ORONO – An estimated 350 fans turned out Sunday afternoon at Alfond Arena to watch the University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams take the court for their annual Blue-White scrimmages.

On the men’s side, someone who wasn’t on the court drew a lot of attention.

Senior standout Kevin Reed spent the session on the bench with a brace on his left foot. The 6-foot-2 guard from Yarmouth, Mass., suffered an undisclosed foot injury during practice last Thursday and is expected to be out of action an estimated six weeks.

“I had a little mishap during the course of practice,” said a subdued Reed. “I’m not going to miss any conference games or anything like that. I’ll be back soon.”

Reed comes into this season having played in all 89 games during his career. Last winter, he persevered through a back ailment that often hampered his effectiveness.

“Unfortunately, I’m becoming the master of how to deal with major injuries,” UMaine coach Ted Woodward said.

“I feel as bad for Kevin as anybody,” he added. “You’re talking about a kid who’s probably the hardest worker in our program since I’ve been here, and that includes a lot of great players.”

Reed, a two-time All-America East choice, ranks 14th on the UMaine career scoring list with 1,179 points and is 20th in rebounds (551). He also is the Bears’ all-time leader in 3-pointers with 235 and ranks sixth in steals with 176.

“He’s someone who’s put himself in a position to be the player of the year in the league,” said Woodward. “That can still happen, but we’re as concerned about him right now mentally, just staying with it, and he’s been great. He’s still the leader of this basketball team.”

The Bears must adjust without their top returnee in scoring, rebounding, 3-point shooting and steals – at least for a while.

“It’s certainly a hard blow for us because he’s a great player and he’s a leader and this is his time, but we’ve got enough depth to try to find some options that can help us do some different things,” Woodward said. “I know he’ll do everything he can do from a rehabilitation standpoint to put himself in a position to play as quickly as possible.”

Maine men introduce newcomers

The Blue-White scrimmage, which consisted of two 10-minute halves with running time, gave the men’s team a chance to show off some of its new players.

The Bears have seven newcomers, including 6-5 freshman point guard Junior Bernal, 6-6 frosh forward Philippe Tchekane Bofia and junior college transfers Rashard Turner, Jon Sheets and Dominique Scales.

Bernal showed off his quickness and aggressiveness, scoring nine points in the session.

“I think he’s going to be a tremendous player in the program,” Woodward said. “He’s obviously young, but he makes things happen on both ends of the court.”

Turner (8 points), along with senior guard Ernest Turner (7 points) and Tchekane Bofia (6 points, 3 rebounds) also played well in a balanced performance.

“For the most part I thought our guys played hard and I thought they played unselfish and that’s one of the things that you always look for as a coach,” Woodward said.

Sheets, a 6-1 junior guard, was held out because of injury and junior guard Chris Bruff also sat out the scrimmage.

The Bears play host to Cape Breton in their first exhibition game Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Maine women seek cohesiveness

Sunday provided the UMaine women, guided by first-year coach Ann McInerney, with their first chance this season to experience the Alfond.

The Bears also were without a key player in Margaret Elderton.

The sophomore point guard was held out of action as she works her way back from offseason surgery on her left knee. Elderton was injured Jan. 11 at New Hampshire.

“I think we’re focused on trying to get her back and ready for the first game,

McInerney said. “As nice as it would be to have her in a game on a day like today, I think the big picture is more important.”

With Elderton out, sophomore Kris Younan and junior Ashley Underwood of Benton were the primary ballhandlers.

The White squad for the second half demonstrated the uptempo style McInerney wants. Younan, Underwood, junior Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor, senior Katie Whittier of New Gloucester and senior Abby Schrader played crisply.

“That’s what we’re trying to do, get up and down the court, put pressure on the other team offensively, force them to play transition defense,” McInerney said.

The group exhibited excellent transition play behind Underwood, who scored 11 consecutive points during a span of 41/2 minutes. She made a layup off her own steal, made two foul shots, hit a pull-up 3-pointer on the fast break, nailed an 18-footer on a two-dribble jump shot and drove in for a layup.

“As far as our offenses go, we have a lot of quick-hitters,” Underwood said. “We’re always moving on offense, always cutting back door, setting screens.”

“We love the [Alfond] environment and we can’t wait for regular season to start, to get all the fans packed in here again,” she said.

The UMaine women play an exhibition home game Monday at 6:30 p.m. against the University of New Brunswick.