WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Maine men shot an eye-popping 51.7 percent from the floor in the first half and built a lead as large as 26 points before beating back a late Hartford run and posting a 75-64 conference victory Wednesday night.

“We played extremely well in the first half, getting the lead up to 17 and taking a 15-point lead into the half,” said Maine coach John Giannini, whose Black Bears are now 13-7 overall and 7-4 in America East. “We played a very complete half all around.”

The Hawks (9-10, 4-6) turned to an all-out press in the second half and carved Maine’s lead down to six points.

“They started using a scramble defense, trapped and ran all over the place, pushed the ball in transition and made a run at us,” Giannini said. “They got within six points with 41 seconds left, but we held on.”

The Bears outrebounded the Hawks, who had won five of their last six games, 38-35 and outshot them 48 to 38.1 percent. Maine committed 15 turnovers to Hartford’s 11.

“It was the kind of game a coach likes,” Giannini said. “We had a couple turnovers when they cut the lead down, but it’s hard to keep up a lead like that on the road, especially against a team with good guards.”

Sophomore guard Kevin Reed led the Bears with a game-high 19 points and also grabbed nine rebounds. Senior guard Eric Dobson had 16 points and a game-high six assists while senior forward Mark Flavin contributed 15 points and nine boards.

Bangor’s Joe Campbell had another solid night on the boards with 11 rebounds and also had eight points.

Giannini said the Bears benefited by facing Hartford’s intense defensive pressure.

“Yeah, it was a good experience and a big win for us heading into the weekend,” he said. “This win builds on a successful season and more importantly, it sets up a potential battle for sole possession of fourth place in the conference.”

Aaron Cook led four Hartford double-digit scorers with 17 points. Ryan Stys scored 15, Rich Baker had 12, and Bo Taylor added 11.

BLACK BEARS 75, HAWKS 64

Maine (13-7) Hartford (9-10)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Dobson 5 9 3 7 16 Cook 6 19 0 17

Flavin 5 11 5 6 15 Stys 6 13 1 15

Reed 7 13 0 2 19 Regan 0 1 0 0

Campbell 3 7 2 2 8 Taylor 5 7 11

Markwood 2 4 2 2 7 Zimnickas 2 5

Wallingford 0 0 0 0 0 Ford 1 8 4

Hadjisotirov 2 5 4 4 8 Baker 4 8 12

Petkus 0 1 0 2 0

Dubois 0 0 2 2 2

Totals 24 50 18 27 75 24 63 8 12 64

Maine 47 75

Hartford 32 64

3-pt. goals ? Maine (9-22): Dobson 3-5, Reed 5-9, Markwood 1-2, Campbell 0-3, Hadjisotirov 0-2, Petkus 0-1; Hartford (8-27): Cook 5-14, Stys 2-7, Baker 1-3, Ford 0-2, Zimnickas 0-1

Attendance: 1,886

So. Maine 64, St. Joseph’s 53

At Standish, Mike Francoeur scored 17 points and Derek Lovely added 12 to pace the Huskies of Gorham.

Steve Monteiro topped the Monks with 18 points, and Mike Stallings had 13.

Southern Maine (7-13) 64

Lovely 4-2-12, Francoeur 7-0-17, Garland 2-0-5, McKinnell 1-2-4, Castarella 4-0-8, Bigelow, Almy, Fulcher 1-0-3, Ouellette, Hebert, Sayward 3-3-9, Russell 0-2-2, Hardwick 2-0-4

St. Joseph’s (6-14) 53

Gore 1-2-4, LaRoche 1-3-5, Stallings 6-1-13, Mileski, Monteiro 7-3-18, Nelson 1-0-2, Mitchell 3-1-8, Schacht, Emmons 0-3-3, Looney

3-pt. goals: Francoeur 3, Lovely 2, Garland, Fulcher; Monteiro, Mitchell

Halftime: So. Maine 32-21

UM-Augusta 77, Unity 48

At Unity, Coop Nickerson scored 13 of his 32 points during a 33-18 second-half spurt that enabled the Moose to pull away.

Nickerson also had 18 rebounds for UM-Augusta. Chris Melgard chipped in with 12 points and Greg Thibodeau 10, respectively.

Jeremy Kervin paced the Rams with 15 points. Noah Schneider notched 12 and Jared Erskine 10.

UM-Augusta 77

Melgard 2-6-12, Thibodeau 5-0-10, Nickerson 12-8-32, Brady 2-0-4, Blodgett 3-2-8, Couture 3-0-6, Joseph 2-0-5, McGouldrick

Unity 48

Schneider 4-3-12, Kervin 6-3-15, Erskine 5-0-10, Mitchell, Rafferty, Bearce 2-1-7, Lucas 2-0-4, Belonick

3-pt. goals: Joseph; Schneider

Halftime: UM-Augusta 34-30

Women’s basketball

So. Maine 80, St. Joseph’s 54

At Standish, Tiffany Jones hit 11 of 12 free throws on her way to 18 points and a win for the Huskies.

Katie Frost and Megan Myles notched 13 points apiece while Jen Webster and Ashley Marble netted 11 each for the visitors from Gorham.

Abbie Rice led the Monks with 19 points and Morgan Brownlee added 10.

Southern Maine (19-1) 80

Sibley 3-0-6, Frost 4-3-13, Jones 3-11-18, Myles 5-2-13, Webster 3-5-11, Welch 1-0-3, Cowing 1-0-2, Thibadeau, Marble 3-5-11, Pariseau, Kynoch 1-0-3, Samuelson

St. Joseph’s (10-10) 54

Pelkey 1-2-4, Tetrault 0-1-1, Rice 8-3-19, Regan 3-1-9, Brownlee 5-0-10, Cofin 1-0-3, Somma, Blauvelt 0-2-2, Rauscher 3-0-6, Ahern

3-pt. goals: Frost 2, Jones, Mylse, Welch, Kynoch; Regan 2, Coffin

Halftime: Southern Maine 46-25

UM-Augusta 106, Unity 36

At Unity, Rachel Furey led five players in double figures with 23 points as the Moose rolled.

Danielle Duval tossed in 21 and Kelsey Bryer 20 for UM-Augusta. Amanda Pepin and Ashley Spicer added 19 points each.

Christine Blakesley sparked the Rams with 19 points while Lindsay Smith had 12.

UM-Augusta 106

Furey 9-1-23, Bryer 10-0-20, Pepin 7-0-19, Spicer 9-1-19, Duval 8-5-21, Herrell 2-0-4, Clemente

Unity 36

Smith 5-2-12, Blakesley 6-7-19, Charters 0-2-2, Duguay 1-1-3, Kedicor, Reinert, Bowerman, Butterly

3-pt. goals: Pepin 4, Furey 3

Halftime: UM-Augusta 53-20