Bears’ defense prevails Stony Brook held to 41

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ORONO – Aesthetically speaking, Sunday afternoon’s basketball game between the University of Maine and Stony Brook University men was not pretty.

From a coach’s perspective, however, it was a masterpiece. Well, from a winning coach’s perspective anyway.

The Black Bears improved their record to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in the America East conference with a 46-41 victory in a gritty, defensively dominated affair at Alfond Arena.

“I like it a lot, and you can quote me on that,” said Maine coach John Giannini. “I’m more pleased with this win than the Hartford win [87-63] because this one shows more growth in terms of dealing with difficult circumstances. We had fewer turnovers and played better defense.”

Maine committed just three turnovers in the second half and 11 overall – 6.9 below its season per-game average – while Stony Brook had 15 – nine in the second half.

“We had a five-point lead and we turned the ball over three or four times in a row and let them back in the game,” said Seawolves coach Nick Macarchuk. “But the big thing was we couldn’t score. Their defense just prevented us from scoring … Not just at the end of the game, but throughout.”

Maine’s mix of zone, matchup zone, trap and man-to-man defenses helped hold 3-8 Stony Brook to just four second- half field goals.

“It’s hard to win a game when you only make four in a half and our team’s defense deserves credit for that,” said Giannini. “Both teams got back on defense well and the zone turned out to be a better defense for us, so it turned into a slow game. I don’t think either team went into it thinking it would be a 40-point game, but both teams did a good job defensively to make it really hard for the other to get good shots.”

Maine shot 40.9 percent from the field for the game and SBU finished at 33.3.

Point guard Eric Dobson and forward Mark Flavin led the charge offensively for the Bears with 12 points apiece, but everyone had a hand – if not a fingertip, hip, foot, leg or elbow – in this game defensively.

Chief among those body-part defensive leaders was South Portland’s Chris Markwood, who helped hold two-time all-conference guard D.J. Munir, who Macarcuk calls the team’s “chief catalyst” to seven points – 10.8 below his average.

“It all comes down to playing him hard on defense,” said Markwood, who also had seven points and two steals. “He’s real shifty and tries to get you off-balance or jumping up, so I just tried to focus on his body instead of looking at his face.”

Senior forward Mike Konopka, who has been sidelined with back trouble, was the Seawolves’ lone double-digit scorer with 12 points. Cori Spencer had nine points and eight rebounds.

Calling this a tight game would be an understatement. Maine’s biggest lead was six points and SBU’s was five. The game featured eight ties, the last of which was broken for good when Flavin hit two free throws with 2:22 to play.

Maine then got the ball back via a defensive stand in which the shot clock ran out on SBU with 1:45 to play. Misses from the top of the key and the left corner (3-pointer) were all SBU could manage the rest of the way, although Spencer rebounded the missed 3 with 11 seconds left and the score 44-41, but traveled. Meanwhile, Maine hit three of six from the line to hold the Seawolves off in the final 76 seconds.

Flavin led Maine with eight rebounds (six in the final 15 minutes) and three blocks.

“Once I get loose and warmed up, I feel more comfortable,” Flavin said. “Whatever the defense gave me, I used.”

Maine sophomore guard Kevin Reed had nine points, six rebounds, and three steals.

BLACK BEARS 46, SEAWOLVES 41

Stony Brook (3-8) Maine (8-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Beauford 2 10 0 0 5 Dobson 5 13 12

Munir 3 9 0 0 7 Reed 3 8 9

Popoko 1 3 0 0 2 Dubois 1 1 2

Spencer 2 9 5 6 9 Campbell 0 0

Konopka 4 8 4 4 12 Markwood 3 7

Orfini 3 3 0 0 6 Hadjisotirov 0 0

Santiago 0 2 0 0 0 Petkus 2 5 4

Bennett 0 1 0 0 0 Flavin 4 6 12

Totals 15 45 9 10 41 18 44 18 46

Stony Brook 25 41

Maine 25 46

3-pt. goals ? Stony Brook (2-10): Beauford 1-3, Munir 1-4, Santiago 0-2, Popoko 0-1; Maine (1-12): Dobson 1-2, Reed 0-3, Campbell 0-1, Markwood 0-2, Hadjisotirov 0-1, Petkus 0-2, Flavin 0-1

Attendance: 2,235