Farmington, ME –The University of Maine of Farmington and Castleton State College advanced to the North Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Championship Game with semifinal victories tonight at Dearborn Gymnasium.

The NAC title game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Dearborn Gymnasium.
The top-seeded Beavers collected a 77-59 win over No. 5 Green Mountain College, while the No. 2 Spartans dispatched third-seeded Thomas College 82-65.

Mike Knight (Spring Valley, NY) shot 12 of 14 from the field for 24 points as the Spartans knocked off the Terriers.

Knight netted 18 of his game-high total in the second half to help Castleton maintain a double-digit advantage through most of the frame. Derrick Faragon (Schenectady, NY) added 16 points and eight rebounds with Mark Comstock (Rutland, VT) pitching in 14 points and Greg Hughes (West Rutland, VT) adding 11 points.

The Spartans connected on 56.4 percent (31-55) of its shots from the field, including 65.4 percent (17-26) in the second half.

Jarrad DeVaughn (Brockton, MA) led Thomas with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Francisco Alicea (Foxboro, MA) had 14 points and Isaiah Brathwaite (Farmington, ME) threw in 12 points and dished out seven assists.

Castleton rolled into the contest with a 17-6 stretch over the opening 7:22 of the game. Led by 10 points from Alicea, the Terriers picked away at the Spartan hold, cutting the lead to five points before Castleton took a 34-27 advantage into the break.

Knight scored six points in a 10-2 run out of intermission for the Spartans to distance themselves from Thomas. Castleton held off the Terriers with a double-digit cushion the rest of the way to take the 82-65 win.