UMaine men hope to capitalize on team speed

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ORONO – If Sunday’s Blue-White preseason basketball scrimmage is a slight indication, comparing the University of Maine men’s tempo this season to last will be like comparing a biplane to a jet fighter.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said senior guard Junior Bernal. “I played point guard a lot last year, but now we’re playing four guards with quickness up top, putting pressure on defenses and making it hard for the defense to trap just one of us.”

The Black Bears were picked to finish eighth among the nine America East teams in the preseason coaches poll released Monday. Boston University netted 59 points to edge out Vermont (55) for the top spot.

The running (and head coach Ted Woodward hopes) gunning Black Bears got a chance to preview their uptempo style before about 300 fans Sunday, and the reviews by both coaches and players alike were quite positive.

“We’ve got some guys who can get up and down the court and at the same time, we have a lot of guards so there are lot of different things we can do with more speed, ball-handling ability, passing and shooting,” Woodward said.

And that’s across the lineup, including the big men, who showed that big doesn’t also mean slow.

Sean McNally of Gardiner has added muscle without sacrificing speed; Troy Barnies of Auburn and fellow guards Mark Socoby of Houlton and Malachi Peay have obviously worked on their conditioning this offseason; and new faces Andrew Rogers, Gerald McLemore, and Doran Mitchell looked like they were playing on roller blades.

Throw in the added long-distance shooting ability of freshmen guards Jon McAllian of Bangor and Ryan Martin of Wayne, and the Bears may just be able to run and gun effectively.

“I think Coach, throughout preseason, has been drilling that into our heads,” McNally said. “We’re in perfect condition and that’s what we’re meant to do now, to get up and down the floor and get the easy 3’s and points in transition.”

Socoby, McAllian and McLemore combined to hit 10 of 18 3-pointers, but the final score of 49-37 wasn’t quite what you’d expect from a track meet.

“We’re still working on a lot of things, but I thought the tempo of this game was really good,” said Peay.

UMaine women play 4-on-4

The UMaine women’s basketball team was relegated to playing four-on-four during Sunday’s Blue-White event.

Coach Cindy Blodgett’s squad played 40 minutes of running time without freshman guard Brittany Williams and first-year forward Samantha Wheeler, both of whom were nursing injuries.

“It’s not ideal. We couldn’t play our matchup; we couldn’t do any of our offenses,” Blodgett said.

The good news is, both players are expected back in practice this week, giving UMaine a full complement of players to prepare for Sunday’s noon exhibition game against the University of New Brunswick.

“It’s unfortunate,” Blodgett said. “The whole purpose for the Blue-White game is to be out on that court, on that stage, so they can get comfortable.”

The emphasis Sunday was on playing good defense. Blodgett and the Bears know that aspect of their game will have to be much better this season.

“It’s great for defensive purposes when we play four-on-four because help side has to get there and you have to play hard on your man because there’s not that extra person there in case you get beat,” said junior forward Brittany Boser, who provided 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

“It’s really important for us to get our defense down, because we let teams score way too many points on us last year, so that’s kind of a big focus for this season,” she added.

Colleen Kilmurray, the team’s lone senior, turned in a lunch-pail effort with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Amanda Tewksbury (22 points) exhibited more polished offensive skills, while sophomore Tanna Ross of Newburgh netted 13 points and junior guard Kristin Baker of Bingham added 12 points and seven assists.

Junior forward Katia Bratishko posted 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

“I think some of the offensive execution we witnessed [Sunday] was far superior to anything we witnessed last year and I think that’s a direct result of them playing together all summer,” Blodgett said.

Blue-White was the unofficial debut for freshman guard Jasmine Rush (9 points, 4 rebounds) and frosh post player Samantha Baranowski (7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), who will get their first game experience against UNB.

“We’re real excited to come back to the Alfond and finally get to play a game,” Kilmurray said. “This week will be real intense, real exciting, and we’re looking forward to Sunday.”

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AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE

Men’s Preseason Poll

(First-place votes in parentheses; last year’s overall record, poll points)

1. Boston University (5) 14-17 59

2. Vermont (4) 16-15 55

3. Hartford 18-16 51

4. Md. Baltimore County 24-9 45

5. Binghamton 14-16 37

6. Albany 15-15 30

7. New Hampshire 9-20 24

8. Maine 7-23 13

9. Stony Brook 7-23 10