The streak is over for the University of Maine men’s basketball team.
Freshman guard Kevin Little poured in a game- and career-high 25 points on Sunday afternoon as the resilient Black Bears surged late to earn a 70-61 America East victory over the University of Hartford at Chase Family Arena in West Hartford, Connecticut.
“We competed really hard for 40 minutes and we believed in each other. We were fully invested and when you do that, it gives you a chance to win,” said UMaine head coach Bob Walsh.
UMaine (2-18, 1-6 AE) led most of the way, but withstood a second-half charge by the Hawks to win for the first time since beating Wagner 82-81 in overtime on Dec. 2. The victory snapped a 13-game losing streak that was the longest in program history.
“It really feels great,” said senior sharpshooter Zarko Valjarevic. “Struggling this year and then talking about when are we going to play through this feeling and start playing as well as we can, I think we came close today.”
UMaine heads into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. America East game against New Hampshire at the Cross Insurance Center with added confidence.
UMaine was able to slow down third-place Hartford (11-9, 4-3 AE), holding the hosts to 39 percent shooting, including a dismal 5-for-32 effort (16 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Black Bears also battled to a 37-37 deadlock in the rebounding action.
Little was the catalyst at the offensive end, where UMaine shot 51 percent (25-for-49). That included 10-for-21 accuracy from 3-point range.
“It feels great,” Little said. “Finally, all the hard work pays off and we’ve got something to show for it. We didn’t take any plays off.”
Little hit 8 of 16 shots, sinking 5 of 10 from long range.
“He’s a playmaker and he made plays down the stretch for us to win — and so did Zarko,” Walsh said. “I think our guys, hopefully, will get a little confidence boost knowing that we can make those plays in a close game down the stretch.”
Junior forward Till Gloger spearheaded the frontcourt with a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Valjarevic went 4-for-6 from the 3-point line and finished with 14 points. Aaron Calixte contributed eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Shawn Lawton chipped in with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Mark Nwakamma paced Hartford with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Justin Graham netted 11 points and Corban Wroe added eight.
The Black Bears led most of the way, but had to repel a second-half push by the Hawks. Wroe made a 3-pointer to put Hartford on top 53-51 with 7:12 to play.
UMaine answered with a clinching 18-4 run that covered almost six minutes.
It started with a layup by Little, who fed Valjarevic for a 3 on the next possession to give the Bears the lead for keeps at 56-53 with 5:50 left.
After Taylor Dyson made a 14-footer for Hartford, Little’s 3-pointer gave UMaine a four-point lead. Lawton’s layup pushed it to six, Graham scored from close range for Hartford, then Valjarevic buried another 3-pointer to make it a three-possession game.
A free throw by Gloger and another Valjarevic 3 extended the advantage to 68-57 with 1:12 to play.
“When you’re going through it you don’t necessarily want it that way,” Walsh said of falling behind, “but afterwards to win a game where [Hartford] came back and took the lead and gained the momentum and we had to continue to fight and show a lot of mental toughness to get back on top, it says a lot about the character of our guys.”
UMaine played without sophomore Garet Beal of Beals Island, who was held out because of a nagging rib injury. Five Bears played at least 30 minutes.
“It’s a tough one for us, but other guys stepped up,” Walsh said.
“It was impressive to win it without him,” he added.