FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington needed a new look and a quick fix on defense to interrupt and eventually restrain Johnson State College’s rampant offense in the second half.

UMF (8-10, 7-5) implemented a zone defense that slowed down the Badgers (7-12, 4-8) and allowed the Beavers to pull off a 78-71 victory over Johnston State in a North Atlantic Conference basketball game at Dearborn Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. It was UMF’s fourth straight victory.

The Badgers annoyed the Beavers throughout the first half with a confusing inside game and blistering perimeter shooting that led to Johnson State’s 35-30 halftime lead.

But when UMF turned to a zone defense in the second half, the change had an adverse effect on Johnson State’s offense.

“We went zone second half because they had so much movement,” UMF coach Dick Meader said. “And it wasn’t that we did such a great job with the zone, but it caused them to hold on to it, to hesitate, to get out of rhythm and so that was a good factor.

“We rebounded out of it. We have a lot of improvement to do. We took some hurried shots with the lead. We turned it over needlessly, hurrying the ball. We have to play with a lot more poise once we get the ball.

“Good play from a number of guys … Amir Moss got us some good shots. Ty Ripley was huge for us rebounding and made the foul shots at the end.”

The Beavers took charge and overcame the five-point deficit and eventually took the lead.

Ripley and Moss each scored 18 points. Forward Riley Robinson, who was the Beavers’ inside man, reeled off 17 points, pulled down eight rebounds and was credited with four assists. Junior guard Eric Berry came off the bench, scored 12 points and collected eight rebounds.

“I think we got it done on the defensive end today,” UMF senior forward Jimmie Chaisson said. “We showed some toughness down the stretch and rebounded the ball really well.

“A lot times people think the zone is to force teams to shoot outside, but with us, we kind of play it to run shooters off the line. I think that helped with them hitting a lot of 3s today.

While the Badgers were overpowering from the perimeter, the Beavers were just plain frightening from the charity stripe. They shot 90.9 percent, making 10 of their 11 free-throws.

The Badgers, on the other hand, owned the outside, landing 14 3-pointers to the Beavers’ two. Johnson State’s Kawaun Chavis led the offense with 15 points followed by teammates Jeyquan Johnson (14 points), Benjamin Holl (13) and Demetrius Slade (11).

“I think it hurt somewhat, but I think the real biggest struggle was — like some of the shots we got out of the zone, I was fine with — but we couldn’t stop them defensively,” Johnson State coach Miles Smith said. “I think we would have had them a little bit more defensively and played with a little bit more urgency along the defensive end and it probably would have gave us a better opportunity to change the game.”

Women’s basketball

Johnson State 72, UMF 46

FARMINGTON — The UMaine Farmington Beavers fell to the Johnson State Badgers 72-46 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action in Dearborn Gymnasium on Satuarday.

The Beavers fell to 3-14 overall and 3-9 in conference action, while the Badgers improved to 9-9 overall and 6-6 in NAC play.

In the box

– Morgan Crocker led the way for the Beavers with 11 points on 3-10 from the field, 1-1 from behind the arc and 4-4 at the charity stripe. Notched five rebounds and one steal.

– Kennadi Grover added 10 points on 4-11 shooting with seven rebounds.

– UMF shot 27.6 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and 64.7 percent from three-point land while tallying 41 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks.

– Sarah Voorhis tied game high in points with 14 on 5-11 shooting and 2-2 from behind the arc while Kaitlyn Brouard also finished with 14 points on 5-9 shooting.

– The Badgers shot 39.2 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three and 53.8 percent, 52 rebounds to go with nine assists and nine steals.

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