Brown University manufactured a 19-point, second-half advantage, then held off a determined comeback by the University of Maine to earn a 65-57 men’s basketball victory Wednesday night at Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
It was the final non-conference game of the season for coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears, who slipped to 2-13 with the loss.
Desmond Cambridge headed a quartet of double-figure scorers for Brown (10-4) with 19 points. Tamenang Choh tossed in 11 points, while Joshua Howard (5 rebounds) and Zach Hunsaker netted 10 points apiece.
Junior forward Andrew Fleming paced UMaine with a game-high 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting and contributed seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot while playing all 40 minutes. He also committed five turnovers.
Isaiah White tossed in 20 points for UMaine and Sergio El Darwich provided 15 points.
The Black Bears outrebounded the hosts 36-23 and shot 46 percent from the floor (23-for-50) but went 11-for-25 (65 percent) from the foul line and committed 20 turnovers.
UMaine outscored Brown 32-16 in the paint, but Brown made 10 3-pointers and shot 37 percent from the arc with identical 23-for-50 accuracy from the field. The hosts also converted 19 of 20 free throws.
The Black Bears trailed 53-34 after a 3-pointer by Hunsaker with 14:54 to play, but they showed their resilience. UMaine battled back with a 29-12 surge and clawed within two points on two Fleming free throws that cut the deficit to 65-63 with 2:45 to play.
However, Brown closed out the victory by making their last eight foul shots, including four by Brandon Anderson.
Fleming carried UMaine during its rally,while scoring 11 points, including three dunks and five free throws. White connected for five points amidst the charge.
Brown put the Black Bears in an early hole while speeding to a 19-3 lead during the first eight minutes. Five different players connected on a 3-pointer for the hosts during that critical stretch and they finished the half shooting 7-for-16 (44 percent) from long distance while making all seven of their free throws to help build a 38-24 lead by intermission.
Meanwhile, UMaine missed its first four shots and committed six turnovers during the same time frame to help fuel Brown’s early success. The Black Bears finished with 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Black Bears begin America East play Saturday on the road against defending conference champion Maryland, Baltimore County. Tipoff is 1 p.m.