Balanced Scoring Lifts Men’s Basketball to 91-85 Win Over Maine Maritime

QUINCY, Mass.-  Six different players scored in double-figures as the Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team topped Maine Maritime 91-85 Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Athletic Center.

The Lions climb to 2-2 on the season with the victory while the Mariners sink to 0-3 overall.

Deonta Pearson (Westland, Mich.) notched his first collegiate double-double with career-highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Ozzy Traill III (Valley Stream, N.Y.) posted 14 points, nine boards, and six assists. Levi Grady-White (Springfield, Mass.) finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) poured in 14 points and grabbed five boards. Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) and Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) each scored 13 points in the game.

Eastern Nazarene claimed a seven-point edge with 16:02 remaining in the first half before Maine Maritime cut the deficit to 11-10 with 15:23 on the clock.

The home team utilized a 14-0 run to widen the margin to 28-11 with 10:36 left to play in the opening half.

The Lions pushed their advantage to 40-22 on a bucket by Manso with 4:22 to go in the frame.

After the visitors drained back-to-back three-pointers to trim the gap to nine, Kobe Dunbar (Lakeway, Texas) splashed a corner-trey at the buzzer to give Eastern Nazarene a 50-38 lead at the midway point of the contest.

The Lions shot 57.9% from the floor and connected on 4-of-15 from beyond the arc in the opening half. The Mariners posted a field-goal percentage of 48.1% in the first frame while shooting 33.3% from three-point range.

Grady-White and Manso each netted nine points in the first period while McGhee chipped in with eight and Pearson added seven off the bench.

The hosts regained an 18-point lead with 13:51 remaining in the second stanza, 66-48, as McGuinness drilled a three-pointer.

Maine Maritime pulled to within four, 73-69, as Carter Rubin canned one of his five treys on the day with 7:17 left to play.

Traill converted 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute as Eastern Nazarene locked up its first win at home this season.

The Lions concluded the contest with a season-high field-goal percentage of 53.5% to go with an 8-for-27 showing from behind the arc. The Mariners shot 49.2% from the floor and 37.5% from long distance on the afternoon.

Markus Ramirez paced Maine Maritime with a game-best 24 points while Rubin contributed 20 points. Malachi Reincke scored 18 points and Cameron Gerlach added 12 points.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene travels to Lasell November 16.