Kellen Tynes had 20 of his game-high and career-high 26 points in the first half on Wednesday night, leading the Maine Black Bears to a 72-57 men’s basketball win over Holy Cross at Hart Center Arena in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Maine got off to a very quick start. Tynes scored 13 of the Black Bears first 19 points, including a pair of three-pointers, for an early 19-6 lead not even seven minutes in. Holy Cross battled back within five on a DeAndre Williams three-pointer as part of an 11-3 run. After Peter Filipovity extended the lead back to 10 for the visitors with a three-pointer, the Crusaders got within five again twice in the final three minutes. A three-point play the conventional way by Jaden Clayton however with four seconds remaining gave Maine an eight point edge headed into the halftime break 37-29.
After Tynes scored the first basket of the second half, Holy Cross was only able to get as close as eight on a couple of occasions. The last time was on a dunk by Caleb Kenney with 6:18 left, but Ja’Shone Wright-McLeish knocked down a three-pointer with just under five minutes remaining and the Black Bears lead never dipped below double figures the rest of the way. Maine polished off the victory by going 6-6 from the foul line in the final 1:23.
Tynes shot 8-13 from the floor, 3-4 from the three-point arc, and 7-9 from the line to lead Maine to the win. Clayton and Filipovity had 15 points each. Clayton added five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Filipovity had a double double contributing 12 rebounds and four steals. Kristians Feierbergs also chipped in 11 points. Bo Montgomery and Joe Octave led Holy Cross out the Patriot League in the loss with 14 points a piece, with Octave also hauling in 14 rebounds. Louth Coulibaly had 13 points and six rebounds, as the Crusaders fall to 2-6. The Black Bears improve to 5-4, going 4-2 on the long road trip that also included wins in the Sunshine State over Northwestern State, Presbyterian College, and South Florida. Maine is back at home for the first time since November 12 when they host Brown University on Sunday in the Pit at 12 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
