ORONO – If the first game of the new year is any indication as to what University of Maine men’s basketball fans will see from the men’s team, they have reason to expect a happy new year.

The Black Bears started the game with a 13-0 run, played suffocating defense pretty much from start to finish, limited their turnovers, played well in the paint, and used a withering shooting effort from the perimeter to keep the visiting Seawolves at bay.

At least four different players scored 10 points or more for the eighth straight game and the 7-4 Black Bears won their third straight game – a 73-60 decision over Stony Brook University at Alfond Arena Sunday afternoon.

“I think our whole team really saw what can happen when you move and pass the basketball in the second half of our last game and we did that again today,” said Maine coach Ted Woodward. “Plus we started running the ball more than we did early in the season, which I like to see.”

The staggered Seawolves didn’t even get on the scoreboard until five minutes and 33 seconds had been played.

“Getting down 13-0 and the turnovers… We could never get it less than five, but we had several chances,” said coach Nick Macarcuk, whose Seawolves are now 5-6. “Our guys were more aggressive in the second half and we did a lot more things that we didn’t do early, but we still couldn’t close the gap.”

Stony Brook used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to shrink Maine’s lead to 45-39 with 9:11 to play, but a lay-in off a drive by Ernest Turner and a 3-pointer from the left corner by junior guard Kevin Reed ended that threat.

A late 8-2 Seawolves’ run got them within five (61-56) with 31/2 minutes left, but Chris Bruff hit a bank shot from the high post, drew a foul, hit the free throw and then Maine ended the game with a 9-2 run.

“When a team starts chipping away, we have to fight back so they can’t chip away too much,” said Reed, who led Maine with 17 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. “We just need to do what we do, like run plays and run the offense.”

Maine senior forward Mark Flavin turned in another strong two-way effort in the paint as he scored 11 points while grabbing seven boards and blocking seven shots. Flavin also held SBU big man Cori Spencer (11 points, five rebounds) in check.

“Mark knows he’s got to play defense and he’s doing a great job. We need him being as effective defensively as he is offensively,” Woodward said. “He’s working hard at trying to dominate the paint on both ends.”

If SBU didn’t have enough to worry about defensively with Flavin and Reed, Turner gave them more. After a scoreless first half, he scored seven of Maine’s first nine points of the second en route to 14. Bruff also got in the act, scoring 13 off the bench with two blocks.

“I really wanted to bring a lot of intensity and energy out there. I went after every loose ball and block shots, take wide-open shots … whatever they need me to do,” Bruff said.

The sophomore guard also filled in capably for starting point guard Chris Markwood, who missed the last 15 minutes of the game after injuring his left hand or wrist.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons with Turner, Reed, Flavin … Bruff,” Macarcuk said. “We did a pretty good job on their inside players, but their perimeter players really hurt us.”

Meanwhile, the Bears’ defense hassled SBU into 13 turnovers and 38.5 percent shooting from the field for the game.

“They really made it very difficult for us to score,” Macarcuk added.

Freshman guard Antwan Hardy led the Seawolves with 20 points and four steals.

BLACK BEARS 73, SEAWOLVES 60

Stony Brook (5-6) Maine (7-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Orfini 0 2 0 0 0 Flavin 2 6 11

Popoko 2 4 0 0 4 Campbell 4 9

Spencer 4 6 3 5 11 Turner 4 11 14

Hardy 6 15 4 4 20 Reed 6 9 17

Santiago 1 8 6 6 9 Markwood 1 4

Noble 0 0 0 0 0 Bruff 5 6 13

Feist 1 1 0 0 3 Hight 0 1 0

McCollum 3 7 1 2 7 Jackson 2 7 5

Colin 0 1 0 0 0 Dubois 0 1 0

Kobryn 3 8 0 0 6 Ahvenniemi 0 0

Totals 20 52 14 17 60 24 51 17 20 73

Stony Brook 21 60

Maine 26 73

3-pt. goals – Stony Brook (6-14): Hardy 4-7, Feist 1-1, Santiago 1-4, Orfini 0-1, Popoko 0-1; Maine (8-19): Reed 5-8, Campbell 1-1, Turner 1-5, Jackson 1-4, Markwood 0-1

Attendance: 1,747