Injuries, limited experience wind up plaguing Black Bears

The University of Maine men’s basketball team was severely lacking in experience and leadership this season.

Even so, coach Ted Woodward and the Black Bears were displeased with their 7-23 campaign, which ended with Friday’s loss to Stony Brook in the first round of the America East Championship.

It was the Bears’ seventh straight setback.

“We knew going into this year that we had a lot of holes to fill,” said Woodward, who had lost more than 60 percent of the team’s scoring and rebounding to graduation.

In spite of UMaine’s struggles, the fourth-year coach was encouraged by what he saw from his players.

“We like their skill level, their work ethic, their commitment to the game of basketball,” Woodward said. “I really love the chemistry of this group. I love their character, their heart.”

Inexperience and injuries played key roles in the program’s worst season (.233 winning percentage) since the Bears went 4-14 during 1948-49.

Sophomore point guard Junior Bernal was the lone returning full-time starter. Juniors Phil Tchekane Bofia, Jason Hight of Westbrook and senior Brian Andre of Bingham were the only upperclassmen with considerable game experience.

Bernal was knocked out of the lineup with a foot injury in early February. He missed five of the last seven games (all UMaine losses) and was limited in the other two.

Bernal led the Bears in assists (3.0 per game) and steals (1.8) and was third in scoring (12.8 ppg). He also was their defensive catalyst.

Bernal’s absence was magnified because Hight, a junior who redshirted during 2006-07, was forced to stop playing in mid-January because of an undisclosed health issue.

Woodward had no choice but to use two shooting guards, junior transfer Kaimondre Owes and freshman Robby Hanzlik, at the point.

Woodward realigned the lineup, moving players out of their preferred positions and further bogging down UMaine’s chemistry. It also disrupted the quest to refine players’ roles on a team with four first-year players, two redshirt freshmen and three sophomores.

“They’re trying to figure out if they belong on this level; if they belong as a starter, if they belong as a go-to guy,” Woodward said. “That’s just a natural progression when you have kids that haven’t been in those situations ever before at the college level.”

UMaine’s biggest problem was turnovers. The Bears averaged a league-worst 18.3 in AE competition.

“I didn’t anticipate turnovers being as much of a weakness as they were,” said Woodward, who also expected better 3-point shooting (.348 in AE play).

Sophomore Mark Socoby of Houlton transitioned well into a starting role. The shooting guard averaged a team-best 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds and was second in steals (1.4) and third in assists (2.2) on his way to All-America East third-team honors.

Owes, who became eligible at midseason, proved a valuable addition. He averaged 12.5 points and 2.4 assists, shooting 79 percent from the foul line. Owes scored in double figures in 14 of the last 16 games.

The 6-foot-9 Andre was steady in the middle, averaging 9.6 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds while shooting 55 percent. Tchekane Bofia (6.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg), who underwent offseason knee surgery, was limited to 18 minutes per game.

Freshman forward Sean McNally of Gardiner came on strong, averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Cook of Hampden (3.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg) improved, while freshman Troy Barnies of Auburn (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg), who missed seven games with a broken wrist, started 11 contests.

Hight (3.4 ppg, 2.4 apg) was limited to 16 games, while freshmen Hanzlik (2.7 ppg, 1.2 apg), Malachi Peay (2.1 ppg) and redshirt freshman Sean Costigan of Portland all contributed.

Redshirt freshman Jay Uhrin of Winterport and senior Patt Woodbrey saw limited action.

“I think we gained a lot of valuable experience,” Socoby said. “We’ve got a nucleus of young guys that want to get better and they play hard.”

UMaine heads into the offseason seeking improvement. The Bears need to solidify their defense (73.4 ppg, .454 field-goal percentage defense) and bump up their rebounding.

“If you want to do something special, it takes time and growth and some patience,” Woodward said. “We didn’t just want to put a Band-Aid on things. Building a program is the focus of what we want to do.”

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

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