WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The College of William and Mary showed a youthful University of Maine men’s basketball squad it still has some growing to do by handing it an 89-55 season-opening loss Friday night.
The Tribe, which was picked 12th in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll, started off its season with an emphatic victory in the opening round of the second annual William and Mary Tip-Off Classic at Kaplan Center.
Freshman guard Calvin Baker, the only new face in the Tribe’s starting five this season, showed no rookie jitters as he led the Tribe with 13 points in the first half and finished with 16 thanks to 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.
William and Mary will take on Holy Cross in today’s 8 p.m. championship game while Maine will face High Point University in the 6 p.m. consolation matchup.
The Tribe, which never trailed and were never tied, scored the first seven points of the game and went into halftime with a 45-23 lead. The closest Maine would get was 7-6 with a 6-0 run early in the first half.
Senior guard Ernest Turner led the Black Bears with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field (4-for-7 from 3-point range).
Maine junior forward-center Olli Ahvenniemi had 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks when he fouled out of the game with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left. Redshirt freshman forward Christian Cavanaugh finished with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals, and a block in his collegiate debut.
Junior forward Corey Cofield led the Tribe with 19 points and nine rebounds. Nathan Mann came off the bench to score 11 points and make a game-high five steals.
William and Mary led by as many as 37 points (75-38) in the second half as its transition game proved too much for Maine to contend with.
Maine was outrebounded 51-35 overall and 19-9 on the offensive boards. William and Mary also outshot the Bears 44.8 percent from the field to 36.2.
TRIBE 89, BLACK BEARS 55
Maine (0-1) William & Mary (1-0)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Petkus 0 1 0 0 0 Kisielius 4 9
Ahvenniemi 5 6 1 3 11 Stein 0 2 0
R. Turner 2 13 2 4 6 Cofield 9 14 19
E. Turner 7 14 2 4 20 Baker 5 12 16
Sheets 1 7 2 2 5 Payton 0 2 3
Bruff 0 1 0 1 0 Loehrke 0 1 2
Hight 0 4 0 0 0 Trumpower 1 4
Scales 0 2 0 0 0 Smith 3 8 10
Cavanaugh 6 10 0 0 13 Mann 4 10 11
Hutt 0 0 2 2
Carrabine 0 3 0
Mokris 2 2 2 7
Darnell 2 2 0 6
Stratton 0 1 0
Totals 21 58 7 14 55 Totals 30 67 19 32 89
Maine 23 55
William & Mary 45 89
3-pt. goals – Maine (6-20): E. Turner 4-7, Cavanaugh 1-2, Sheets 1-4, Petkus 0-1, Hight 0-2, R. Turner 0-4; William & Mary (10-18): Baker 4-7, Darnell 2-2, Mann 2-5, Mokris 1-1, Kisielius 1-2, Carrabine 0-1
Attendance: 2,896
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