NEWARK, Del. – The University of Maine Black Bears put five players in double figures, Allen Ledbetter hauled down 16 rebounds and Casey Arena handed out 11 assists as the Bears registered a 77-65 North Atlantic Conference victory over Delaware here Friday in front of 4,827.

Maine is now 12-8 overall, 9-4 in the NAC. Delaware fell to 11-10, 7-6.

The Bears grabbed the lead for good by closing out the first half with a 19-4 spurt. That gave the Bears a 41-29 lead at the intermission and the Hens could get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Arena had five points and four assists during the decisive first-half run for the Bears.

Maine freshman guard and Delaware native John Gordon paced the Bears with 15 points. Ledbetter and Greg Logan finished with 14 apiece; Arena had 12 and Ramone Jones contributed 10 points. Logan grabbed 10 rebounds.

Arena’s double-double was his sixth of the season and Ledbetter’s was his third. His 16 rebounds tied his career-high.

Patrick Evans’ 15 points and 12 boards paced Delaware. Greg Smith had 14 points, Bruce McCullough had 13 and Rob Garner scored 10 points. Smith had seven rebounds and Garner dished out six assists.

Maine nemesis Peca Arsic was held to five points.

“This was our best game of the year, overall,” said Maine coach Rudy Keeling. “Casey Arena played very, very well offensively and Ramone Jones did a wonderful job defensively on Arsic.

“Casey really controlled the tempo,” added Keeling. “He didn’t force things. When he was open, he took the shots. He didn’t take any bad shots, Casey was very, very efficient. When he plays that way, we’re so much better as a team.”

Keeling added that he was happy with the way his team protected the lead.

“The guys really rose to the occasion,” said Keeling. “We made some tough baskets and foul shots to hang in there.”

Maine went 15-of-20 from the foul line, including 13-of-17 in the second half, to keep Delaware from getting close.

Maine began its first-half run with 4:33 remaining when Arena fed Logan for a slam.

Twenty-nine seconds later, Arena fed Matt Moore for a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Maine a 27-25 lead.

Arsic’s fade-away jumper from the lane tied it for the final time as Arena broke the tie with a three-pointer from the top of the key and Ledbetter scored off an offensive rebound.

Black Bears 77, Blue Hens 65

Maine men (12-8) Delaware (11-10)

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

Ledbetter 5 17 4 5 14 Arsic 2 9 0 0 5

Jones 3 8 3 4 10 Smith 6 10 2 2 14

Logan 6 9 2 3 14 Evans 6 16 3 5 15

Arena 5 11 1 2 12 Garner 4 8 2 3 10

Moore 3 9 0 0 8 McCullough 6 11 0 0 13

Gordon 5 7 3 4 15 Perry 3 8 1 1 8

Collins 1 1 2 2 4 Bennett 0 0 0 0 0

Long 0 1 0 0 0 Gonzalez 0 0 0 0 0

Strine 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 28 63 15 20 77 Totals 27 62 8 11 65

Maine 41 77

Delaware 29 65

3-pt. goals: Maine (6-8): Jones 1-1, Arena 1-1, Moore 2-3, Gordon 2-3; Delaware (3-11): Arsic 1-4, McCullough 1-2, Perry 1-4