Ace Flagg made his first career collegiate start on Thursday night, and despite pulling with four points in the second half the University of Maine men’s basketball team would fall on the road to UMBC 69-62 in America East action at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Catonsville, Maryland.
The Black Bears got off to a solid start, racing out to a 7-2 lead in the opening four minutes. A 6-0 run by the Retrievers put them ahead for the first time (8-7) and they would never trail again, as Maine would cool off from the floor and UMBC built a 32-20 lead at the break. Maine would fall behind by as many as 14 in the second half before making a run at it with 11:02 left to play. TJ Biel, who had a big night for the Black Bears, would cap off a 15-5 spurt with a block at one end and a layup at the other to slice it to 54-50 with 5:30 remaining. Four is the closest they would get though, as UMBC made some key shots down the stretch to hold on for the victory in their conference opener.
The Retrievers put four players in double figures in the win, led by Jah’Likai King who had 15 points and six rebounds. Ace Valentine had 14 points, Caden Diggs contributed 13 points and six rebounds, and Riley Jacobs chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. UMBC improves to 8-6 and 1-0 in America East. Biel finished with a double double with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Black Bears loss. He hit 11-18 from the floor with two 3-pointers and also blocked three shots. Ryan Mabrey put in eight points and grabbed five boards, and Caleb Crawford had seven points. Flagg had six points, five rebounds, two steals, and one assist in 35 minutes of play. Maine is now 2-15 and 0-2 in the conference and will travel to NJIT on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Featured photo of TJ Biel (#1 at the top) courtesy of UMaine Athletics
