BANGOR, Maine — There were times on Wednesday night that the University of Maine appeared to be dictating the pace of play.
That time didn’t include most of the second half.
Vermont tightened up its defense, the Black Bears struggled with turnovers, and the visitors scored almost at will after intermission while pulling away for a 90-72 America East men’s basketball victory at the Cross Insurance Center.
Vermont (9-7) earned its third consecutive win in a mutual conference opener, while coach Bob Walsh’s UMaine squad (4-10) had a two-game winning streak halted.
“I thought in the second half we settled down, started to play better defense,” said Vermont coach John Becker. “Maine plays a frenetic, chaotic type of defense and it just takes a little while to get used to. Once we kind of settled down, we did a good job.”
Sophomore guard Trae Bell-Haynes poured in 27 points and made three steals to pace the Catamounts, who shot 56 percent (18-for-32) from the field in the second half and finished at 50 percent for the game. Vermont also scored 21 points off 18 UMaine turnovers and outscored the hosts 56-42 in the paint.
“We shot 52 percent from the field (29-for-56) and they owned the game for the last 12-14 minutes, so what does that tell you,” Walsh said.
Vermont made 20 of 26 foul shots (77 percent) while UMaine went 9-for-20, a dismal 45 percent.
“We weren’t able to guard the ball the way we think we should be able to and they were able to get to the free-throw line and they really hurt us there,” Walsh added.
Senior forward Ethan O’Day eclipsed 1,000 career points with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Catamounts, and Cam Ward posted 10 points and four assists.
Despite suffering from a lower-back ailment, senior Till Gloger headed a well-balanced but sporadic attack for UMaine with 13 points. Freshman forward Devine Eke contributed 12 points and six rebounds, classmate Ilija Stojiljkovic flirted with a double-double (10 points, 9 rebounds) and sophomore Kevin Little tallied 10 points.
The Black Bears created some havoc and a handful of turnovers with their full-court pressure and half-court trapping in the first half, which helped them forge a 40-40 tie at halftime.
Each team had eight turnovers and the Catamounts relied heavily on the ballhandling savvy of Bell-Haynes, who racked up 17 points, including 7-for-7 free-throw shooting. UMaine got nine points from Gloger amidst a well-rounded attack and shot 53 percent.
Even so, Walsh told his team something would have to change if they wanted to win.
“I didn’t think we had any chance of winning the game the way we were playing,” Walsh warned. “We had to come out with a higher level of intensity and toughness and scrappiness and grit.”
It was Vermont that demonstrated those qualities. The visitors abandoned their 2-3 zone in favor of man-to-man, which helped them pressure the ball and bottle things up around the basket.
The result was far less offensive cohesiveness for the Black Bears, who became more turnover prone and got fewer open shots.
UMaine led 42-40 when Vermont pulled in front for good. O’Day started off a key 7-0 spurt with a driving layup on a conventional three-point play, then he made a short left-handed jump hook after a turnover.
Darren Payen threw down a dunk to put the Catamounts on top 47-42 with only 2:03 gone in the half.
The Bears remained within seven on a fast-break, ally-oop tip-in by Eke that made it 62-55 with 11:24 remaining. However, O’Day scored from underneath off an assist by Ward, who followed it up with a fast-break layup.
O’Day then sank two free throws to go over 1,000 career points, pushing the advantage to 68-55 with 9:19 left. UMaine kept pressing, but Vermont continued to score and eventually led by as many as 23 points.
UMaine was without freshman forward Issac Vann for the 10th straight contest because of an ankle injury and his status remains day to day. Junior guard/forward Garet Beals of Beals Island missed his third game in a row with an ankle ailment.
Walsh also explained that walk-on freshman guard Walter King, a former Lee Academy standout, was forced to leave school to attend to a personal situation. The former Lee Academy player appeared in six games, scoring 10 points with nine rebounds and three assists.
UMaine is next in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it visits the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.