Gordon sinks two 3-pointers to spark Bears> Maine unbeaten in conference play with 64-62 win over Hens

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ORONO – John Gordon was in tears Monday after he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer against Northern Illinois.

Thursday night, the University of Maine’s freshman point guard was all smiles, as was a vocal crowd of 801 that included his mother, Barbara.

Gordon sank a clutch 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left Thursday night, lifting the Black Bears to a 64-62 North Atlantic Conference basketball victory over Delaware at Alfond Arena.

Rudy Keeling’s Maine team improved to 5-4 overall, 3-0 in NAC play. Mike Brey’s Blue Hens dipped to 4-5 in their league opener.

“I guess it’s only fitting the Delaware guy does us in,” Brey joked. “John hit a heck of a tough shot with a guy on him, and then I thought we got a pretty good shot there at the end to try and put it into overtime.”

Gordon had gone 0-for-5 in the second half before he nailed a 3-pointer with a minute left. That basket ended a Maine scoring drought of 5:40 and gave the Bears a 61-60 lead.

Delaware took the lead for the first time in the half on Greg Smith’s 10-footer from the paint with 2:13 to play, then answered Gordon’s first bomb with another Smith hoop from the lane.

And, although the Hens played tough deny defense on Maine’s last possession, Casey Arena drew the defense to him and opened up Gordon, who buried the shot.

“It was really the way we designed it. It just took a lot longer to unfold,” Keeling said.

Gordon, who is from Wilmington, Del., enjoyed playing the hero against the Blue Hens.

“I wanted to get a game back like this, hit one at the end,” Gordon said. “It made me feel a lot better. I was crying a lot last game, now I’m smiling.

“It felt good, just because I know people at home are watching this game,” he added. “I’m sure they’re listening to the radio. I know my friends are proud of me and it just feels good to beat a team like Delaware.”

The performance by the Bears was a contrast to their play in back-to-back losses to Brown and Northern Illinois. Maine pulled out to a 12-point first-half lead and made enough free throws to keep the game close.

Delaware made a strong push early in the second half behind Peca Arsic. The 6-foot-9 forward from Yugoslavia buried three straight 3-pointers to fuel an 11-1 flurry that cut a 12-point Maine lead to two with 11:53 to play.

Maine eventually got the lead back on an Arena 3-pointer, but Bruce McCullough made three of four from the foul line and Greg Smith scored off an inbounds play to tie it at 56-all with 8:03 left.

The game got physical and ugly at that point. Maine managed only two points in the eight minutes after Arena’s `3,’ an Allen Ledbetter 8-footer at the 6:40 mark.

However, Greg Logan’s tireless efforts on the boards helped the Bears hold on. Logan pulled down 14 rebounds as Maine dominated the rebounding 46-29.

Arena paced the Maine effort with 15 points and six assists, while Ramone Jones provided 13 points, Gordon 11 and Logan 10. The Bears shot 45 percent from the floor, 54 percent in the first half.

Arsic led the way for the Blue Hens with 15 points and Bruce McCullough contributed 14. Smith finished with 12 points and Ron Garner handed out five assists.

Trailing 17-15, the Bears got into a good rythym as Gordon hit a 17-footer to open a 17-2 spree. Jones hit a long jumper from the wing to give the Bears a 19-17 lead, then Ledbetter made four straight free throws to make it 23-17.

Ninety seconds later, Arena began showing his old form, spotting up for a 3-pointer and sinking a 17-footer to push the advantage to 30-19 with 6:31 left in the half.

“They set the tone and really were very physical the first half, played an excellent first half, and had us back on our heels,” Brey said. “They manhandled us inside and we were always kind of playing catch-up.”

Delaware finally got clicking again with Maine up 33-21 and cut the deficit to six, but Maine led 41-32 at intermission thanks to its rebounding and foul shooting.

Black Bears 64, Blue Hens 62

Delaware (4-5) 62 Maine (5-4) 64

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Perry 3 9 0 0 6 Gordon 4 9 0 0 11

McCullough 4 8 5 6 14 Arena 6 10 0 2 15

Bennett 1 2 0 2 2 Moore 2 5 0 0 4

Evans 4 9 0 0 8 Collins 1 4 1 2 3

Garner 1 6 1 2 3 Jones 4 10 4 6 13

Smith 6 10 0 0 12 Long 1 1 0 0 2

Arsic 6 15 0 4 15 Ledbetter 1 2 4 4 6

Strine 1 3 0 0 2 Logan 4 10 2 5 10

Totals 26 62 6 14 62 Totals 23 51 11 19 64

Delaware 32 62

Maine 41 64

3-pt. goals: Delaware (4-10): Perry 0-1, McCullough 1-2, Garner 0-1, Arsic 3-6; Maine (7-16): Gordon 3-5, Arena 3-4, Moore 0-2, Jones 1-5