ORONO – There are several outstanding guards in America East, but there may not be a better tandem than the University of Maine’s Kevin Reed and Eric Dobson.

Reed buried seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points and Dobson provided 13 points and nine assists Friday night as the Black Bears opened conference play with a convincing 87-63 men’s basketball victory over Hartford at Alfond Arena.

“If we can have a similar mental approach to each and every game, we have a chance to be a legitimate contender,” said UMaine coach John Giannini.”

A crowd of 1,193 was treated to an efficient, high-energy performance by UMaine (7-3), which surged to an early lead behind a cohesive defensive effort and never let the Hawks (3-5) within striking distance.

Reed (7 rebounds, 5 steals) and Dobson (3 steals) spearheaded the effort at both ends of the floor. They were tenacious on defense, turning steals into transition points.

“I thought it really started with our defensive intensity,” Giannini said. “We held them to four [points] for a while at the start of the game.”

Dobson’s quick penetration moves forced the Hartford defense to react and he then was able to find the open shooter on several occasions.

“I was driving and they crowded the paint, so I was just kicking it out to the open guy,” Dobson said. “We just knocked down shots.”

UMaine shot 62 percent (13-for-21) from 3-point range and connected on 59 percent overall.

“Whenever I see [Dobson] penetrate… whenever he draws all that attention, he’s good at finding the open person and I was just open today,” Reed said.

Dobson committed only one turnover in 31 minutes of action, a trend Giannini hopes he can continue this season.

“There’s no question Eric has been a good point guard for us,” Giannini said. “But what a great point guard does is get nine assists and one turnover.

“Tonight he was great,” he added.”

Bangor’s Joe Campbell tossed in 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for UMaine while Mark Flavin (4 blocked shots), Chris Markwood of South Portland, and Freddy Petkus chipped in with nine points apiece.

Aaron Cook scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half to lead Hartford. Ryan Stys scored 16, but was held to four after the break.

The Bears jumped on the Hawks, bolting to a 19-4 lead during the first 71/2 minutes on their way to a 44-28 halftime advantage. UMaine fed off its defense and rebounding, unleashing a potent transition game that rattled off 12 straight points in the early going.

David Dubois opened the flurry with a conventional three-point play. Dobson followed with a bucket off a low-post feed from Dubois, then scored a fast-break layup after the first of 12 first-half turnovers by the Hawks.

Campbell made a steal and cashed in with a slam dunk, then Reed buried a 3-pointer in transition off a Dobson steal as the Bears made it 12-2 with only 2:13 gone in the contest.

“We just came out from the jump with high defensive intensity,” Reed said, “and it carried over into the second half.”

“When we get our stops, all we’ve got to do is score,” he added. “It makes the game a lot more fun running up and down the floor playing defense.”

Hartford later countered with an 11-3 spurt behind five points from Stys, but the Bears outscored the Hawks 10-2 over the last four minutes to build their lead back to 16 points.

BLACK BEARS 87, HAWKS 63

Hartford (3-5) Maine (7-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Parker 3 10 0 0 7 Dobson 3 4 13

Ford 1 5 0 0 2 Reed 8 15 3 26

Stys 6 11 1 2 16 Dubois 1 1 1 3

Goode 4 7 0 4 8 Campbell 5 13

Regan 1 1 0 0 2 Markwood 3 9

Cook 5 11 4 4 17 Hadjisotirov 1 3 2

Baker 1 3 0 0 2 Petkus 3 3 9

Taylor 2 4 0 0 5 Flavin 2 6 9

Zimnickas 2 4 0 0 4 Bruff 0 0 1

Lang 0 0 0 0 0 Ahvenniemi 1 1 2

Wallingford 0 0 0

Totals 25 56 5 10 63 Totals 27 46 20 27 87

Hartford 28 63

Maine 44 87

3-pt. goals ? Hartford (8-17): Stys 3, Cook 3, Parker, Taylor; Maine (13-21): Reed 7, Petkus 3, Campbell 2, Markwood

Attendance: 1,193