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ORONO – They made it look easy Tuesday night, and that’s something the 2006-07 basketball season has been anything but for the Black Bears in their first 17 games.
The University of Maine men put it all together at Alfond Arena and rode hot shooting, balanced scoring, group rebounding, and determined defensive pressure to a 70-56 victory over the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
The Bears improved to 7-11 overall and 2-4 in America East with their second straight conference win.
“They showed they’re not a 2-4 team tonight,” said UMBC coach Randy Monroe, whose Retrievers are now 6-12 (2-3). “We had no answers for them.”
The Bears shot a scalding 51.9 percent (27-for-52) from the floor overall and an even hotter 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from 3-point range in a game they led from the outset.
“This is big for our confidence. We’ve shown we can put a full game together and close out games,” said senior guard Jon Sheets, who paced Maine with 17 points and four assists.
In four of Maine’s previous five games, the Bears dominated most statistical categories and came out of the first half with a lead only to lose the lead, and the game, in the waning minutes.
What’s made the difference? The sustained good play of post players Olli Ahvenniemi and Philippe Tchekane Bofia.
Ahvenniemi turned in a second straight, well-rounded effort with six points, five rebounds, and five blocks. The 6-foot-10 senior co-captain even had a couple steals while guarding athletic, 6-6 UMBC forward Mike Housman and holding him to six points.
Bofia showed signs of breaking out of an offensive funk with seven points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
“Phil didn’t get as many minutes as he normally would, but that’s only because Olli was playing as well as he did,” Woodward said.
Sheets, who canned 5 of 8 3-pointers, was half of Maine’s sharpshooting backcourt as co-captain Kevin Reed led the way with 18 points and six rebounds.
“Reed and Sheets were tough. I knew Reed was as good as he is, but Sheets really impressed me,” said UMBC junior guard Brian Hodges. “Neither one of those guys missed today.
“Then again, everybody seemed to hit at least one 3. It was like picking your poison: Either give up a layup or give up a 3-pointer.”
Chris Bruff had a few of those layups. Maine’s senior forward chipped in for Maine with 12 points and a game-high six assists.
“It’s good playing with shooters,” Bruff said with a smile. “I go to the basket really well, but to be able to kick it out to Jon or Kevin is a bonus.”
Maine jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back. The Bears used two scoring runs – 7-0 and 9-2 – over a five-minute span midway through the second to seize control of the game. They led by as many as 22 points and as few as nine in the second half.
“Our guys followed the defensive game plan very well from start to finish and we did a good job closing off second shots to them and we were very consistent,” said Maine coach Ted Woodward.
Hodges showed why he’s the highest-scoring sixth man in NCAA Division I with 26 points and six rebounds – both game-highs – off the bench.
Thomas Young contributed 13 points for UMBC, which shot a respectable 43.4 percent from the floor.
The Retrievers outrebounded the Bears 30-28 and outscored them 30-18 in the paint, but Maine committed fewer turnovers (10 to 13) and scored 17 points off turnovers to UMBC’s eight.
BLACK BEARS 70, RETRIEVERS 56
UMBC (6-12) Maine (7-11)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Pry 1 3 0 0 2 Bruff 4 8 3 12
Housman 3 6 0 0 6 Ahvnnimi 3 6
Greene 0 4 0 0 0 Sheets 6 10 17
Pugh 1 2 0 0 3 Bernal 1 7 1 3
Young 6 13 1 2 13 Reed 8 16 18
Seaborn 0 1 0 0 0 Socoby 2 2 7
Spadafors 0 0 0 0 0 TchknBfia 3 7
Hodges 9 20 4 4 26
Eshietdho 3 4 0 2 6
Massey 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 23 53 5 8 56 Totals 27 52 70
UMBC 28 56
Maine 37 70
3-pt. goals – UMBC (5-16): Hodges 4-10, Pugh 1-2, Greene 0-4; Maine (10-19): Sheets 5-8, Reed 2-8, Bruff 1-1, Socoby 1-1, Tchekane Bofia 1-1
Attendance: 1,374
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