Bears host rival Wildcats

After 11 non-conference warm-up games, the University of Maine men’s basketball team starts the make-or-break portion of its schedule when it opens North Atlantic Conference play Saturday against ancient rival New Hampshire at the Bangor Auditorium (1 p.m.).

“This is the most important game of the year for us,” said Maine head coach Rudy Keeling, whose team is off to a 4-7 start. “It’s the start of conference play and we’ve got to get out of the blocks. It’s also a home game and we’ve talked about the importance of protecting our home turf.”

Protecting their turf at the Auditorium has proven difficult for the Black Bears against UNH. The Wildcats have won the last two meetings in Bangor, even though they finished dead last in the NAC both seasons.

If that fact wasn’t enough to make Keeling nervous on the eve of this year’s clash, there’s the matter of Maine’s current three-game losing skid and nagging injuries to key players.

Starting point guard Marty Higgins (strained toe), power forward Francois Bouchard (shoulder subluxation), and starting swingman Derrick Hodge (ankle sprain) will all play, although the 6-foot-8 Bouchard will relinquish his starting role to 6-6 freshman Ken Barnes.

“My shoulder is sore, but this is a big game and I want to play,” Bouchard said following Friday’s workout.

New Hampshire’s 1-9 record under second-year coach Jim Boylan would seem to make the Wildcats an underdog, but Keeling said his team can’t afford to be overconfident.

“You look at who they’ve played and we know they’re better than their record. They’ve got to put together a good game eventually,” said Keeling.

New Hampshire enters having taken its lumps against major programs such as Connecticut, Providence, Virginia Commonwealth, Boston College, and Xavier. The Wildcats’ only win is against Ivy League member Brown University. The Maine players know from experience, however, UNH is nothing if not competitive.

“They always play us tough,” said Higgins. “We’ve got to get on them early and not let up.”

New Hampshire played a triangle-and-two defense against Maine in last year’s 67-57 triumph, focusing on Hodge and former leading scorer Dean Smith. Keeling expects a similar tactic this year on Hodge and Higgins.

“Their gimmicks scare me. They do an awful lot of things,” Keeling said.

The key player for UNH is 6-5 sophomore swingman Pat Manor, who averages 8.6 points per game, but triggers the halfcourt offense in the high post. Maine is more concerned about stopping the Wildcats’ inside game than their perimeter shots.