ORONO – When you play the home team in the first round of its tournament, you’re expected to be the meal ticket to the championship game.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Columbia it had been penciled into that role during the Dead River Co. Classic.

The Lions pushed the University of Maine to the limit Saturday afternoon, but the Black Bears came together during the last 121/2 minutes on their way to a 67-56 victory in front of 2,236 fans.

“Our kids have to learn that they have to play at a different level,” said UMaine coach Sharon Versyp. “They’re not just going to step on the court and a miracle’s going to happen.”

The most important thing Columbia (1-3) did was clamp down on Bears forward Heather Ernest (5-for-15 shooting), forcing other players to pick up the offensive slack. UMaine (2-2) eventually did so behind its tireless defensive efforts.

Senior guard Melissa Heon was the catalyst for a critical 11-0 second-half scoring run. She opened with a baseline runner off a Missy Traversi steal, then threw in a driving one-hander from the lane.

Center Nicole Jay then sandwiched a pair of short jumpers around Heon’s steal and subsequent conventional three-point play as UMaine turned a 41-39 deficit into a 50-41 lead with 8:49 remaining.

The Bears’ scrappy man-to-man defense helped force six turnovers as Columbia went scoreless for more than five minutes during that span.

“The second half, with Melissa denying and getting those steals, that was key because it uplifted us; it got the crowd going,” said senior Julie Veilleux of Augusta, who tossed in 11 points and provided five assists and two steals.

Heon scored 12 of her 14 points after the break and posted four assists and four steals.

“I got hurt like three times in a row and came back in actually really frustrated,” Heon said, “so we needed stuff to get done and adrenaline took over and I just did my thing, I guess.”

The Lions, who shot 46 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bears 35-29, countered with six unanswered points to get back within three. However, Kim Corbitt’s attacking offensive play and solid late-game execution enabled UMaine to pull away.

“We played Maine tough for 37 minutes and then lost a three-minute game,” said Columbia coach Jay Butler.

“This sets a standard for them as a team knowing that they can compete against a team the level of Maine in their home opener, in their home tournament, and put a scare into them,” he added.

Ernest finished with 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with three of UMaine’s 16 steals. Corbitt netted nine points and Jay had six clutch second-half points.

“You can’t just expect Heather to have a 30-point night every night,” Veilleux said.

“[The coaches] said we need some people to step up, we need some people to take some more shots,” she added.

Sue Altman scored a game-high 17 points to lead Columbia, while Lizi Chorney added 12. The Lions were plagued by 29 turnovers that led to 28 UMaine points. Edytte Key added nine points and 10 rebounds.

Marquette 73, Oakland 49

(Saturday’s First Game)

Oakland (1-2)

Hafeli 1-4-7, Tully, Manakova 4-6-14, Wilson 1-0-3, Batcha 1-4-6, Piggott 4-0-9, Holenka 1-0-2, Randolph 3-0-7, Liebau, Baker, Yaksich 0-1-1, Longer

Marquette (3-0)

Kieger 7-5-20, Kamm 2-0-6, Schwerman 3-1-10, Quaye 3-3-9, Weaver 3-0-6, Smith, O’Grady 2-6-11, Shirely 0-2-2, Osagie 1-0-2, Juedes 1-0-2, Frede 0-1-1, McCullough 0-2-2, Shouse 1-0-2

3-pt. goals: Hafeli, Wilson, Piggott, Randolph; Kieger, Kamm 2, Schwerman 3, O’Grady

Halftime: Marquette 41-25

BLACK BEARS 67, LIONS 56

Columbia (1-2) Maine (2-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Chorney 3 12 4 6 12 Heon 6 10 14

Revell 1 3 0 0 2 Traversi 0 0

Lesko 4 6 0 0 8 Ernest 5 15 14

Altman 6 8 2 2 17 Veilleux 5 11

Jaschik 1 2 1 2 3 Peterson 3 6

Schook 0 0 0 0 0 Underwood 1 3

Griffith 0 1 0 0 0 Hugstd-Vaa 0 0

Beato 0 0 0 0 0 Jay 3 3 6

Kern 1 2 0 0 3 Corbitt 3 4 3 9

Copeland 0 4 2 2 2 Gay 1 1 2

Key 4 6 1 3 9 Schrader 1 3 2

Totals 20 44 10 15 56 Totals 28 60 12 67

Columbia 30 56

Maine 32 67

3-pt. goals ? Columbia (6-19): Chorney 2-9, Altman 3-5, Kern 1-2, Copeland 0-3; Maine (3-12): Heon 1-2, Traversi 0-2, Ernest 0-1, Veilleux 1-2, Underwood 1-5

Attendance: 2,236