ORONO- Graduate guard Kellen Tynes scored his 1,000th career point and the University of Maine put four players in double figures on Sunday afternoon, in defeating the Holy Cross Crusaders 80-55 in men’s basketball non-conference action inside the Pit at Skip Chappelle Court.
Maine (3-3) never trailed, but the action was close early on with five ties over the first eight minutes. The Black Bears opened it up some before the break with an 18-6 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers by Christopher Mantis, and also a pair of conventional three-point plays by Ridvan Tutic and Quion Burns for a 12-point lead which was 35-26 at halftime.
After Holy Cross cut it to seven on an Aidan Richard layup 2:23 into the second half, Maine would put the game away and end their two game losing streak with a spurt of 19-3 over the next 6:15. Mantis had three more three-pointers during the run (nine points), and AJ Lopez had seven as the Black Bears would eventually build their advantage to 27 to end the Crusaders four game win streak. Tynes got his 1000th career point on a layup with 9:03 remaining.
Mantis who shot 6-8 (5-7 three-pointers) led the way in the Maine win with 17 points, while also adding five rebounds. Burns had 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Lopez finished with 14 points, and Tynes had 12 to go along with five rebounds and seven assists. The Black Bears shot 51.6% from the floor and 37.5% from the three-point arc (9-24). DeAndre Williams led Holy Cross with 12 points, Joe Nugent had 11, and Caleb Kenney put in 10 points in 17 minutes while dealing with foul problems. The Crusaders from the Patriot League fall to 4-3. They shot just 35% from the field and 15% from three-point territory (3-20). Maine returns to action on the road on Friday at 2 p.m. against Elon at the Cathedral Classic at the University of Pennsylvania, where they’ll play three different teams in three days. The Black Bears will also face the host Quakers on Saturday at 4:30, and Navy on Sunday at noon.
At halftime of the game on Sunday, a ceremony was held for former Maine player and coach Skip Chappelle. The Pit for now will also be known as Skip Chappelle Court, and when the new Morse Arena opens for the 2027-28 season it will be transferred over to the new building to become Skip Chappelle Court and that name will also be trademarked on the floor.
All photos and videos by Chris Lessner
