BANGOR, Maine — Coach Bob Walsh believes in allowing his players a considerable amount of freedom at the offensive end of the court.
On Saturday afternoon, the University of Maine again demonstrated its ability to score almost at will.
Sophomore guards Little and Aaron Calixte provided the offensive spark by scoring 24 and 22 points, respectively, to propel the Black Bears to a 98-82 victory over Brown at the Cross Insurance Center.
Little made a career-best six 3-pointers and handed out four assists, while Calixte went 8-for-12 from the floor en route to his career-high point total and dished off for six assists to help UMaine (4-9) earn its second straight win.
“I love the confidence that we’re playing with offensively and that’s really what won us the game tonight,” Walsh said after the Black Bears shot 49 percent (33-for-68), including 54 percent from the 3-point arc (14-for-28).
UMaine also went 19-for-26 from the foul line.
“We’re sharing the basketball,” Walsh continued. “It was an 84-possession game, we only had 11 turnovers, [with] 20 assists. We’re stepping up and knocking down shots with confidence.”
Junior guard Troy Reid-Knight just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds along with three steals, while senior post player Till Gloger posted 14 points in 14 minutes of action.
UMaine now moves into its America East schedule, starting with Wednesday’s 7 p.m. home game against Vermont.
The Black Bears again never backed down from their fast-paced offense and their full-court, pressure defense.
Even so, Brown (4-9) connected at 49 percent (32-for-65) overall and hit 22 of 30 free throws.
“I love the confidence on offense, but defensively the mentality has to be that we’ve got to get stops to win games,” Walsh said. “When we score 98 points, we should win games going away, we shouldn’t be grinding out the last 20 seconds.”
The visitors committed 14 turnovers that led to 17 UMaine points and missed six free throws during a key five-minute segment late in the second half. Brown had some success attacking against the pressure, but it was the Black Bears’ preferred style of play.
“We run a lot, so we’re in shape for it,” Calixte said. “We try to get up, force turnovers and try to get easy baskets for us.”
Tavon Blackmon led a group of five double-figure scorers for Brown with 20 points and handed out six assists. Cedric Kuakumensah registered a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Steven Spieth logged 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Spieth is the older brother of golfing phenom Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open winner.
Obi Okolie and Jason Massey added 17 points each for Brown.
The Black Bears, who led by as many as 12 points in the first half, were tested midway through the second half. Brown rattled off a 16-8 run to take a 65-64 lead with 10:16 remaining.
However, the hosts regained the lead for good when Little canned a 3-pointer in transition to make it 72-69 with 8:33 left.
“There’s a composure that I really like,” Walsh said.
Brown had an opportunity to grab the upper hand down the stretch, but made only one of its two free throws on six consecutive trips to the foul line. By the time Spieth hit both ends of a double bonus with 2:19 to play, UMaine led 86-83.
That opened the door for what may have been UMaine two biggest plays of the contest.
Little extended the lead to six points when he drained a step-back 3-pointer. He hustled back on defense in time to make a leaping steal near half-court.
Little dribbled to the top of the key and kicked a pass out to the left wing, where the waiting Reid-Knight buried another 3 that gave the Black Bears a 92-83 advantage with 1:47 left.
Brown was not able to close the gap to fewer than six the rest of the way.
UMaine has generated a lot of positive vibes with its back-to-back victories, as was evidenced by the postgame mood in the locker room.
“It’s loud in there. Guys are talking and celebrating and having fun,” Walsh said. “That’s what a locker room should sound like after a good win like this, so hopefully it’s a sign that we’re feeling good and we’re confident.”
UMaine, which has twice won back-to-back games, has already exceeded its win total from last season.
But that doesn’t mean the Black Bears are relinquishing their team motto: “Entitled to nothing,” which appears on some of their practice jerseys.
“We feel good, but not satisfied, and (we’re) not getting too comfortable yet,” Little said. “We’ve still got work to do.”
UMaine on Saturday was without freshman forward Issac Vann (ankle) for the ninth consecutive contest, while junior wing Garet Beal of Beals Island sat out his second straight game with an ankle issue.
The Black Bears led 48-43 at halftime after a wide open first 20 minutes.
Calixte provided the early offensive spark en route to 14 first-half points and Little joined the fun later in the half and also finished with 14.
Brown was able to get to the basket with relative frequency, which led to a handful of fouls that opened the door for an 11-2 advantage from the free-throw line.
The visitors placed three players in double figures, led by 12 each from Kuakumensah and Blackmon and 10 from Spieth, who provided five assists and four turnovers in the half.
The Black Bears pulled in front with a 12-0 run that covered 3 minutes, 21 seconds. Little ignited the flurry with an 18-footer and a 3-pointer, then Calixte snipped a 10-footer. Till Gloger made a 17-foot set shot off a pass from Marko Pirovic, who capped the burst with a 3-pointer in transition off a feed by Calixte.
UMaine led 27-15 at the 9:54 mark, but Brown settled down offensively by going to the 6-foot-9 Kuakumensah in the paint. He muscled his way to three close-range baskets and two foul shots to fuel an 18-9 run that got Brown within three at 36-33 with 4:55 to play in the half.