The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams would take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders on Thursday night in America East action. The men returned home to try to bounce back after their second conference loss of the season at Vermont last Saturday, while the women were on the road trying to extend their win streak to six games.
In the men’s game in Orono at Memorial Gymnasium on Skip Chappelle Court- Senior guard AJ Lopez had 12 of his game-high 23 points in the second half (including 7-8 from the foul line), as Maine held on for a 78-74 win over visiting NJIT.
Maine got off to an early 10-2 lead, before NJIT answered with the same run to tie it 12-12. The Highlanders jumped in front on three different occasions in the first half with their last lead of the night coming on a three-pointer by Tariq Francis 27-24 with 6:11 left before the break. The Black Bears restored their advantage and never trailed again with an 8-0 run over the next 1:44 on three-pointers by Christopher Mantis and Kellen Tynes and a jumper by Lopez in taking a 41-35 lead to halftime. Maine stretched it out to their biggest lead at 48-37 with an 7-2 spurt in the first 2:50 of the second half, and knocked down 16-20 at the foul line over the final 20 minutes (25-31 for the game). Early in the first half, Tynes set the program record for career steals with 244 in just 85 games. The previous mark was set by Marty Higgins with 243 in 115 games.
Lopez added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals to his game-high point total in the Maine win shooting 6-12 from the floor (11-12 free throws). Tynes finished with 16 points, three assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Quion Burns contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, while Keelan Steele chipped in 11 points. Sebastian Robinson led the New Jersey Institute of Technology with 16 points and eight rebounds. Francis, Ari Fulton, and Tim Moore put in 12 points a piece. The Highlanders fall to 5-19 and 2-7 in America East. The Black Bears improve to 15-9 and 7-2 in the conference and will host UMBC on Saturday at 2 p.m.
In the women’s game in Newark, New Jersey at Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center- Junior guard Alejandra Zuniga had a game-high 27 points, including some huge shots in the fourth quarter, as NJIT picked up a big conference win over Maine 61-56 in also snapping the Black Bears five game win streak.
The teams were very close to even most of the night, as both held a first half lead but not by more than three points. The Highlanders would have a 28-25 advantage at the break. After trailing by five early in the third quarter, Maine used a 5-0 run to tie it on a layup by Caroline Bornemann. The Black Bears took their last lead on a layup by Caroline Dotsey 38-37 with 1:40 to go in the period, before NJIT came right back to grab back a 43-40 lead heading into the fourth. Zuniga made three of her four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including a pair of them over the first 2:39 and Trinity Williams added a layup to stretch it out to 51-43 Highlanders with 6:34 left to play. Maine kept chipping away cutting it to a three point deficit on several occasions. The hosts had a chance to put it away at the free throw line but Zuniga missed a pair with 54 seconds remaining, and Marissa Gingrich hit the second of two shortly after. Another layup by Bornemann once again cut it to a three point deficit for the Black Bears at 59-56 with 40 seconds left, and a missed three-pointer by Zuniga on the other end gave the guests once more chance to try to tie it. After a timeout by head coach Amy Vachon and just over eight seconds showing on the clock, Dotsey tried a long three-pointer from the top of the key that was short and Enya Maguire grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws to ice it.
Bornemann led Maine in the loss with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Dotsey added 12 points (3-5 three-pointers), while Sera Hodgson would chip in nine points (3-7 three-pointers). Zuniga shot 4-7 from the arc in the NJIT win, while also recording five rebounds to go along with her game-high point total. The Highlanders improve to 8-15 and 5-5 in America East. The Black Bears drop to 12-11 and 7-3 in the conference, falling for the first time since a 60-55 setback at Albany on January 11. Maine will be on the road at UMBC on Saturday at 2 p.m.
