RUMFORD — Senior Luke Thombs netted a game-high 17 points as Monmouth trotted off with a 56-43 victory over Mountain Valley in boys’ basketball action Saturday evening.

The Mustangs (10-6) took a 20-15 halftime lead. Avery Amero contributed 12 points, while Nick Menice added 10 points for Monmouth.

Thombs collected seven field goals, including three from 3-point range.

Jacob Blanchard posted a team-leading 13 points for the Falcons (3-13), while Ryley Flynn chipped in with 11 points for Mountain Valley in the losing effort.

Spruce Mountain 52, Wells 40

WELLS — Caulin Parker hit for a game-high 18 points, including two from beyond the arc, to lead Spruce Mountain to a 52-40 win over Wells in boys’ basketball action Saturday.

Austin Darling added 17 for the Phoenix, while Andrew Darling shipped in with nine.

Dylan MacKay led the way for Wells with three field goals and eight points.

Men’s basketball

Maine 74, Binghamton 63

BANGOR — The Universtiy of Maine battled back from a deficit to overtake Binghamton for a 74-63 triumph in men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Little went 5-for-8 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 22 points for the Black Bears. Issac Vann tallied his second career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while adding a career-best six assists.

The Bearcats put together a 20-4 run over nine minutes in the first half, and rattled off seven-straight after a 9-3 run by the Black Bears for their largest lead of the game at 36-29 with 2:06 remaining before the break.

The Black Bears focused down the stretch, putting together a 10-2 run to elevate their lead to seven. Maine locked down the victory by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:20, picking up its eighth win of the year.

Tufts 90, Bates 75

MEDFORD, Mass. — Big games from seniors Mike Boornazian and Mike Newton were not enough on Saturday as the Bates men’s basketball team dropped a 90-75 decision to Tufts.

Boornazian had an impressive game, scoring 24 points, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds and dishing out a team-high five assists. Meanwhile, Newton did all of his damage in the second half, scoring 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

The Bobcats (9-10) never led in the game as Tufts took a 5-2 lead on a Tom Palleschi three-pointer and never looked back. the Jumbos (15-4) shot 50 percent in the first half on their way to an 18-point halftime lead.

Junior Marcus Delpeche fell just short of a double-double, scoring nine points and hauling down nine rebounds for Bates.

Johnson State 66, UMaine-Farmington 64

JOHNSTON, Vt. — Johnson State’s defense forced a University of Maine at Farmington turnover and launched a pass up the court to Demetrius Slade, who hit a buzzer-beating layup for a 66-64 victory  in North Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon.

Eric Berry of Weld reached a new career-high with 27 points for the Beavers (2-15). Nick Hilton charted a double-double with 22 points nad 11 rebounds, while Sean Murphy added seven points for Farmington off the bench.

Asim Khan scored a team-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting with three makes from beyond the arc for the Badgers (6-13). Kahn was perfect on 4-of-4 from the foul line and also hauled down five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the winning effort.

Women’s basketball

Johnson State 70, UMaine-Farmington 67

JOHNSON, Vt. — Allyson Bruckner netted 19 points with six rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead Johnson State to a 70-67 victory over the University of Maine at Farmington in NAC women’s basketball action Saturday afernoon.

Megan Smtih tied a game-high 19 points and made 7-of-7 from the free throw line for the Beavers (10-8). Cheyenne Malloy tallied 11 points and made three long range shots, while Kelly Pomerleau of Turner matched Malloy with 11 points, dished three assists and recorded a pair of steals.

After a timeout late in the fourth quarter, Smith scored a big two-points for Farmington on a layup with two seconds remaining and tied at 67-apiece.

However, a Johnson timeout allowed the Badgers to draw up a winning play with Domonique Carter-Stanley throwing up the game-winning three-pointer on a feed from Bruckner.

Maine 52, Binghamton 38

BINGHAMPTON, N.Y. — Liz Wood tallied her 22nd career double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds as the University of Maine garnered a 52-38 victory over Binghamton in America East women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon.

The Black Bears’ (7-1) defense proved to be the difference, forcing 20 turnovers and limiting the Bearcats to a 13-for-41 showing from the field.

Sigi Koizar chipped in with 14 points and four assists, while Lauren Bodine hit four 3-pointers off the bench for Maine.

Maine controlled play inside, out rebounding the Bearcats 43-28, including 17 offensive rebounds which turned into a 17-4 advantage in second chance points. Bella Swan contributed six points and nine boards in the winning effort.

CMCC 90, UMPI 40

PRESQUE ISLE — Freshman point guard Nicole Hamblin of Fayette recorded a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists as Central Maine Community College galloped to a 90-40 victory over the University of Maine at Presque Isle in women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon.

Freshman forward Seve Deery-Deraps scored a game-high 19 points for the Mustangs (16-7). Allie Ablondi contributed 13 points, while Alex Rowe of South Paris added another 12 points for Central Maine.

The Owls (4-16) could not handle the pressure defense as the Mustangs manufactured 21 first half turnovers. Central Maine also executed 58 percent from the floor in the first half.

Brianna Losee led Presque Isle with a team-leading 11 points in the losing effort.

College Skiing

UMF Alpine Placed Eight Racers in the Top Ten

GREENWOOD — The University of Maine at Farmington alpine ski team had a total of eight racers finish in the top ten in two United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association Thompson Division giant slalom races at Mt. Abram Ski Resort on Saturday afternoon.

In the first men’s race of the day, Mitchell and Marshall Golas grabbed top ten spots with a sixth and ninth place finish. The Beavers had four members of the team rank in consecutive order with Jeremy Demers, Jedidiah Stevens, Jacob Violette and Matt Lulofs from 11th to 14th place.

Farmington ranked third overall on the team leaderboard with 26 points. The University of Maine won the first race with 12 points and Bowdoin came in second with 20 points. Bates finished fourth with 41 points.

Stevens had the best run of the day for the Beavers in the second race. Stevens closed out the race with a combined time of 1:38.19 for eighth place.

Lindsey Jacques of Jay won the first women’s race of the morning, topping the competition by nearly a full second with a time of 1:38.78. Paige Butterfield of Jay had another solid run in tenth place at 1:52.64.

In the second women’s race Jacques ranked fourth overall at 1:37.38. Butterfield notched her second top ten race of the day in ninth place at 1:49.38.

Bates Alpine Squad tops UNH 

STOWE, Vt. — The Bates women’s alpine ski team finished its portion of the UVM Carnival with another big performance, scoring the third most points among 13 squads in the slalom.

Sophomore Hannah Johnson wrapped up her best career carnival to date by placing eighth out of 68 competitors in a two-run combined time of 2:02.01.

Sophomore sierra Ryder placed 13th in 2:02.82, while junior captain Kelsey Chenoweth palced 14th in 2:03.36. The three Bobcats scored 86 carnival points, second only to Dartmouth (136) and Colby (94) and leading fourth-place New Hampshire (82) by four points.

Senior Cody Bullen of Newry was the lone scorer on the Bates men’s squad, placing 50th out of 63 in 2:04.18.