The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams finished up their non-conference schedules on Sunday afternoon, with the men at home and the women on the road in New Jersey.
In the women’s game at the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack, NJ- Maine closed out their participation in the Fairleigh Dickinson Christmas Classic with a strong second half to pull away from Coppin State 66-55.
The Black Bears trailed for just a total of 2:38 in the game and that was in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Caroline Dotsey gave her team the lead for good at 9-8. Maine opened up a 22-12 advantage 4:21 into the second period on a three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood, before Coppin State closed out the first half on a run of 12-3 helped by six points from Laila Lawrence to cut it to 25-24 at the break. After shooting just 33% overall in the first half, the Black Bears were on fire coming out of the locker room shooting 53% (6-11 on three-point attempts) in the third quarter to open up an 11 point lead. Maine would later build their biggest advantage of the afternoon by 15 in the fourth, finishing non-conference play with a record of 5-8.
Dotsey and Caroline Bornemann led the way in the win with 17 points a piece. Bornemann (7-12 field goals) added five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Rockwood also got into double figures with 11 points (3-7 three-pointers). Sera Hodgson contributed nine points, six rebounds, and two assists (3-5 three-pointers). Maine shot 13-26 in the second half, including 9-19 from long distance and also forced a total of 22 turnovers in the victory. Lawrence led all scorers in the loss for Coppin State. The senior forward registered 27 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, three assists, and three blocked shots. The Eagles out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference fall to 9-7. The Black Bears open up America East play on Thursday night at 6 p.m. on the road at UMass-Lowell, before hosting Bryant University in the home conference opener Saturday at 1 p.m. Fairleigh Dickinson went 2-0 in their Christmas Classic when they defeated Bryant 63-49 in the final game on Sunday afternoon.
In the men’s game in the Pit on Skip Chappelle Court in Orono- Boston University scored the final 10 points of the game over the last 2:10, rallying for a 59-56 win over Maine.
It was a very defensive led contest for both teams in the first half. With the score tied 16-16 with 4:59 left, Maine would go on a 11-3 run to take a 27-19 advantage into the halftime break. Christopher Mantis (6) and Kellen Tynes (3) had nine of those points, as Mantis continued his sharp shooting with a pair of three-pointers. One from long distance from Quion Burns to open the second half for Maine matched their biggest lead of the afternoon at 30-19. Boston University cut into that with a 10-2 spurt of their own over the next 5:41 to cut the deficit to 32-29. The Terriers finally caught the Black Bears, taking their first lead since the 16:41 mark of the opening half on a layup by Malcolm Chimezie at 47-46 with 5:36 left to play. With the game even at 48-48, a layup from Jayden Clayton, a three-point play on a dunk by Killian Gribben, and a three-pointer by Mantis pushed Maine in front 56-49 with 2:10 remaining but that is the last time they would score. Just as they did earlier in the half, Boston University had an answer. Three-pointers by Kyrone Alexander and Michael McNair diced the lead down to 56-55 with 1:08 to go. Tynes missed a free throw on the next possession for the Black Bears, and Chimezie converted on a layup to push the guests ahead for good 57-56 with 20 seconds showing on the clock. Mantis missed a jumper in the paint with three seconds left, and after a foul and two made free throws by Ben Palacios, McNair iced the road win for the Terriers with a steal on Mantis in the final seconds.
Tynes led Maine in the loss with 17 points, four assists and three steals. Mantis added 12 points (4-7 three-pointers), Burns chipped in eight points, while AJ Lopez and Keelan Steele each contributed six points. The Black Bears end non-conference action with an 8-7 record with back to back last second defeats. McNair had 16 points and six rebounds for Boston University, and Alexander finished with 13 points and five rebounds. The Terriers out of the Patriot League improved their record to 6-7. Maine opens America East play on Saturday on the road against Bryant at 2 p.m., while the home conference opener is set for the following Thursday (January 9) at 6 p.m. vs. Binghamton.
