FARMINGTON — Thomas College doesn’t want or need to get used to the idea of life without Levi Barnes. But the Terriers don’t mind knowing that they can find ways to win when the leading scorer in the North Atlantic Conference isn’t in the lineup.

Thomas shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half, including 8-for-14 from 3-point range, and withstood a late University of Maine-Farmington rally with a 14-2 run to end the game in a 74-60 victory at Dearborn Gymnasium on Saturday.

With the win, the Terriers swept the season series with the Beavers and picked up their second win in three games without Barnes (23.7 ppg), a junior guard from Skowhegan who went down with an ankle injury Jan. 9 against New England College.

“Levi is a phenomenal player, and we will never be able to replace Levi as individuals,” said Thomas College coach Geoff Hensley, who added he expects Barnes back in the lineup soon. “We had a team meeting and we talked about how we needed everyone to step up their game just a little bit while Levi’s out. And they’ve done it.”

On Saturday, it was Mike Akanji (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Winslow’s Justin Murray (21 points, five assists, three steals) who filled much of the scoring void.

In the second half, Akanji made four of seven 3-pointers (and six of 10 on the day) and Murray scored 15 points as the Terriers (6-8, 4-3 North Atlantic Conference) opened up a 15-point lead.

“A lot of us have to step up now,” Akanji said. “Levi’s a great part of this team — best scorer in the NAC, I believe — and now people who are averaging four points, five points, have to start averaging 10 points, 12 points now. Eric Westbrooks had 18 rebounds. That helps a lot because Levi brings a lot of scoring and a lot of defensive rebounding.”

Trailing 52-37 with 12:26 remaining, UMF (4-9, 3-4) chipped away at the deficit almost exclusively from the free throw line. The Beavers went nearly eight minutes without a field goal, missing seven consecutive shots, yet pulled to within two, 60-58, on Logan Nichols’ steal and layup with 4:45 remaining.

“They caught us off-guard with the 1-3-1 (press),” Murray said. “It’s not something we really go up against in practice much. We don’t run it ourselves. Coach called time out, told us to settle down, drive the middle, get the ball inside and once the shots started to fall, we settled down as well.”

Murray, who attacked the hoop effectively in the second half, started a string of seven straight Terrier points by getting to the free throw line and sinking both. His subsequent steal led to Westbrooks going to the line after a hard foul. He hit both of his free throws, then, after another UMF turnover, Owen Brown found Akanji in the right corner for a 3-pointer that extended the lead to 67-58.

Eric Berry’s jumper made it a seven-point game again with 3:14 to go, but those would be the Beavers’ last points. Murray found Akanji in his favorite spot, the right corner, and the senior forward from Lincoln, R.I., drilled his sixth 3-pointer to make it 70-60 and essentially put the game away.

“It was just confidence,” Akanji said of his second-half performance. “When they went to zone, the middle started opening up. So when we attacked the zone, they tried to double the zone and the corners were wide open.”

“I think our guys tired towards the end. That made it difficult because they were having to guard a lot of area,” UMF coach Dick Meader said. “You’ve got to be able to make shots. We were 1-for-14 from 3. It’s disappointing. It’s a home game you’ve got to win.”

On Jan. 6, Thomas won the first meeting on its home floor, 81-73, on the strength of 13-for-23 shooting (56.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Terriers had difficulty finding the range to start Saturday’s game, shooting 4-for-14 (28. 6 percent).

“We’re a jump-shooting team,” Murray said. “First half, they weren’t falling. Second half, we knew they would.”

The Beavers, meanwhile, pounded the ball inside to Uriah Forest-Bulley (24 points, nine rebounds). The 6-foot-4 senior center had six of his seven field goals and 14 points in the first half. Eight of his 10 second-half points came from the free throw line.

“Our adjustment was all mental, because he is a very tough, physical player,” Hensley said. “I challenged all of my guys at halftime to just contain him. Eric Westbrooks did a heck of a job just battling with him and fighting all night.”

The first half featured five ties and four lead changes with the Beavers holding a 27-25 lead at intermission.

Three-pointers by Adam Carlsen (10 points) and Murray triggered a 12-4 Thomas run to start the second half. Ryan Camire hit a 3-pointer to pull the Beavers within three, but that’s when Akanji started heading up to spark a 12-3 Terrier streak to open up the 15-point lead.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter:@RAWmaterial33

Related Stories