BANGOR, Maine — Zarko Valjarevic had hoped to celebrate “Senior Night” with a victory on Wednesday.
Instead, the University of Maine did its best to celebrate the sharpshooting guard from Serbia.
The University of Hartford made six of eight free throws in the final minute, spoiling the Black Bears’ plans with a 63-60 America East men’s basketball victory at the Cross Insurance Center.
With Mark Nwakamma, the Hawks’ leading scorer, limited to only five minutes because of a knee injury, freshman forward John Carroll stepped in and scored a team-high 15 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Hartford (14-14, 7-8 AE) got to the foul line in the late going and made them count to overcome coach Bob Walsh’s UMaine team (3-25, 2-13 AE). He cited the Black Bears’ inability to get stops down the stretch as the difference in the game
“Those are tough plays that our team and our program still hasn’t learned to make and that’s where we’re going to (need to) get to be able to win these games,” Walsh said.
The Hawks will be the No. 5 seed for next week’s America East Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be played on the home courts of the higher seeds. UMaine will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed and will play either regular-season champion Albany or second-place Vermont.
Valjarevic finished with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting for the Black Bears, who were led by freshman Kevin Little’s game-high 22 points. However, Valjarevic earned high praise from his coach after the game.
“Zarko has been really loyal, really committed to this school and this program when it’s been difficult to be loyal and committed,” Walsh said.
“A lot of his teammates, a lot of his friends, quit, transferred, left — and Zarko made it very clear from the first day that I got here that he wanted to see this thing through,” he added.
Prior to the game, UMaine recognized Valjarevic for his career contributions to the program. He was presented with a framed No. 5 white UMaine jersey and then was treated to the playing of the Serbian national anthem with his country’s flag hanging in the arena.
“Being far from home for like five years … I miss my home a lot and to see this anthem and my flag, it means a lot,” Valjarevic said.
He ranks third in program history with 177 3-pointers and is fourth in 3-point attempts (475). He is a .372 career shooter from beyond the arc, averaging nearly 2.2 3-pointers per contest in 81 games.
Though this season has been one of struggles during the transition under a new staff, he doesn’t regret sticking it out.
“Since I came here there’s been a lot of change: Players, coaches, athletic director, trainer. Everybody changed,” he said.
“This year, it’s some kind of new beginning for this program and I’m 100 percent confident it’s going to turn around. It’s going to be a great program,” Valjarevic added.
Hartford pulled in front for good with an 11-4 surge midway through the second half.
Corban Wroe (12 points, 5 assists) got it started with a 3-pointer, then answered a lay-in by Valjarevic with a conventional three-point play to make it 44-43 Hawks with 8:59 to play. Carroll scored from underneath and Little answered for UMaine with an eight-foot floater from the lane, but Yolonzo Moore II turned a baseline drive into another three-point play that gave Hartford a 49-45 lead with 5:55 left.
The Bears twice trimmed the deficit to a single point and got within two on four other occasions, but were unable to turn the tide.
“We knew how the emotion of senior night for a program … it’s always going to be difficult game for a road team. For us to come away with a victory is huge,” said Hartford coach John Gallagher.
Junior forward Till Gloger provided 13 points and eight rebounds for UMaine and Troy Reid-Knight added 11 points.
Gloger, who went 5-for-5 from the field in the first half, did not get the ball as easily after intermission and was afforded only three attempts.
“The whole thing was, just don’t let him catch it,” Gallagher said. “He had one basket in the second half.”
Justin Graham netted 13 points for the Hawks, who shot 52 percent (12-for-23) in the second half.
UMaine outrebounded Hartford 41-31 and outscored the visitors 36-22 in the paint.
The Black Bears held a 29-24 lead at halftime behind 10 points from Gloger, who benefitted from the absence of Nwakamma.