BANGOR, Maine —- After averaging 20 minutes per game of playing time over the first three games, Austin Howard saw his minutes dwindle to 10 over the last two games combined.
The University of Maine junior guard had hit only four of his 12 shots over the last four games after going 3-for-8 against Virginia Tech in the season opener.
But Howard nailed all seven of his field-goal attempts on Saturday afternoon and finished with a game-high 19 points as the Black Bears expectedly handled Division III University of Maine-Presque Isle 96-45 at the Cross Insurance Center.
“Austin has been searching for his confidence,” said UMaine coach Bob Walsh. “He and I have talked a bunch about how he’s got a lot more to give. He just needs to get comfortable out there. He was able to knock down some shots today and to see the basketball going in is really important.”
Howard said the game was valuable in that he was able to get his “rhythm back and my confidence higher up.
“At the beginning of the season, I thought my confidence was a little low at times. (Walsh) has influenced me to get my confidence back up by telling me he has confidence in me and stuff like that,” said Howard, a 6-foot-1 native of Louisville, Kentucky.
He averaged 14.2 points per game at Parkland College (Illinois) last year while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 43.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. As soon as your confidence gets back up, it carries over to the next game and the game after that,” added Howard.
Junior guard Ilker Er provided 15 points and seven rebounds for the 2-4 Black Bears and South Paris freshman Andrew Fleming contributed 14 points and six rebounds on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-4 showing from the foul line.
Marko Pirovic added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Wes Myers chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Jaquan McKennon had a game-high six assists and four rebounds along with two points.
“Jaquan really got the ball moving for us,” said Walsh, whose team outscored UMPI 28-8 over the final 13 minutes of the first half to build a 40-20 lead.
Junior forward Maurice Harris scored a team-high 16 points for the 1-3 Owls. Anthony Chaco contributed nine points and four rebounds and Derek Healy finished with eight points, two rebounds and two steals while Kevin Collins had seven points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Collins’ brother Kim Collins grabbed six rebounds and had three points.
Walsh said it was a useful game in that “hopefully, we got better.
“We’re trying to develop championship-level habits in everything we do, regardless of who we play, where we play or what the score is,” said Walsh. “So, hopefully, a lot of our guys are feeling better about what we do, how we go about doing it and what the results can be. This was another game opportunity for a lot of guys who are just getting used to this.”
UMPI’s Harris said it “we wanted to come, compete and give our best and that’s what we did. We wanted to play hard.”
UMPI coach Mike Holmes called it a “win-win” for his team.
“It was a good healthy type of game for us. It gave our kids an opportunity for a memory,” said Holmes. “The only thing is you don’t want to embarrass yourself and I thought our guys at least competed. Obviously, Maine can do things defensively we don’t normally see and it forces you into things. It was a great opportunity for us.”