The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams were in America East action against Binghamton on Saturday afternoon. The women were on the road in Vestal, NY, while the men were playing the Bearcats at home in Bangor.
In the women’s game at the Events Center in Vestal- After a cold shooting first half that put them down 10 at halftime, Maine scored 41 second half points to rally past Binghamton 59-56. After falling behind 10-2 halfway through the first quarter, the Black Bears took their only lead of the opening 20 minutes of play with a 10-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Jaycie Christopher at 12-10. The shots going down were few and far between in the first half (24% shooting) as the Bearcats held them to just six points over the next 11:09 to take a 28-18 advantage into intermission. The guests held Binghamton to 1-8 from the floor in the third period to outscore them 17-5 and would take the lead for good on another three-pointer by Christopher 35-32. They would build their lead to 10 twice in the last 2:53, and then would hold on down the stretch in bouncing back from their first conference loss of the season to Albany on Thursday.
Adrianna Smith the double double machine had yet another one in the win (her 15th of the season) with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Anne Simon who was scoreless in the first half had 12 points. Also scoring in double figures was Olivia Rockwood with 11 points (three 3-pointers), and Paula Gallego with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was the first career double double for Gallego. Christopher was the only other scorer with seven points. The Black Bears improve to 13-8 and 6-1 in America East. Denai Bowman and Jadyn Weltz both had 14 points in the loss for Binghamton, as the Bearcats drop to 7-13 and 2-5 in the conference.
In the men’s game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor- A floating jumpshot by Symir Torrence with 4.8 seconds remaining to play lifted Binghamton to a 51-50 win over Maine. The Black Bears shot just 26% in the first half, and the Bearcats took advantage building as much as a 12 point lead and 28-19 at halftime. Maine kept battling and would eventually take their first lead since it was 2-0 on a Jaden Clayton layup at 43-42 with 4:58 left to play. The guests ran off five straight points to push back in front 47-43, before Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish answered with a three-pointer. Torrence made two free throws to make it 49-46 Binghamton with 1:28 remaining, before Kellen Tynes made it a one point game again with a jumper 25 seconds later. Armon Harried missed a three-pointer for the Bearcats with 32 seconds showing on the clock, and Adam Cisse grabbed the rebound for the Black Bears. Clayton got fouled and made two free throws to push Maine back in front by one with 12 seconds to go, before the floater in the lane by Torrence about eight seconds later. The hosts had one more chance to win it on a three-point attempt by Wright-McLeish, that just missed as the buzzer sounded.
Clayton and Quion Burns led Maine in the loss with 15 and 13 points respectively. The Black Bears fall to 10-11 and 2-4 in America East. Harried led Binghamton in the victory with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Nehemiah Benson added 12 points, and Tariq Balogun chipped in 11. The Bearcats are now 9-10 overall and earn their first conference win (1-5).
The UMaine men’s and women’s teams will be back in action on Thursday against UMass-Lowell. The women are at home in the Pit at 6 p.m., while the men are on the road at 6:30.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
