The Maine Black Bears got a game-high 19 points from Peter Filipovity, and would pull away from Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon for a 69-56 non-conference men’s basketball win in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono. The victory is the fourth straight for Maine.
Central Connecticut State got off to a good start, as Maine started slow hitting just one of their first seven shots from the floor. A 9-0 run capped off by a layup by Abdul Momoh had the Blue Devils up 12-2 seven minutes into the opening half. The Black Bears took their first lead 21-19 on a layup by Filipovity with 6:56 left, part of a 19-7 spurt. After falling behind by one, Maine also went on a 9-0 run on a short jumper by Adam Cisse, two free throws by Kristians Feierbergs, and then a three-pointer and a two point jumpshot by Filipovity to take their biggest advantage at that point at 32-24. The hosts led 32-28 at the beak.
CCSU took their final lead of the afternoon by scoring the first five points of the second half on a three-pointer by Jordan Jones and a jumper by Allan Jeanne-Rose. Filipovity put Maine back in front for good with a layup about a minute later. Still clinging to a 45-41 lead with 11:46 remaining to play, the Black Bears would score 17 of their next 25 points for a 13 point bulge which was the final margin of victory.
Filipovity added eight rebounds to his point total in the Maine win. Feierbergs had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kellen Tynes also got into double figures by chipping in 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Quion Burns was also solid off the bench by contributing nine points. The Black Bears are now 8-4 on the season. Jeanne-Rose was the leading scorer in the loss for Central Connecticut State with 14 points and five rebounds. The Blue Devils, out of the Northeast Conference, fall to 3-6. Maine will now have a week off before they head back to the state of Florida to play two games, beginning with a visit to the University of Central Florida next Monday, December 18 at 7 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
Maine men’s basketball looks to play some defense during a home loss earlier this season to Merrimack. The Black Bears won their fourth consecutive game on Saturday, by topping Central Connecticut State 69-56 in Orono. Photo by Chris Lessner
