UMaine teams in finales

The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams swing into action tonight against teams from the University of New Hampshire.

The Black Bear women play host to the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. at Alfond Arena in Orono, while the Maine men travel to Durham, N.H. for a 7:30 contest. They are the final regular-season games for both Maine teams.

Despite their elimination from the North Atlantic Conference due to scheduling too many games, the UMaine women have a chance to gain a measure of redemption with a win over the ‘Cats.

Either a Maine victory or a Vermont win over Hartford will give the Black Bears the regular-season NAC title. With no chance at the NCAA tournament’s automatic bid for the NAC champ, a Maine win in the season finale is crucial in its slim hopes to stay alive for an at-large bid.

The Bears downed the Wildcats 64-60 Feb. 5 in Durham, N.H., behind Steph Guidi’s 26-point, 15-rebound effort.

Maine enters the game 19-7 overall, and 11-2 in the NAC, while New Hampshire is 16-9, 8-5 NAC.

Guidi, a 6-foot sophomore forward, is averaging 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

The Wildcats will be led by Cony of Augusta product Marcie Lane, who is scoring at a 14.9 clip with 2.4 steals per contest.

When the Maine men head to Durham, they’ll look to avenge a home loss to the ‘Cats on Feb. 5. In that game, Maine led by eight with 3:41 to play before losing 65-64.

For the Bears, 17-8, 10-3 NAC, conference player of the week, sophomore guard Casey Arena, will hope to continue his hot streak. Arena is the conference leader in assists (6.4 apg) and steals (2.8 spg) and is scoring 13.8 ppg. Senior forward Francois Bouchard is contributing 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.

UNH has been led by juniors Scott Drapeau and Eric Montanri. Drapeau is second in the league in scoring with 22.6 per game while Montanri is ninth with a 15.2 per-game clip.

Drapeau, a strong inside player, is also averaging 9.6 rebounds a game.