The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams continued non-conference play on Sunday afternoon. The men’s team was on the road at Merrimack College, while the women hosted Army and tried to break a four game losing streak.
At Thom Lawlor Arena in North Andover, Massachusetts the Maine men’s team shook off a real cold start and rallied past Merrimack College 50-47. The Warriors hit five three-pointers in the first half and held the Black Bears to 30% shooting to build as much as a nine point lead, which was 26-23 at halftime. After the hosts built their lead back to seven early in the second half, Maine would go on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good at 37-32 with 8:41 left finished off with a Kristians Feierbergs layup. The guests would lead by as many as seven, before a jumper by Ziggy Reid with 34 seconds to go cut it to three. A steal by Javon Bennett gave MC one more chance to tie it. Reid missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining, but the Warriors corralled the offensive rebound. The last opportunity for three by Bennett missed as the buzzer sounded, as the Black Bears held on. Kellen Tynes led Maine with 12 points, four assists, and five steals. Peter Filipovity had 11 points and six rebounds, and Gedi Juozapaitis also got into double figures with 10 points. Jordan Minor had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the loss for Merrimack. Reid had 13 points as the Warriors fall to 2-11. The Black Bears improve to 6-4 and will have a week before returning to action on the road at Akron on Monday, December 19.
At Memorial Gymnasium in Orono, Caroline Bornemann and Jacie Christopher combined for 12 three-pointers and 55 points as the Maine women’s team ended their losing streak with an 88-60 victory over Army. The Black Bears were on fire all afternoon and never trailed, in building as much as a 30 point lead in the fourth quarter. They shot 59% in the first half that included 9-17 from three-point range as they had built a 20 point advantage at the break. They would end the game at 56% and 13-25 (52%) from long range. Bornemann had a career high 29 points (5-7 three-pointers) and nine rebounds to lead the way. Christopher also had a career high putting in 26 points (7-10 three-pointers) with seven rebounds. Adrianna Smith also got into double figures with 14 points and hit 8-8 from the foul line. Army (2-7) who is coached by former Maine player Missy Traversi was led by Sam McNaughton who had 14 points in the defeat. The Black Bears are now 4-7 and will be on the road next Sunday afternoon to face Harvard.
