Men’s College Basketball

PHILADELPHIA – Learning time is over for the University of Maine men’s basketball team.

Beginning with Friday night’s game at Drexel University (7 o’clock) and continuing with Sunday’s road date at Delaware, the Black Bears either win or start sinking in the North Atlantic Conference standings.

Maine (5-4) couldn’t have asked for a tougher way to open NAC play than with a swing through the Delaware Valley, where Drexel, last year’s second-place NAC finisher and vanquisher of Maine in the conference tournament, is sailing along at 7-4.

An hour down I-95, defending NAC champion Delaware is 9-3 entering a Friday night game with New Hampshire.

“I think this puts some pressure on us,” is how fifth-year Maine coach Rudy Keeling assessed the importance of the two games. “We’ve put some pressure on ourselves to beat Drexel. We’ve almost said it’s a must-win game because we want to start off well in the league and end this little skid that we’re in.”

The little skid Keeling refers to is a three-game losing streak Maine brings into the weekend, a negative stretch which includes a one-point loss to St. Bonaventure and a two-point defeat at San Francisco. What do the Bears have to do to get out of their rut?

“They were two games that just got away and we’ve got to forget about it,” answered junior center Francois Bouchard. “We got leads in those games and slacked off defensively. I think it was a good learning experience because when we get a lead now we can look back at those games and know we have to keep up the defensive intensity.”

Defensive intensity will be critical against a young Drexel team that currently leads the NAC in 3-point shooting percentage (.375) that boasts a talented, young low post player in 6-foot-6 freshman Malik Rose, who has reached double figures in both points and rebounds five times this season.

“We’ve got pretty good balance,” said second-year Drexel Coach Bill Herrion, who lost four starters from last year’s 16-14 team and consequently saw his Dragons picked to finish seventh in the preseason NAC coaches poll.

“I think the key for us was getting off to a good start. We won our first three games and that gave our kids confidence,” Herrion said.

In addition to Rose, who came to Drexel after a stellar career at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High, the Dragons feature 6-4 sophomore guard Brian Holden (.514 from 3-point range) and 6-6 junior forward Mike Wisler (.410 on 3-pointers).

Keeling said Maine will likely feature two new faces in the starting lineup to counteract Drexel. Dan Hillman, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound frontcourt backup, will start at center and guard Rose, provided a bruised right hand he suffered in practice this week is better. Hillman will bump the 6-8 Bouchard over to power forward in place of Fritz Marseille. A surprise starter could be 6-5 junior Jeff St. Laurent at small forward in place of Chris Collins.

“Even if he doesn’t start, Jeff is going to see some time,” said Keeling. “He gives us another 3-point threat.”

Hillman, who shot 9-for-9 from the floor in three losses to Drexel last year, summed up his motivation.

“There’s definitely a revenge factor here,” said Hillman, who scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 29 minutes against USF. “We’d like nothing better than to come into their place and beat them.”