BANGOR, Maine — The University of New Hampshire did just about anything it wanted to do during the first half on Monday night.
The Wildcats broke the University of Maine’s pressure, scored near the basket with regularity, dominated the boards and played strong defense.
The Wildcats surged to a 22-point halftime lead and overcame a protracted comeback effort by UMaine to register a 99-91 America East victory at the Cross Insurance Center.
“They manhandled us on both ends of the floor from start to finish,” said UMaine coach Bob Walsh.
“Our goal was to attack them and get them on their heels and they did that to us,” he explained. “Everything I looked at in the box score — halftime, after the game — was about toughness. They hammered us on the boards, that’s toughness. They got to the free-throw line and killed us there, that’s toughness. They didn’t let us get comfortable in half-court on our offense, just toughness.”
A lively and good-sized crowd of 1,783 — the likes of have which have not been seen often at UMaine men’s games in recent years — turned out to watch as the Black Bears struggled against the superior Wildcats.
New Hampshire effectively negotiated UMaine’s full-court pressure most of the way, although the hosts scored 19 points off 17 Wildcat turnovers. The visitors were able to attack the basket both off the dribble and via the pass, where they literally threw their weight around.
Tanner Leissner scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the second half as UMaine was unable to contain his shifty post moves. Iba Camera used his strong, 6-foot-9 frame to rack up 16 points and 18 rebounds.
UNH (9-8, 2-2 AE) shot 49 percent overall (31-for-63) and made 33 of its 46 free throws in a game that featured 57 personal fouls because of UMaine’s relentless pressure.
Daniel Dion tossed in 19 points and Jacoby Armstrong finished with 13 for the Wildcats, who amassed a 52-33 rebounding advantage and outscored the Black Bears 46-26 in the paint.
UMaine battled valiantly and picked up its defensive intensity and offensive production in the second half, but was unable to cut the deficit to fewer than six points in the final minute of action.
Kevin Little led the way for UMaine (6-12, 2-3 AE) with 22 points, Aaron Calixte netted 16, Issac Vann tallied 15 and Shaun Lawton provided 14 points and six rebounds.
UMaine wound up shooting 40 percent (29-for-72) after connecting on 48 percent of its shots in the second half. The Black Bears went 22-for-27 from the foul line.
The game was pretty well in hand at halftime after the Wildcats dominated the first 20 minutes in all aspects.
UNH shot 50 percent from the floor (18-for-36) and converted 13 of 18 free throws to build a 52-30 advantage. The Wildcats were able to to get the ball into the paint, whether via dribble-penetration or pass, with remarkable ease and frequency.
That led to a 26-8 edge over UMaine in points in the paint.
The Wildcats also won most of the physical matchups in close, led by a 13-rebound performance by Camara that helped them manufacture a 32-12 bulge in the rebounding action.
“Camara, he had more rebounds at halftime than everybody in our locker room. That’s ridiculous,” Walsh said.
Leading 21-19, UNH put together an extended run of 18-2 during a span of 4½ minutes to take command of the contest. Keon Burns and Dion each hit a 3-pointer to ignite the flurry, but UMaine’s Lavar Harewood answered with a left-handed shot from the lane.
Camara scored on an offensive rebound, then connected from underneath off a Leissner pass, before Dion drained a 17-footer off an inbounds play and followed with two free throws to make it 33-21 with 6:41 to play in the half.
Camara closed out the run with a rebound basket and two foul shots for UNH, which outscored UMaine 10-3 over the final 4:02 to extend its sizeable lead.
UNH had built a 64-38 lead barely six minutes into the second half, but UMaine refused to go quietly.
Little connected for five points amidst a 13-2 burst that got the Bears within 73-61 with 7:06 remaining. As the Wildcats continued to encounter further foul trouble and fatigue against the deeper hosts, UMaine extended the game into the final minute.
Little hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to make it 95-88, then Lawton buried a 3 after two foul shots by UNH’s Jaleen Smith to cut the deficit to six with 15 seconds remaining.
However, Leissner iced it with two free throws.
UMaine returns to the court on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against league-leading Stony Brook on Long Island.