Black Bears get second chance against Big East competition

A month ago, the University of Maine men’s basketball team had its first big challenge in the form of a Big East Conference foe in its season-opener. But as big a challenge as Boston College was, the Golden Eagles also presented a golden opportunity.

Unfortunately, the Black Bears were unable to take advantage of an highly rated but undermanned BC team and lost by 14 points.

A better-executing, more polished Black Bear squad will get a second chance to notch some valuable rating percentage index points against another Big East team when they battle Providence tonight at 7:30.

“This is a game we picked up late in the summer,” said Maine head coach Ted Woodward. “We dropped a Division III opponent to pick this up and our guys are excited about it.”

Guards Ernest Turner and Chris Markwood, who both transferred from bigger NCAA hoop programs to come to Maine, realize how big this game could be.

“We felt like we could have, and maybe should have won the BC game,” said Markwood. “This is kind of like a second chance for us. As a player, you love playing in games like this and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Markwood, who leads the team with four assists per game in his first full season as a point guard with the Bears, transferred from Notre Dame. He signed with the Fighting Irish as a heralded prospect out of South Portland High School.

Turner, a Camden, N.J. native, transferred from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

A win could be a defining moment in Maine’s season as the Bears have played well enough to win, or at least had the opportunity to win five or six of their seven games.

“We’ve been on the road for six games [of the last seven games] and we’re 4-3,” Woodward said. “Sometimes when you’re on the road, things go against you and it’s not easy to find your offensive rhythm.”

The 5-4 Friars, picked sixth in the Big East preseason poll, are led by senior forward Ryan Gomes, the Big East preseason player of the year. Gomes is averaging 18.8 points per game, and 9.0 rebounds per game to lead all Big East players. He has also recorded a career-high seven steals and eight assists in games this year.

“Certainly we have to shut down Ryan Gomes and have a good balanced offensive effort,” Woodward said. “The two things we have to take care of are turnovers and rebounding margin. They have big strong guys and those are also strengths of ours.”

The thing Woodward wants most is more consistency, especially on the offensive end. Maine’s defensive effort has been solid throughout the early season, running from adequate at the low end to outstandingly stingy on the high side.

“We’ve done things in short sequences this year,” Woodward said. “We want to make sure we do all the things we know we can do at a high level for 40 minutes. We’re not doing that yet, but we’re getting better.”