BANGOR, Maine — Coach Bob Walsh isn’t going to be satisfied with his team’s performance just because it won.
He was less than thrilled on Saturday afternoon after his University of Maine team posted a 93-79 men’s basketball exhibition victory over Husson University of Bangor at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The Black Bears led wire to wire in holding off a determined Eagles ballclub coached by Warren Caruso, but Walsh didn’t like what he saw from his team.
“I was very disappointed with the mentality that we showed up with today,” Walsh said.
“I thought we were really fortunate. Because we’re bigger and we’re stronger and we’re more athletic, we were able to produce,” he added.
A revamped UMaine team that includes eight newcomers was sparked by a pair of veterans and one rookie. Freshman forward Issac Vann tossed in 22 points, including nine free throws, and grabbed a game-best 16 rebounds and also added four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
The Black Bears also got strong performances from senior post player Till Gloger (22 points, 9 rebounds) and junior guard Troy Reid-Knight (17 points, 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range).
UMaine shot 44 percent overall and 41 percent (11-for-27 from long distance), but committed 16 turnovers and only emerged with a 46-43 rebounding edge.
Eagles sophomore guard Raheem Anderson matched the day’s top effort with 22 points and game-best six assists, while Trevon Butler posted a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocked shots.
Husson, which had 22 turnovers, got 10 points and six rebounds from Zach Curran and nine points and six rebounds from Winslow’s Justin Martin.
“If that’s our first game and that’s the basis of what we’re starting our season on, all in all I’d say we’ve got a good starting point,” Caruso said.
“As a Division III team, given the speed of the game and the bodies on the floor, we were pretty much right there,” he added.
Butler’s eight-footer from the lane capped a 7-0 burst that got the Eagles within 56-50 with 15:34 left, but UMaine responded with a pivotal 12-2 run.
Gloger opened the run with a jump hook off an offensive rebound, then Butler answered for Husson with a foul-line jumper in transition. However, Aaron Calixte drove in for a layup, then Gloger and Kevin Little hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
Ryan Bernstein’s finger roll two minutes later extended the Bears’ lead to 68-52 with 11:30 to play and Husson never got closer than 10 after that.