The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams took on UMBC on Saturday afternoon. The men were in Baltimore looking to extend their conference win streak to four, while the women were hosting the Retrievers looking for two straight wins and for their 17th straight victory against America East opponents on their home floor. At by the end of the afternoon, it would be a Black Bears sweep.
In the men’s game at Chesapeake Bankers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland- Maine put five players in double figures, and would score the first 14 points of the afternoon in rolling to their fourth straight victory 87-62 over UMBC.
A pair of layups by Keelan Steele, a three-point play and a three-pointer by Lopez, a jumper by Quion Burns, and a layup on a fastbreak by Kellen Tynes made it 14-0 just 3:40 into action. UMBC later cut it to eight on three occasions in the first half, before Maine pushed it out to an 18 point advantage at the break ending the opening 20 minutes on a 12-2 run. The Black Bears continued to push out their lead early in the second half scoring 11 of the first 14 points (23-5 spurt overall) to put a stranglehold on the game for a 26 point bulge. The guests later went up by as many as 28 in winning their fourth consecutive America East contest.
Lopez went 10-14 from the floor (3-5 three-pointers), while also adding three steals to his game-high 24 points in the Maine win. Burns had a double double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Tynes and Christopher Mantis (3-6 three-pointers) both chipped in 11 points, and Steele finished with 10. Tynes also contributed seven assists and three steals. The Black Bears 56.3% from the floor and 11-23 (47.8%) from three-point range. Marcus Banks put in 13 points to lead UMBC, who falls to 9-10 and 1-3 in America East. Maine is now 12-8 overall and 4-1 in conference play and will travel to UMass-Lowell to meet up with the Riverhawks on Thursday night at 6 p.m.
In the women’s game at Memorial Gymnasium on Skip Chappelle Court in Orono- Sophomore Caroline Dotsey had 11 of her team-high 17 points in the first quarter, and Maine outscored UMBC 18-6 in the third period to put away a 61-47 win.
Dotsey came off the bench to help spark a 12-0 run to end the first quarter by Maine. The native of Havertown, Pennsylvania converted a three-point play, a layup, and also a nailed a pair of three-pointers to extend to a 21-7 Black Bears lead after the opening 10 minutes.
With the hosts holding a 31-15 advantage with 5:37 left in the half, UMBC went on a run of their own of 12-2 to slice the deficit to 33-27 at the break with six of those points coming from Talia Davis.
Maine pulled away in the third quarter to build their biggest lead of the afternoon at 21 that was sparked by a pair of three-pointers by both Paula Gallego and Olivia Rockwood. They held the Retrievers scoreless for the first 5:41 of the period to win their 17th straight home game over America East opponents.
Dotsey added six rebounds and two assists to her point total in the Maine win. Gallego and Rockwood finished with 14 points a piece. Gallego chipped in nine rebounds and four assists. Caroline Bornemann and Asta Blauenfeldt both put in eight points. Bornemann had 11 rebounds and two assists, while Blauenfeldt ripped down nine rebounds and had four assists. Davis led UMBC in the loss with a game-high 18 points, as the Retrievers drop to 7-9 and 0-4 in America East. The Black Bears improve to 9-10 and 4-2 in conference play and will host UMass-Lowell on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Photos/video highlights/postgame video interviews by Chris Lessner
