Morgan St. holds off UMaine Black Bears slip to 4-3; Providence up next

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BALTIMORE – The University of Maine men’s basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit with less than six minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough for a rally as the Black Bears fell to Morgan State 71-63 Saturday night at Hill Field House.

Ernest Turner led UMaine with 16 points, including a pair of free throws to cut Morgan State’s lead to one at one point late.

Kevin Reed, who scored 14 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals, started the Maine run with 5:59 left in the second half when he stole the ball and put in a layup. An intentional foul was called on the play, and Reed converted both free throws. The Black Bears (4-3) also got the ball back, and Reed hit a 3-pointer to cut Morgan State’s lead to 59-54.

Maine’s defense stopped MSU on its next possession, and David Dubois cut the lead to three points with a layup.

Joe Campbell of Bangor continued the momentum with a block on a Morgan State (3-6) shot. Reed grabbed the rebound and Turner hit his free throws.

Later in the half Reed drained a 3-pointer to tie it at 61-61, and again scored on a layup to tie it at 63-63 after Morgan State answered.

But Morgan State scored eight unanswered points in the final 1:11 to seal the win.

The Black Bears jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the first half, but Morgan State responded with a 35-27 halftime advantage thanks to a 30-9 run, keyed by Karanvir Aujla’s 3-for-3 effort from 3-point range.

Maine shot 45.3 percent from the floor in the game, but just 23.8 percent (5-for-21) from 3-point range. The Black Bears converted 10 of 15 free-throw attempts, while Morgan State went 14 for 16.

South Portland’s Chris Markwood chipped in with 10 points and three assists. Dubois had seven rebounds and Olli Ahvenniemi had three blocks.

Morgan State’s Ronald Timus came off the bench to score 12 of his 19 points in the second half and Aujla hit all four of his 3-point attempts for 12 points.

The Black Bears return to action Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Providence (R.I.).

BEARS 71, BLACK BEARS 63

Maine (4-3) Morgan State (3-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Dubois 6 10 2 2 14 Grant 1 9 6

Campbell 1 1 0 0 2 Evans 1 3 2

Turner 7 16 2 3 16 Andrews 4 7 8

Reed 4 13 3 4 14 Mathis 3 6 2 8

Markwood 3 5 2 4 10 Brand 3 10 7

Bruff 0 0 1 2 1 Timus 7 12 19

Flavin 0 0 0 0 0 McLean 2 4 7

Jackson 2 5 0 0 4 Terrell 0 2 0

Ahvenniemi 1 3 0 0 2 Lawler 0 1 0

Aujla 4 4 0 12

Warfield 0 1 0

Berkley 1 2 0 2

McIver 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 53 10 15 63 26 61 14 16 71

Maine 27 63

Morgan State 35 71

3-pt. goals – Maine (5-21): Reed 3-10, Markwood 2-4, Jackson 0-2, Turner 0-5; Morgan State (5-12): Aujla 4-4, Brand 1-3, Grant 0-1, Mathis 0-1, McLean 0-1, Terrell 0-2

Attendance: 2,372