The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams took on the University of Vermont in America East action on Saturday afternoon. The women hosted the Catamounts in a battle of the top two preseason favorites, while the men traveled to Burlington.
In the women’s game in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium- Maine went on a 14-0 third quarter run and improved their record to 2-0 in America East with a 60-48 win over Vermont. It was a closely contested first half with both teams holding a lead, and the Black Bears taking a slim 29-26 advantage to the halftime break. The Catamounts held their last lead in the second quarter on a three-pointer by Keira Hanson at 24-23. The score was 33-33 in the third when Maine made their 14-0 run, and Vermont never was able to recover. All the points during the spurt were scored by Adrianna Smith (8) and Anne Simon (6).
Simon filled up the stat sheet in the Maine win with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and six steals. Smith added 15 points and seven rebounds. Sera Hodgson (eight points) and Sarah Talon (seven) also contributed to the victory. The Black Bears are now 9-7 overall. Hanson led Vermont in the loss with 20 points, while Emma Utterback chipped in 11. The Catamounts fall to 9-7, 1-1 in America East. Maine returns to action on Thursday with a trip to Durham to battle the UNH Wildcats at 6 p.m.
In the men’s game at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington- Maine was able to overcome a 10 point first half deficit to take a halftime lead, but Vermont used 52% shooting in the final 20 minutes of play to rally for a 65-58 victory in the conference opener for both teams. After an opening basket by Kellen Tynes, the Catamounts went on a 9-0 run to take an early seven point advantage. Another run of 9-2 later in the first half extended that lead to 24-14 on a TJ Long jumper in the paint with 7:09 left. A 14-0 spurt by the Black Bears pushed the guests into the lead with Tynes scoring nine of those, as they led 30-26 at the halftime break. Maine had their biggest lead of the afternoon twice early in the second half by seven, before Vermont came charging back and took the lead for good 43-42 to start a 12-0 run on a jumper in the paint by TJ Hurley with 11:28 left to play.
Tynes led Maine in the loss with 19 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Peter Filipovity had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Jaden Clayton also got into double figures with 10 points. The Black Bears have now dropped four in a row overall as their record goes to 8-8 and 0-1 in America East. Illeri Ayo-Faleye led Vermont with 14 points and six rebounds. Nick Fiorillo chipped in 13 points, and Matt Veretto had 12. The Catamounts are now 11-5, 1-0 in conference. Maine will host UNH in the home conference opener on Thursday night at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor at 6 p.m.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
Maine guard Anne Simon shoots a three-pointer in a game back in 2022 against Hartford. Simon had a big game Saturday in leading the Black Bears to an America East victory over Vermont at the Pit. File photo by Anthony DelMonaco
