The defensive woes continued Wednesday night for the University of Maine men’s basketball team.
The University of Vermont shot 55 percent from the field and racked up 40 points in the paint while pulling away in the second half for a 68-54 America East men’s basketball victory at the Portland Expo.
The Catamounts (6-8, 2-0 America East) were able to get the ball close to the basket effectively, propelled by Ethan O’Day, who went 7-for-10 from the field on his way to a game-high 15 points.
Coach Bob Walsh’s UMaine squad (1-13, 0-2 America East) suffered its eighth consecutive setback in a “home” game played in front of 1,654 fans in Maine’s largest city.
The Black Bears surged to an early lead and trailed by only two points at the break, but were unable to get stops consistently or execute their offense well. UMaine committed only 12 turnovers, with nine in the second half.
Junior guard Shaun Lawton paced UMaine with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Till Gloger finished with 12 points and freshman guard Kevin Little netted nine points and dished out four assists.
The Black Bears shot 39 percent overall (18-for-46) despite 54 percent accuracy (7-for-13) from 3-point distance.
Dre Willis played well with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Vermont, which outrebounded UMaine 29-21. Cam Ward scored 12 points and Kurt Steidl chipped in with nine five assists.
The Catamounts emerged from the locker room and rattled off seven unanswered points en route to a game-changing 16-2 surge that pushed a two-point halftime lead to a 44-28 advantage with 14:12 left.
Willis opened the run with a layup-free throw three-point play, before O’Day threw down dunks on back-to-back penetration dishes from Willis to make it 35-26 less than two minutes into the half.
Gloger broke the skein with a layup for UMaine, but Hector Harold’s layup, a close-range bucket from Steidle, a jumper by O’Day and Willis’ 3-pointer pushed the lead to 16 to pretty much end the suspense.
The Bears did not get closer than 10 points after that.
The Black Bears started strong and built an 11-0 advantage, but found themselves trailing 28-26 at intermission.
Vermont outscored UMaine 28-15 over the last 12:22 of the half. The visitors shook off some early shooting and turnover woes, going 10-for-19 from the field (53 percent).
The Catamounts were able to spread the floor and get some dribble-penetration along with isolation plays for its taller post players. The result was 14 points in the paint.
UMaine connected at only 32 percent (8-for-25) in the half, but committed only three turnovers.
Gloger led the Bears with 10 points in the half, while Little tallied seven. Willis connected for eight points and added four rebounds and Ward added seven points.
UMaine held Vermont scoreless for the first 8½ minutes and Gloger scored twice from inside to lead the initial charge. The Catamounts, however, broke the ice on O’Day’s layup at the 12:22 mark and quickly got back in it by scoring eight unanswered points.
Vermont didn’t grab its first lead until Brandon Hatton rattled in a 3-pointer to make it 23-20 with 3:37 left in the half.