NEWARK, Del. – After watching his team put together 20 minutes of offensive perfection on Sunday, University of Maine coach John Giannini glanced at a stat sheet and saw concrete proof of what had gone right … and how hard those trends would be to continue.

His Black Bears had shot 76.2 percent from the floor against the nation’s hottest team, Hofstra. Errick Greene had held America East player of the year Norman Richardson without a field goal.

And (here’s the scary part) the Bears led by just three.

“I thought that was … unusual,” Giannini said after Hofstra had rallied past his Bears and posted a 78-66 win in an America East semifinal game at Carpenter Center.

The fourth-seeded Black Bears bowed out in the semifinals for the third straight year and finished up 18-11. No. 1 Hofstra kept the nation’s longest winning streak alive at 17 games, improved to 25-4, and earned a berth in Saturday’s league championship game.

“Of course, I had hoped that we would continue to play well,” Giannini said. “We certainly played hard, but Hofstra played a little bit better and we had some breaks go against us.”

One of those breaks: Maine senior forward Carvell Ammons picked up his third foul with 2:26 to go in the first half, was assessed his fourth two minutes into the second, and sat for the next 11 minutes.

“It’s not a big secret that I’m the main man inside,” Ammons said. “We had a good flow inside and outside, and when I came out, that pretty much made us an outside team.”

Hofstra coach Jay Wright said Ammons’ absence was important because the Pride had not had much luck stopping him down low with one defender, and he refused to open up outside shooters by double-teaming the 6-foot-6 lefty.

“I thought that’s a big key. He was definitely a player of the year candidate, and you can’t guard him one-on-one,” Wright said. “I know people probably watched us, saw us playing him one-on-one and said, ‘What the hell’s Wright doing?”‘

Ammons had been effective down low against the Pride and finished with 16 points in his foul-plagued 26 minutes. Huggy Dye added 15 and Julian Dunkley tossed in 14 for UMaine.

Hofstra countered with an 18-point effort by Rick Apodaca. Roberto Gittens netted 15 while Jason Hernandez and Danny Walker scored 13 each. Richardson managed just four free throws.

After roaring to a 13-3 lead and making 16 of 21 first-half shots, the Black Bears never caught fire in the second. UMaine missed its first six shots of the second half, connected on only three of its first 13, and watched as the Pride reeled off a 10-4 run.

UMaine answered, taking a 54-50 lead after a Tory Cavalieri steal and layup and a Greene post move at the 10:17 mark.

But Hernandez hit a pair of off-balance shots – a fading 3-pointer from the top of the key and a spinning 14-footer from just inside the foul line – to kick off a game-sealing 15-2 run.

Giannini said Hofstra’s increased defensive pressure and crisp decision-making down the stretch paid off. He also singled out the defensive effort of his own player, Greene.

“The chances of Norman Richardson not getting a field goal in 38 minutes are one in a million,” Giannini said. “Norman was doing all the right things and they were setting a million screens for him. …It was one of the most impressive defensive performances I’ve ever seen.”

Richardson, to his credit, didn’t force shots (he only attempted six), and focused on helping the Pride figure out a way to win. He contributed eight rebounds, including six in the pivotal second half as the Pride dominated the boards 23-12.

“If we win, I’m very happy. I’m very excited,” Richardson said. “It doesn’t matter, as long as I do the little things to help my team win, I’m very happy. And I think I did a great job doing the little things today.”

And, as UMaine’s Dunkley pointed out, the performances the Pride got from its other players offset the offensive absence of Richardson.

“You’ve got to give credit to those other players,” Dunkley said. “They stepped up and knocked down some open shots; guys that we wanted the ball in their hands.”

Pride 78, Black Bears 66

(Sunday Afternoon)

Maine (18-11) Hofstra (25-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Dunkley 6 16 0 0 14 Gittens 7 9 15

Jackson 3 5 0 0 8 Richardson 0 4

Ammons 7 9 2 2 16 Springfield 3 6

Cavalieri 2 7 0 0 4 Hernandez 4 13

Greene 2 5 0 0 4 Apodaca 7 13 18

Haynes 2 3 1 1 5 Suarez 3 5 7

Dye 4 6 5 7 15 Fox 0 0 0 0

Sylla 0 0 2 2

Walker 5 7 3 13

Grubler 0 0 0 0

Feeley 0 0 0 0

Totals 26 51 8 10 66 Totals 29 53 14 19 78

Maine 41 66

Hofstra 38 78

3-pt. goals: Maine (6-14): Dunkley 2-4, Jacksin 2-4, Cavalieri 0-3, Dye 2-3; Hofstra (6-15): Richardson 0-2, Hernandez 2-5, Apodaca 3-5, Suarez 1-2, Walker 0-1