Aaron Brown scored 21 points, including an important three-point play with 3:52 remaining to help Boston College hold off the determined University of Maine Black Bears 85-74 in a men’s basketball game at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on Thursday night.
Boston College, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, improved to 5-3 while Maine fell to 1-8.
The Black Bears trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half but used an 11-4 spurt to close out the half and pull within 42-34 before closing within five on two occasions in the second half.
A pair of Till Gloger free throws with 4:49 remaining capped a 9-2 flurry that pulled Maine within 73-68.
But Dennis Clifford’s putback of a Brown miss made it 75-68 and Clifford made a steal which resulted in Brown’s three-point play as he was fouled after converting a dunk off a Dimitri Batten pass.
“We had cut it to five and had a real good defensive possession but (Brown) throws up an air ball with one second left and their seven-footer (Clifford) makes a putback,” said Maine coach Bob Walsh. “Then we turn it over and they get a dunk and a foul. So instead of having the ball down by five, we’re down by 10 in a matter of 10 seconds.”
Zarko Valjarevic’s jumper sliced the lead to 78-70 but Clifford fed Patrick Heckmann for a layup with 3:16 remaining and, after another Maine turnover, Clifford grabbed an offensive rebound off a Heckmann miss and was fouled.
Clifford’s two free throws with 2:31 left made it 82-70 and Maine couldn’t get any closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Clifford wound up with 19 points and seven rebounds and Heckmann contributed 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Batten had 12 points and four assists and Olivier Hanlan chipped in with 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Valjarevic had a game-high and season-high 22 points for the Black Bears. Gloger had 17 points and six rebounds and Troy Reid-Knight scored 13 points. He also had four rebounds and two assists.
Shaun Lawton had nine points and five rebounds and Aaron Calixte had five points, four rebounds and four assists. Ethan Mackey notched six points and three rebounds.
“This was one of our best games of the season,” said Valjarevic. “We played as a team. We played hard. We had a couple of chances to make it a one-possession game but we couldn’t get the rebounds. BC was a bigger team and they took advantage of it.
“If a couple more plays had gone our way, we would have had a chance to win it,” added the senior forward.
He said he was pleased that he regained his scoring touch as he went 7-for-13 from the floor including a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the 3-point arc.
But he noted that it wasn’t enough to produce a win.
“I felt pretty comfortable. It was encouraging. I got off to a slow start this season but the most important time (America East games) is coming up and I’m going to keep getting better.”
Maine was without forward Marko Pirovic and guard Kevin Little, both of whom are injured. Garet Beal of Beals Island left the game early due to illness.
Walsh said his team “certainly had a better competitive spirit.
“We went out to win and that was good to see,” said Walsh. “But when the opponent shoots 54 percent (29-for-54), it’s hard to win. You have to get it done on the defensive end to give yourself a chance.
“We fought hard but we have a long way to go,” added Walsh.
He said Valjarevic “had a real solid night offensively” and Reid-Knight “gave us a real good lift off the bench.”
The first-year Maine coach added that Gloger was “very efficient once again on offense” and Mackey also gave the Black Bears a boost off the bench.