It might have gone down as the biggest victory in two years for the University of Maine men’s basketball team.
Instead, it likely will serve as another tough lesson for the Black Bears.
Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining in overtime on Sunday afternoon, helping Army secure a 72-69 victory over UMaine at Christl Arena in West Point, New York.
Coach Bob Walsh’s Black Bears (1-9) had shots to win the game down the stretch in regulation and again in overtime, but were not able to overcome 16 turnovers and 11 missed free throws.
“What we’re doing right now is not good enough,” Walsh told Jim Churchill of the Black Bear Sports Network. “We’re not in it for moral victories. This is a game we really felt like we should have won.”
Senior guard Zarko Valjarevic was the offensive catalyst for UMaine with 22 points, including three 3-pointers, along with six rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Aaron Calixte posted 11 points, and junior forward Till Gloger registered 10 points.
Freshman guard Kevin Little returned after a five-game absence because of an ankle injury to score nine points, while junior Shaun Lawton finished with six points, four assists and three steals.
The Bears went 25-for-36 from the foul line.
“Our turnovers came back to haunt us,” Walsh said. “In the first half, I didn’t know what to say other than, ‘Stop throwing them the basketball.’ We settled down in the second half. Offensively, we really weren’t in sync all day.”
Tanner Plomb led Army (8-2) with a double-double that included 20 points and 13 rebounds. Kevin Ferguson netted 10 points and grabbed eight boards and Dylan Cox had six points and five assists.
Army’s Kyle Wilson, the No. 5 scorer in the country, had only four points and left the game late in the first half with an apparent injury. He did not return.
Army committed 22 turnovers, but outrebounded UMaine 43-33 and wound up shooting 45 percent overall, including 50 percent (12-for-24) in the second half.
Neither team was able to build a safe lead during regulation play. UMaine jumped out to a six-point advantage early, but Army later led by as many as seven points with 7:10 left in the first half.
UMaine had the last two shots down the stretch in regulation, but Valjarevic missed a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left and Lawton missed from beyond the arc at the buzzer after a turnover by the Black Knights.
The contest remained tight in overtime. Lawton made the second of a two-shot foul to put the Bears on top 66-65 with 1:37 to play, but Williams drained a 3-pointer, his only field goal of the game, to give Army the lead for keeps at 68-66 with 57 seconds left.
Lawton made the second of a two-shot foul situation with 29 seconds to play, but Williams countered with a pair of free throws for the hosts to make it a three-point game with 17 ticks left on the clock.
Gloger then scored from inside off a pass from Lawton to cut the deficit to one. The Bears called timeout with four seconds to go and fouled on the inbounds play.
Williams made both free throws, then Calixte’s 3-pointer missed at the final buzzer.
UMaine returns to action Saturday with a nonleague game at Seton Hall.