Presque Isle, ME – The University of Maine at Presque Isle Owls lost another close North Atlantic Conference game, falling to the Mariners of Maine Maritime Academy 70-67.  The Owls fall to 9-13 overall and 3-9 in conference play.  The Mariners improve to 11-10 overall and 7-4 in conference play.

After a pair of made free throws by Riley Jorgenson, UMPI found themselves down 63-55 with 3:28 remaining, however the Owls would not give up fighting as they came storming back. Wilburn Griffiths (Jr. Queens, NY) answered with six straight points, including a verrucous two-handed slam dunk to bring the game to 65-61 with 2:14 left.  Both the Mariners and Owls would come up empty on their next two possessions. After an UMPI timeout, the Mariners would miss two free throws and Shyquinn Dix (So. Stamford, CT) would score off a pullup jumper as the Owls closed within two, 65-63 with 1:01 remaining.

Jorgenson would answer on the following possession, draining a three-pointer off a handoff from Adam Richardson.  The Mariners would foul on the next possession sending Jahvion Lockridge (So. Grand Rapids, MI) to the line.  Lockridge would hit the first and miss the second, however Te'Von Hines (Jr. Woodbridge, VA) would grab one of his game-high five offensive rebounds and kicked the ball out Dix for a three-pointer as the Owls closed the gap to one point 68-67 with 20 seconds remaining.  

Andrew Liebert would get fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining bringing the Mariner lead to 70-67.  The Owls would have a couple looks on their last possession but were unable to convert as the final score ended 70-67 in favor of MMA.

Leading the Owls was Griffin Guerrette (Fr. Presque Isle, ME) with 21 points on 8-11 shooting, 2-3 from beyond the arc, and 3-3 from the line.  Dix added 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds.  Griffiths chipped in with 12 points on 5-8 shooting and Hines scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Mariners were paced by Richardson who had a game-high 23 points on 10-13 shooting.  Richardson also added five assists and four rebounds. Jorgenson added 14 points and seven rebounds while Nick DePatsy and Liebert both scored 12 points.

The Owls are back in action on Friday night as they travel to face off against the Badgers of Norther Vermont University-Johnson.