The Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams took on the University of Vermont on Saturday afternoon in measuring stick type games of where they stand in the conference. The women hosted the Catamounts in trying to extend their win streak to five games, while the men looked to make it seven straight victories in taking on UVM in Burlington.
In the women’s game at Memorial Gymnasium on Skip Chappelle Court in Orono- In a rematch of the 2024 America East Championship game the Maine defense stepped up big in the fourth quarter limited visiting Vermont to just one field goal and three total points, culminating in the Black Bears fifth straight win overall and 19th straight at home over conference opponents 45-39.
Vermont took a pair of early five point leads in the first quarter, before Maine came alive with an 11-2 run to end the period sparked by a three-pointer and a layup by Sarah Talon and two layups and two free throws by Caroline Dotsey to take a 13-9 advantage. The Catamounts jumped back on top in the second on a pair of jumpers by Nikola Priede 17-16. The Black Bears were able to take a 26-22 lead into the break helped by four points from Dotsey and a late three-pointer by Paula Gallego in the closing seconds. After Maine built that to eight early in the third quarter, Vermont took their final lead of the afternoon on a layup by Anna Olson with 1:00 left. Asta Blauenfeldt put Maine up for good 20 seconds later on a pair of free throws at 37-36 heading into the fourth. The hosts scored the first six points of the final period on two layups by Blauenfeldt and one by Gallego, while UVM went ice cold from the floor in the fourth shooting 1-12.
Talon and Blauenfeldt led Maine in the win with 11 points each. Blauenfeldt shot 5-6 from the line and added three steals, while Talon also contributed three steals and two assists. Dotsey finished with nine points and two assists, Gallego had seven points, nine rebounds, and three assists, and Caroline Bornemann chipped in 12 rebounds to go along with six points and two assists. Catherine Gilwee had 12 points in the loss for Vermont, while Priede put in 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. The Catamounts fall to 12-11 and 7-2 in America East. The Black Bears improve to 12-10 and 7-2 in the conference and will play on the road at the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Thursday night at 6 p.m.
In the men’s game at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont- Maine fought back from an 11 point first half deficit tying the game late on a Quion Burns layup with under a minute left, but a three-pointer by Shamir Bogues with 33 seconds to go gave the Vermont Catamounts a hard fought 55-49 win.
Maine led just once on the day on a three-pointer by AJ Lopez 11-10 with 8:04 left in the first half, before Vermont used a run of 18-6 over the next 6:41 to take a 28-17 advantage. The Black Bears got a pair of three-pointers from Christopher Mantis including one just before the buzzer to cut their deficit at the break to 28-23. After the Catamounts built their lead back to nine on three different occasions in the second half, the guests made a final push to get back in the game. A layup by Burns after a turnover capped off a 12-3 spurt to tie it up 49-49 with 54 seconds remaining. Bogues came up big with a three-pointer for UVM 21 seconds later to restore the lead for good. Burns would miss a tying three-pointer on the next possession, and Vermont iced the victory when Bogues and Sean Blake knocked down a combined 3-4 at the foul line in the final 15 seconds.
Mantis led Maine in the loss with 12 points (4-11 three-pointers), also adding four rebounds and two assists. Burns finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Killian Gribben recorded eight points, while Lopez and Kellen Tynes put in seven points a piece. The Black Bears have now lost 36 of their last 38 games vs UVM head to head. TJ Hurley had 15 points in the Vermont win. Bogues had 12 points and six rebounds, and Nick Fiorillo registered 11 points and six rebounds. The Catamounts, who are the defending league champion and have won five of the previous seven title games played, improve to 12-11 and 5-3 in America East. The Black Bears had their six game win streak snapped in falling to 14-9 and 6-2 in conference play. They’ll be back home in Orono to host NJIT on Thursday night at 6 p.m.
