The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams both took on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats in America East action on Thursday night. The women were able to pickup a win on the road, while the men saw UNH rally for a victory in Bangor.
In the women’s game at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham- After a slow start, Maine came to life ending the first quarter on a 17-2 run to take control and would cruise to a 78-52 win over UNH to start 3-0 in America East play for a second straight season. The Black Bears had five turnovers in the first three minutes, and didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 5:31 mark of the opening period. Breezie Williams gave the Wildcats their last lead of the night 4-2, before Olivia Rockwood ignited the 17-2 spurt with a three-pointer to give Maine the lead for good. They led by as many as 20 in the first half, and by 15 at halftime as Adrianna Smith got a double double in the first 20 minutes of action with 12 points and 12 rebounds. UNH did make a run of their own in the third quarter of 11-2 to get within 46-37 on a layup by Bella Stuart, but the guests responded with a run of 18-2 that stretched into the fourth to put it away.
Smith had another huge night in the Maine win, recording a game-high 28 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one blocked shot. The Black Bears are now 9-7 overall. Rockwood finished 12 points all in the first half (4-8 three-pointers), and Anne Simon also got into double figures with 11 points. Caroline Bornemann chipped in eight points, while Sarah Talon had seven. Stuart led UNH in the loss with 14 points. The Wildcats drop to 6-10, 0-3 in America East. Maine has a week off before hosting UMBC next Thursday in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono at 6 p.m.
In the men’s game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor- Maine held 11 point leads on four different occasions in the second half, before seeing UNH rally for a 79-74 win. Both teams held leads in the first half of action, the Wildcats by as many as eight and the Black Bears by as many as five. The hosts got three-pointers by A.J. Lopez and one at the buzzer by Quion Burns to tie it at the break 34-34. Maine had a lead of 43-42 with 14:46 left to play, before going on a run of 12-2 over the next 2:46 capped off by another three-pointer by Lopez to extend their advantage to 55-44. Their final 11 point lead came with 6:19 remaining on a three-pointer by Jaden Clayton. UNH responded with a 13-0 spurt capped off by a three-pointer by Jaxson Baker to make it 66-64 Wildcats with 3:39 showing on the clock. Kellen Tynes gave Maine their final lead with a three-pointer of his own 25 seconds later, but it was Baker again hitting from long range and the guests wouldn’t trail again after that. They hit 8-8 from the foul line in the last 1:32 to pick up the come from behind victory.
Peter Filipovity led Maine in the loss with 16 points and seven rebounds, as the Black Bears with their fifth straight defeat fall to 8-9 overall and 0-2 in America East. Lopez and Tynes added 15 points a piece, while Clayton chipped in 13. Clarence Daniels had a game-high 30 points in the win for UNH. The Wildcats improve to 9-6, 1-1 in conference play. Maine is on the road at UMBC next Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
