The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball both played the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday afternoon, with the men hosting the Retrievers and the women on the road in Baltimore.
In the men’s game in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono- The visitors from UMBC had three early one point leads in the first 1:47, but Maine would pull ahead for good blowing the game open in the second half for an impressive 84-49 win. A three-pointer by Ja’Shon Wright-McLeish would push the Black Bears ahead 8-6 and they never trailed again. The Maine defense forced 11 Retrievers turnovers in the first half as they used a 10-3 run to extend to a 38-26 lead at the halftime break. The hosts blew it open by starting the second half on a 12-0 spurt to take a 24 point advantage. A layup, two free throws, and a three-pointer by Gedi Juozapaitis, and a three point play by Kellen Tynes along with a layup by Wright-McLeish was all part of the run. The lead later went to as much as 40, as the Black Bears picked up another victory over one of the teams ahead of them in the conference and was also their largest margin of victory over an America East opponent since 1993. Juozapaitis led all scorers in the win with 22 points on 8-12 shooting (4-7 three-pointers). Tynes had 14 points, five assists, and five steals. Wright-McLeish finished with 13 points, and Peter Filipovity came off the bench to contribute 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dion Brown led UMBC in the loss with 19 points (4-6 three-pointers), as the guests ended up with 21 turnovers. The Retrievers fall to 15-10, 5-5 in America East.
In the women’s game at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore- UMBC used alot of full court trapping defense to force Maine into an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers, outscoring them 28-3 on points off miscues and ended the Black Bears four game win streak with a 74-57 win. Maine never led, as the Retrievers were able to build their advantage to 37-26 at halftime. The guests had more costly turnovers and were only able to manage three points in the first 5:06 of the third quarter, as UMBC built the lead to 16. The largest lead ended up being 21, as the Black Bears only got as close as 13 the rest of the way. Adrianna Smith had another huge game in the loss for Maine with 33 points and nine rebounds. Caroline Bornemann was the only other one in double figures in the defeat as she had 13 points (three 3-pointers). The Black Bears were looking to take over first place in conference play after Vermont beat Albany earlier on Saturday, but now they drop to third place behind the Great Danes and Catamounts. Kiara Bell led UMBC to the win with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ashia McCalla had 16 points, K.K. White 15, and Nia Staples 11 points as the Retrievers improve to 10-12, 7-4 in America East.
Maine men’s basketball improved to 10-13, 4-6 in America East with their win and will next play at home in Bangor at the Cross Insurance Center against Vermont on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The women’s team falls to 12-10, 8-2 in conference and has a big game Wednesday night at 7 on the road in Burlington against those Vermont Catamounts who have now won eight in a row. The Vermont women defeated Maine in the Pit 71-62 back on January 18.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
Men’s Box Score
UMBC (15-10, 5-5) 26 23- 49
UMAI (10-13, 4-6) 38 46- 84
Rebounds- UMBC 29, Maine 34
Free throws- UMBC 5-10, Maine 9-12
Turnovers- UMBC 21, Maine 12
Three-pointers- UMBC: Brown 4, Beaudion 2/ Maine: Juozapaitis 4, Wright-McLeish 3, Turgut, Nenadic
Women’s Box Score
UMAI (12-10, 8-2) 16 10 13 18- 57
UMBC (10-12, 7-4) 22 15 22 15- 74
Rebounds- Maine 26, UMBC 31
Free Throws- Maine 11-18, UMBC 18-29
Turnovers- Maine 19, UMBC 13
Three-pointers- Maine: Bornemann 3, Rockwood 2, Hodgson/ UMBC: McCalla, White
