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ORONO – For Ted Woodward, coaching his University of Maine men’s basketball team this season has been a lot like trying to perfect a golf swing.
After one problem or flaw is identified and then fixed, another one pops up.
The 5-13 Black Bears have been victimized by turnovers since the first game, averaging more than 19 per game for most of the season. Over the last four games, the Bears have started to get a handle on the problem, lowering average turnovers to 17.8 per game despite a total of 23 against Vermont on Jan. 16.
“This whole season has been a learning process,” said sophomore guard and leading scorer Mark Socoby of Houlton. “We know we’re doing some things well, but we need more consistency in more things.”
While working on taking better care of the ball, Maine has been able to count rebounding (37.3 per game) and field-goal shooting percentage (41.9) as consistent strengths all season.
Yet, even with turnovers decreasing and transition points increasing, the Bears are still struggling to win. Why? Another problem has flared up: Defense. Opposing teams’ shooting percentages have gone up over the same period – especially from 3-point range.
“We’ve certainly got to get back and find our defensive identity,” Woodward said. “We’ve had a couple teams come in now and shoot well from the arc against us.”
Maine’s last two opponents have shot 50 percent overall (77-for-153) and 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from 3-point range.
At the same time, Maine’s free-throw shooting percentage has gone down. The Bears have shot 56 percent in their last two games combined.
“When you shoot that poorly from the free-throw line over the last two games at home, that’s tough to explain,” Woodward said. “Hopefully, they stop hoping it goes in and start expecting it to go in.”
It might seem strange to say a team with a three-game losing streak has shown improvement the last two games, but that case can be made for Maine.
“As crazy as it is, it’s just one of those years where I don’t look at our record so much as what we’re doing and how we progress and how we’re moving forward,” Woodward said. “This has been a tough stretch, but I’ve also seen a lot of growth and leadership in our locker room as a result of this.”
One of those leaders is junior guard Kaimondre Owes, who has only played in seven games since becoming eligible after transferring to Maine from Saint Peter’s College in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I feel that as a whole, we’re learning from each last game,” Owes said. “We just need to stick together because it’s easy to fall apart when you lose.”
Owes is also paying dividends with his versatility, taking over point guard duties from sophomore Junior Bernal more often to free up Bernal to attack the basket more.
“I have the ball most of the time anyway, so if we have a couple more guys who get it, it’s going to be more difficult to guard us,” Bernal said. “I feel comfortable doing both.”
The move paid immediate dividends Monday night. Owes had 19 points, Bernal 18, and the two also combined for 11 rebounds and eight assists.
“I feel like we’re passing the ball a lot better and it was good to get Junior in the open court more,” Woodward said.
Other people are contributing more as well.
“We have others stepping up for us with Malachi [Peay] and Sean McNally having a couple good games in a row,” Woodward added. “I have tremendous confidence in our guys.”
“The good thing about this is it’s just little things we need to correct,” Owes said. “Once we get those in check, I feel we’re going to be a dominant team.”
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