ORONO – From disappointment to dominance.

What a difference a day made for Maine center Justin Rowe. After what for him was a ho-hum effort (seven points, nine rebounds, four blocks) Saturday afternoon in a comfortable win over Bangor’s Husson College, the 7-foot center turned in a monster effort Sunday to lead the Black Bears to a 68-64 victory over Jacksonville State University in the Maine Holiday Classic.

Rowe scored 14 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and blocked eight shots to help Maine jump out to a big lead and then survive a dogged comeback effort by the Gamecocks of Jacksonville, Ala.

“I was a little mad at myself after yesterday’s performance. I don’t like to admit it, but I don’t think I had the right mindset,” Rowe said. “It’s very irresponsible for me to do what I did, but I wasn’t up for the game. Today I knew I had to play well and we needed this one, so I did what I had to do. Yesterday, I didn’t really come to play, which was horrible.”

There was nothing horrible about Rowe’s game Sunday as he held 6-8 Gamecocks star forward Omar Barlett to six points in the first half and 16 for the game.

“The big kid inside was the difference in the game. He blocked eight shots, but he must have altered between 10 and 15 more, including the last one,” said UMaine alum and JSU coach Mike LaPlante, whose team is now 6-2.

The last one was the key one as Rowe held his ground in the low post as mercurial JSU guard Poonie Richardson drove through a seam for what would have been a game-tying basket with seven seconds left. The senior center raised his arms high, blocked Richardson’s path to the hoop, and caused Richardson to alter his shot.

The shot bounced off the rim and into Rowe’s hands before Rowe tossed it off to guard Kevin Reed.

“At first I was looking for a three, but I got a lane so I decided to take it in and either put it in or draw a foul,” said Richardson, who scored a game-high 20 points. “Rowe made me change my shots. I’d hold it longer or switch to my left. He’s a presence.”

Reed drew a foul with three seconds left, hit the free throw, and after a JSU timeout, drained the second to put the game out of reach.

Rowe said it was the kind of game the Bears would have lost last year.

“Yeah, it might have been. I don’t think there’s any question our team has the talent to win, but you have to have the mindset too,” Rowe said. “Today even though we had the lull, when it came down to it, we were a smart team. We took care of the ball, played defense, and got our stops.”

The final 53 seconds capped a whirlwind game in which the Bears led 11-0, built their lead to 23 early in the second half, and then watched it all evaporate courtesy of 13-3 and 14-4 runs fueled by an effective JSU full-court press and 10 points by Barlett.

Maine outrebounded JSU 43-30 and outshot JSU 60 to 28.1 percent from the field, but committed 27 turnovers to JSU’s 17.

“We just were completely unstable with the ball, but our guys gave a great effort,” said Giannini. “I don’t know if there’s another college basketball team this year that will have 27 turnovers and still win a game. I don’t know if that’s possible.”

Clayton Brown scored 13 points, Topsham’s Rickey White had 11, and Bangor’s Joe Campbell came off the bench for 12. Guard Eric Dobson had nine points and seven assists.

BLACK BEARS 68, GAMECOCKS 64

(Sunday Afternoon)

Jacksonville State (6-2) Maine men (4-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Brown 1 4 0 0 3 Dobson 4 12 9

Richardson 8 19 2 2 20 Reed 2 7 9

Denson 3 6 0 0 8 Brown 5 9 13

Heard 4 9 0 0 11 White 4 5 11

Barlett 7 19 2 5 16 Rowe 6 10 14

Brown 0 1 0 0 0 Hill 0 1 0

Watson 1 3 0 0 2 Campbell 4 12

Eager 2 6 0 0 4

Perry 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 26 68 4 7 64 25 52 14 16 68

3-pt. goals: JSU (8-26): Heard 3-7, Denson 2-3, Richardson 2-10, Brown 1-2, Eager 0-1, Perry 0-1, Watson 0-2; Maine (4-13): Campbell 2-6, Dobson 1-2, Reed 1-4, Hill 0-1

Attendance: 1,509

Halftime: Maine 44-26