BOSTON – Even the return of a rejuvenated, rehabilitated, and really motivated Kevin Reed and an influx of talented newcomers wouldn’t be enough to bounce the University of Maine men’s basketball team out of a fairly exclusive club this season.

The Black Bears are still one of about a dozen Division I men’s programs still waiting to play in their first NCAA Tournament game.

They weren’t conference favorites, but hopes were high this season as the Bears were picked No. 2 in the America East preseason poll behind defending champion Albany. The growing pains predicted by head coach Ted Woodward were the prime culprits in making Maine a No. 4 seed in the tournament.

Bear backers remained optimistic, however, as Maine faced a team in the quarterfinals that it had beaten by 14 at home and lost to by three on the road. A win would send them to the semifinals against No. 1 Vermont, a team whose only conference loss this season was to the Black Bears.

But for the second straight year, the Bears bowed out in the quarterfinals after advancing at least as far as the semifinals six of the previous seven years.

Maine has the most semifinal (13) and final (four) appearances in AE history without winning a title.

“It’s a hard thing to do to win a conference championship and go to the NCAA Tournament,” Woodward said. “There are very few people who get that opportunity. It’s an experience you’d like everybody to be able to have.”

Especially a player like Reed, who leaves the program as its all-time career leader in games played (119) and 3-point field goals (311), and among the top 20 in seven UMaine historic statistical categories.

“We’re all trying to get that experience, but at the same time, these guys leaving all feel such a part of Maine that if it happens next year or two years or five years or 10 years, or whenever, they’ll all still feel a part of it. They’re going to be Black Bears for life.”

Given that five Bears were first-year players, another was in his second season, and two players hadn’t played at last season due to injury, Woodward expected this season to have plenty of peaks and valleys, but he also has reason to smile about the immediate future for the same reasons.

Reed does too.

“You’ll be seeing a good team,” Reed said. “We have young team, but they obviously got a lot of experience this year which will prepare them and I think they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Inconsistent play from the post and an inability to generate a consistent transition offense resulted in a third consecutive sub-.500 season at 12-18 overall.

Maine’s post game should improve despite the graduation losses of 6-foot-4 forward Chris Bruff and 6-10 center Olli Ahvenniemi.

The further experience and seasoning of 6-foot-6 sophomore power forward Philippe Tchekane Bofia (7.3 points/3.6 rebounds per game); 6-10 center-forward Jordan Cook of Hampden, who played in 21 games; and 6-9, 310-pound center Brian Andre of Bingham (11 games) – combined with the addition of 6-7 forward Sean Costigan, who sat out this season as a redshirt freshman, and 6-6, 195-pound forward recruit Troy Barnies from Auburn – makes Woodward optimistic.

Even with the departure of Reed and senior point guard Jon Sheets, Maine’s backcourt should remain potent with the return of freshman guards Junior Bernal, who has shown steady improvement this season, and Mark Socoby, a 6-6 guard from Houlton; and the addition of 6-3 shooting guard Kaimondre Owes, a transfer from Saint Peter’s College. Junior guard and former starter Jay Hight of Westbrook redshirted this season and returns to provide added depth.

Bernal and Socoby got a lot of minutes in their first seasons. Bernal started all 30 games while Socoby played in all 30, starting one. Bernal will take over the point and give the Bears a rarity: a ballhandler who can also be physical, score inside, and rebound.

“If he can stay consistent, we know he’s a dynamic player who can do a lot of things,” said Woodward.

“He posts up well and knows how to get into the gaps,” said Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz. “He’s a player and he’s someone I’m not looking forward to seeing the next few years.”

Woodward thinks that same attitude could apply toward Bernal’s teammates as well among other AE coaches.