The University of Maine disrupted UMass Lowell with its relentless full-court defense on Wednesday, setting the tone for a 95-81 America East men’s basketball victory at Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Freshman Devine Eke had his way underneath, pouring in 25 points and grabbing six rebounds to lead the Black Bears (5-11, 1-2 AE). The 6-foot-7 forward, who leads the conference in field-goal percentage, shot 10-for-13 from the field and blocked two shots in 22 minutes.
“He played with great energy and when he plays with great energy, he’s really tough to hold down,” said UMaine coach Bob Walsh, who admitted he hadn’t seen that kind of effort from Eke in recent games.
“He did a great job finishing at the basket.”
UMaine used a 2-2-1 press and scrappy man-to-man defense to force most of UMass Lowell’s 21 turnovers, which led to 26 Black Bear points. UMaine racked up 17 steals, spearheaded by six from senior guard Shaun Lawton and three from Aaron Calixte.
Sophomore guard Kevin Little returned after missing the previous game with a back injury to score 18 points, pull down eight rebounds, dish out five assists and make two steals. Lawton finished with 17 points four rebounds and two assists.
The Bears outrebounded the River Hawks 41-27 and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second-chance points.
“We were aggressive, played with great energy, (were) really determined on that (defensive) end to get the game at our pace and to make them uncomfortable,” Walsh said.
UMaine, which shot 45 percent from the floor, also received eight points from Calixte. The Bears attempted 73 field goals to 54 by the hosts.
UMass Lowell was paced by 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists from Jahad Thomas and 14 points from Matt Harris. Ryan Jones and Isaac White contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Trailing 48-38, UMass Lowell opened the second half on a 19-10 run. Tyler Livingston’s 3-pointer got the River Hawks within one at 58-57 with 14:16 to play.
Troy Reid-Knight started UMaine’s response with a 3-pointer, and then a steal by Lawton led to a Marko Pirovic layup. Ryan Bernstein pushed the lead to nine with his 3-pointer at the 12:46 mark.
Thomas countered for UMass Lowell with a jumper, but Reid-Knight buried another 3-pointer and Eke sank a foul shot. Little then snipped a transition jumper after coming up with a steal. Calixte made a layup off a steal and feed from Little, pushing UMaine’s advantage to 74-59 with 9:44 left.
“To have a comfortable lead most of the game, have them cut it to one and then get it back up to 20 and put the game away says a lot about the character and mentality of our team,” Walsh said.