The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted a pair of non-conference games Sunday afternoon playing on a neutral site for the first time ever at the Portland Expo.
In the men’s game, Andrew Fleming had a huge game with a double double as the Black Bears defeated Division III in-state opponent Maine Maritime Academy pretty easily 90-50.
Sergio El Darwich made a three pointer on the first possession and Miks Antoms hit a jumper as Maine scored the first five points and never looked back improving to 2-3 on the season. After falling down by 20, MMA (2-1) got back within 12 on a Riley McLeod (Bucksport) layup with four minutes left in the first half but a 10-4 run by the hosts pushed it back to 18 at halftime. Maine continued to stretch the lead to 29 with less than seven minutes to go in the game, and then finished it off by scoring 17 of the final 23 points for the 40 point margin.
Fleming ended with 23 points (10-11 FG), and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Antoms added 12 points and four rebounds, while Nedeljko Prijovic had 10 points. Maine shot 53% from the floor in the win. Nicholas Depatsy had 11 points for Maine Maritime, while Riley Jorgenson had 10. The Mariners shot just 38% in the game. The Black Bears visit defending national champion and #7 Virginia on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
In the women’s game earlier, Blanca Millan had a game high 25 points (20 in first half) and a double double to help the Black Bears hold off the Navy Midshipmen 46-41.
It was an ugly game if you are an offensive junkie. Both teams shot around 31% and combined to shoot 7-43 (16%) from the three point arc (Maine 5-34, Navy 2-9). Navy took an early 7-2 lead before Millan scored 10 straight Black Bear points to push them into a momentary lead at 12-11, but the Midshipmen lead 13-12 after one quarter. Millan would score 18 straight to push Maine into the lead 20-17, before Dor Saar became just the second Black Bear other than Millan to score when she hit a three-pointer and the hosts led 27-21 at the half.
The two teams then combined to shoot 6-30 in the third quarter with each scoring nine points and Maine taking a 36-30 lead to the final quarter. Maeve Carroll registered a double double when she hit a baseline jumper with 6:17 to play for the biggest lead of the game at 42-32, but a 9-2 run by Navy capped off by a three-pointer by Morgan Taylor cut it to 44-41 with 1:45 to go. Saar knocked down a jump shot from just outside the foul line with 44 seconds left to put it away.
Millan added 11 rebounds to her point total, while Carroll had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Saar ended with eight as Maine broke a three game losing streak. Navy (2-3) was led by Taylor who had the third double double of the game finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Black Bears next play on Friday evening at 5 p.m. as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida when they face Arizona State.
