunday when he grabbed a game-high 16 boards to go along with 16 points.

UP NEXT

• Lesley continues its road trip with a contest at Fisher College on Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m.