WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford Hawks scored the game’s first 13 points, then fended off a determined effort by the University of Maine on their way to a 76-71 America East men’s basketball victory Wednesday night at the Chase Family Arena.
Hartford (6-11, 2-1 AE) took advantage of its long-range shooting ability, going 12-for-28 (43 percent) on 3-pointers and hitting 52 percent of its shots overall to help keep the upper hand.
Coach Ted Woodward’s Black Bears (6-11, 1-3 AE) lost for the seventh time in their last eight contests.
“We just didn’t come out of the gates as ready as we needed to be, for whatever reason,” Woodward said. “You dig yourself a hole against a very veteran basketball team like Hartford and you knew it was going to be a hard hole to dig out of.”
UMaine bounced back after its slow start and wound up trailing only 39-35 at halftime. In fact, Houlton native Mark Socoby hit a 3-pointer early in the second half that gave the visitors a short-lived 42-41 lead.
“We’ve got to grow up a little bit,” Woodward said. “That’s where maturity and consistency comes into play. You’ve got to play 40 minutes, you can’t play 37 minutes.”
The Hawks took the lead for good on a Sabia 3-pointer with 11:24 remaining and were able to prevent the Bears from getting back even after that. Hartford extended its advantage to as many as nine points (68-59) with 3:01 to play.
UMaine scrapped back to within 71-68 on Malachi Peay’s layup with 24 seconds left, but Jaret von Rosenberg made four free throws as the Hawks hit five of six from the line to close out the victory.
UMaine outrebounded Hartford 36-28 and committed only 10 turnovers.
Peay, a sophomore, achieved a career scoring high for the third consecutive contest and led the Bears with 17 points. He also had four rebounds and two blocked shots.
“He gives us great balance inside,” Woodward said. “He’s doing a great job for us. We’re pleased to have him back; we missed him when he was out [with two facial injuries].”
Sean McNally of Gardiner posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds for UMaine, which also received 13 points from freshman Gerald McLemore (three 3-pointers) and 12 second-half points from Socoby, who grabbed seven rebounds.
von Rosenberg sparked Hartford with a game-high 26 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Morgan Sabia was a force in the paint, contributing 19 points and five rebounds, while Michael Turner made four 3’s on his way to 13 points and also provided eight rebounds and five assists.
Hartford was able to maintain its momentum with numerous 3-pointers.
“They’re a very good 3-point-shooting team. They do a great job spreading you out,” Woodward said. “They shot the ball very well tonight and when they do that, they become a very dangerous basketball team.”
Duke 70, Georgia Tech 56
ATLANTA — Duke picked the right opponent to have a miserable night shooting.
Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler scored 19 points each and the third-ranked Blue Devils overcame their worst shooting game of the season for its seventh straight victory, pulling away for a 70-56 win over sloppy Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.
The Blue Devils (15-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were just 23-of-59 from the field, a shoddy performance that would have been enough to get them beat on many nights. Not this one.
Georgia Tech (9-7, 0-3) turned it over 18 times, went only 7-of-19 from the free throw line and started with three straight ACC losses for the second straight season.
GMU 61, William & Mary 57
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Dre Smith scored 14 points to lead George Mason in a 61-57 win over William & Mary on Wednesday night.
John Vaughan added 13 points and Darryl Monroe had 12 for the Patriots (13-3, 6-0 Colonial Athletic Association), who are off to their best ever start in the CAA. Smith also went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and Monroe grabbed nine rebounds.
Danny Sumner led the Tribe (6-10, 1-5) with 17 points and David Schneider chipped in with 15.
The Patriots shot 46.9 percent from the field (23 of 49) for the game compared to just a 36.7 percent mark (22 of 60) for the Tribe.
After trailing by three points at the break, Schneider’s layup with 2:14 left pulled the Tribe even at 55-all. But Vaughan hit four free throws in George Mason’s 6-2 run the rest of the way to seal the win.
Michigan St. 78, Penn St. 73
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Raymar Morgan scored 17 points, Kalin Lucas went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 2 minutes and No. 7 Michigan State built a big lead before holding off Penn State 78-73 on Wednesday night.
Goran Suton added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Spartans (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten), who won their 10th straight.
Down by 17 points with 13:39 left, Penn State (13-5, 2-3) mounted a furious comeback, getting within 71-70 with 1:30 left after an off-balance 3 from Talor Battle.
He fell to the court as the shot went through the hoop, whipping the crowd into a frenzied chorus of “Let’s go State!”
But Lucas, who finished with 15 points, hit four free throws from there.
Jamelle Cornley led the Nittany Lions with a career-high 26 points, while Battle finished with 20.