ORONO – Coming into the 2004-05 college basketball season, depth figured to be a particular strength for the University of Maine men.

Recent developments have done nothing to disprove that notion as the 7-4 Black Bears have managed not only to cover up some holes both in the starting lineup and on the bench, they’ve been able to play fairly solid ball while doing so.

Now comes the ultimate test.

Starting point guard Chris Markwood found out Monday afternoon that he will be out of action for four to six weeks with a broken hand.

He broke his hand after slapping it awkwardly against an opposing player while going for a loose ball in Sunday’s home game against Stony Brook University.

Presumably, junior guard Ernest Turner will take over the point position along with sophomore Chris Bruff.

Markwood, UMaine’s leading assist man with 4.4 per game, was averaging 8.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. The South Portland native has started 33 of the 35 games he’s played in for Maine after transferring from Notre Dame his sophomore year.

If Markwood misses the next six weeks, he will return to the Bears with four games left in the regular season and just under three weeks before the start of the America East playoffs.

If that wasn’t enough to test Maine’s depth, consider some of the Bears’ other setbacks:

. Senior forward David Dubois, who has started five of Maine’s 11 games, was coming into his own at the right time. With America East second-team selection Mark Flavin struggling at the start of the season, Dubois’ defense and 6.5 points/4.4 rebounds averages were a boon to the Bears. Then the 6-foot-10 Dubois pulled a muscle in his left calf during practice and has missed most of the last three games.

“It was too tight,” said Dubois, a native of Ste.-Gabriel, Quebec. “During the [holiday] break, I just rested and the coaches didn’t want to take a chance on me getting injured again in the UMF game and to just get ready for Stony Brook.”

Dubois’ progress is slow. He managed to take one shot and grab one rebound Sunday, but only logged two minutes of playing time against Stony Brook University.

“The goal for me and Mark is to be able to play together all the time,’ Dubois said. “Now that I get a chance to play more and contribute, I don’t want to miss too many games, but I also don’t want to come back too fast.”

. Fefo Sanchez, a native of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, is no longer with the team. The 6-4 freshman guard was having a difficult time making the transition from South America to Orono, Maine, and asked to be excused.

. Fefo got homesick and he’s gone home right now, but the door’s open for him to come back,” said Maine coach Ted Woodward. “If he does, that’s fine, but I really haven’t spoken to him the last few days.

“Right now, he’s left the team. I don’t expect him back, but if he does, he’s welcome back.”

. Senior guard and tri-captain Freddy Petkus has missed all of Maine’s games so far this season with back problems (spasms). Petkus was expected to see plenty of playing time in Maine’s already deep six-guard rotation and is a proven leader on the court, but the maturation and development of 6-3 sophomore Chris Bruff has helped to fill the void.

“He’s a winner. He’s just very young having just turned 19, but he’s very athletic and continues to improve his game each day,” Woodward said. “He understands the game of basketball and we feel very comfortable with him. He can cover four different positions and he can play power forward, point guard, and shooting guard.”

Bruff scored a career-high 13 points in a career-high 23 minutes Sunday to help the Bears improve to 2-0 in America East conference play. He filled in more than capably for Markwood, who left the game early in the second half.

The Bears, who finally got to play a game at Alfond Arena – their official home court – last Thursday after a four-game, two-week road schedule, will hit the road again for four of their next five games.

This week, Maine will play two teams on the road against arguably America East’s two best big men: 7-foot center Nick Billings (at Binghamton Thursday) and 6-9 forward Taylor Coppenrath (at two-time defending champ Vermont Sunday).

“It was nice to be home for a couple games, but now we’re on the road again,” said Woodward with a wry smile.