The Green Mountain College Eagles staved off a late Mariner run to pick-up a crucial North Atlantic Conference victory Friday night (66-61).  GMC built an 11-point lead mid-way through the second half before the visitors from Maine Maritime closed to within 3 in the closing minutes.

GMC shot 40.7% in the opening stanza and headed into the break with a two-point advantage, (32-30).  Sophomore Gerard Johnson (Binghamton, NY) scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half to help pace the Eagles. 

The Eagles came out of the gate on a 9-0 run in the second half thanks to the hot-hand of Junior Rui Carmo (Fort Meyers, FL) who scored 8 of his game high 19 in the opening minutes.  GMC stretched the lead to 11, but a spell of cold shooting allowed the visitors, led by senior Derek DeFrederico (Millinocket, Me) who dropped a team-best 16 points on the night.

Senior Fabian Ferriera (Queens, NY) added 15 points and 3 assists for the Eagles while Carmo and senior Rich Bailey (Bronx, NY) both grabbed 9 boards. 

With the win, the Eagles improve to (14-10) on the season and (6-7) in conference play while MMA falls to (8-16) and (4-9) .

Both teams return to action tomorrow afternoon in the final conference game of the season.  GMC hosts Husson University while Maine Maritime travels to Castleton.