The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams each played their second game of the regular season against Bryant University in America East action on Thursday night. The women looked to sweep the series at home, while the men were also looking for a sweep as they traveled to Rhode Island after an upset win over the second place Bulldogs in Orono 79-72 on February 3.
In the women’s game in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono- After a very slow start, Maine outscored Bryant 55-32 in the second half to sweep the season series pulling away for their fifth straight win 80-57. The Black Bears started 0-9 from the floor, and the visiting Bulldogs took advantage building as much as a nine point lead at 15-6 when Silvia Gonzalez knocked in a three-pointer with 2:00 left in the first quarter. The hosts though would get back even as they would end the first half on a run of 12-4 capped off by a three-pointer by Anne Simon to make it 25-25 at the break.
Maine would continue that spurt into the third quarter (18-8 run overall), taking the lead for good at 31-29 on a layup from Caroline Bornemann. Another run of 8-0 later in the period on a Simon steal and layup, and back to back three-pointers by Bornemann and Sera Hodgson made it a 14 point advantage and the Black Bears never led by less than 12 the rest of the way.
Simon, who was just named the America East Player of the Week for a sixth time, finished with 31 points, four rebounds, four assists, and six steals. She hit 4-7 on her three-point attempts and is now tied with Heather Ernest for sixth all-time on the Maine scoring list with 1,762 points. Junior forward Adrianna Smith, who only played 215 total minutes her freshman year and didn’t start a single game, became the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with a made jumper in the fourth quarter. She finished the night with her 18th double double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Bornemann (2-3 three-pointers) and Hodgdon (4-7 three-pointers) both added 12 points a piece. The Black Bears are now 17-8 and 10-1 in conference play. The victory also guarantees at least a top four finish in the league for an 11th straight season and a home quarterfinal on March 8. Gonzalez led Bryant University in the loss with 14 points (4-6 three-pointers). The Bulldogs fall to 12-13 and 5-7 in America East.
Video courtesy of Maine Women’s Basketball on Twitter-
𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 ✅
Here it is! Adrianna Smith's 1,000 career point!#BlackBearNation pic.twitter.com/oh9lMpEKkM
— Maine Women's Basketball (@BlackBearsWBB) February 16, 2024
In the men’s game at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island- Bryant used a 7-0 run in a span of 1:30 in the second half to take the lead for good, and hung on to get past Maine to split the regular season series 77-72. After trailing 14-7 with 13:36 left in the first half, the Black Bears took their first lead of the night as part of a 23-9 run at 30-23 capped off by a steal and fastbreak dunk by Kellen Tynes. The Bulldogs responded with a run of their own of 16-8 over the final 5:47, and two free throws by Daniel Rivera had the hosts up 39-38 at intermission.
After Peter Filipovity put Maine back in front by a point with the first basket of the second half, Bryant tried to seize control with a mini spurt of 6-0 to make it 45-40. The Black Bears responded to that though with a 9-0 run on two jumpers by A.J. Lopez, a Filipovity layup, and a three-pointer by Jaden Clayton for a 49-45 lead with 13:34 left. The Bulldogs used that 7-0 run to take over the lead for good 52-49 on a three-point play and a layup by Rivera, along with a jumper by Tyler Brelsford. Bryant would extend it to as many as nine, before a Lopez three-pointer with 2:03 left pulled Maine back within 73-72. That was it for scoring for the Black Bears however. Two free throws by Earl Timberlake with 20 seconds to go, and then two more by Rivera in the closing seconds after a Clayton two-point attempt missed in the paint would ice it.
Lopez would lead four players in double figures in the loss for Maine with 15 points, and Clayton finished with 14. Also in double figures was Tynes with 12 points, and Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish with 11. Tynes also had four assists and two steals. The Black Bears shot well from the floor (49.2%) and hit 7-20 (35%) from the three-point arc, but went 5-9 from the foul line where Bryant was 14-17 and that was the difference in the game. The Bulldogs were led by Rivera who had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Timberlake poured in 20 and also grabbed seven boards. Sherif Gross-Bullock and Brelsford also chipped in with 15 and 11 points respectively. Bryant is now 17-9 and 9-2 in America East. The Black Bears slip to 11-14 and 3-7 in the conference.
Video courtesy of Maine Men’s Basketball on Twitter-
ONE. POINT. GAME. 😤#blackbearnation | #AEHoops pic.twitter.com/MzxwW96Ymb
— Maine Men’s Basketball (@MaineMBB) February 16, 2024
The Maine basketball teams resume play on Saturday against the University of Vermont. The men will host the first place Catamounts in the Pit at 3 p.m., while the women head out on the road to Burlington for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
