The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams took on Albany on Saturday. The men hosted the Great Danes at the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium, while the women were on the road in New York.
At the Pit in Orono on Saturday afternoon- The Maine men’s team closed the first half on a 14-3 run to take a 10 point halftime lead, and then held on for a 74-72 victory over visiting Albany to clinch a spot in the America East playoffs. The Black Bears built a 17 point second half lead, but the Great Danes closed within 71-69 when Da’kquan Davis buried his sixth 3-pointer of the game with 11 seconds left. Jaden Clayton then made 1-2 from the line to restore a three point lead, and Kellen Tynes who was big all day long came up with a steal and hit two free throws to seal the win. Tynes led the way with 23 points, six rebounds, and seven steals. Gedi Juozapaitis and Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish both got into double figures as well with 17 and 11 points respectively. Davis had a game-high 26 points on 6-10 three-point shooting in the loss for Albany, who falls to 7-22 and 2-12 in America East. Maine improves to 11-15 overall and 5-8 in conference play, and this will be the first time since the 2019-20 season that they will be a part of the AE playoffs.
At SEFCU Arena in Albany Saturday night- Kayla Cooper made a layup with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter that put Albany ahead for good, as they defeated Maine women’s basketball 53-50. The Black Bears got off to a slow start trailing 10-6 after one quarter, and then by as many as eight points early in the second. They came to life to take their first lead 16-15 when Sarah Talon and Caroline Bornemann hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions, but the Great Danes ended the first half on a 10-3 run for a 25-19 advantage. The guests fought back and took a pair of two point third quarter leads, the second of which was a jumper by Talon with 10 seconds to go as it was 40-38 Maine heading to the fourth. They built their largest lead of five twice in the final period, but a three-pointer by Helene Haegerstrand and the layup by Cooper pushed the hosts ahead to stay. After Ellen Hahne went just 1-2 at the line with five seconds to keep the Bears in it, the one last chance for the tying three-pointer by Jayice Christopher would miss at the buzzer. Adrianna Smith led the way in the loss with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Paula Gallego added 10 points. Maine falls to 13-13, 9-5 in America East. Cooper had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the win for Albany, as they improve to 19-10 and 13-2 in conference play. Haegerstand also had 17 points as the two teams settled for a regular season split with each winning on their home court by a grand total of four points.
The Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams return to action on Wednesday night against the University of New Hampshire. The women are home in Orono, while the men are in Durham to battle the Wildcats.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
