The University of Maine men’s basketball team had a thrilling return to Memorial Gymnasium in Orono on Sunday afternoon, edging out visitors Brown University 60-49 after being on the road for seven straight games.
Trailing 37-23 coming out of halftime, Brown put the scare on UMaine, incrementally cutting the Black Bears’ lead down to 49-47 with 4:58 remaining. Keyed by some clutch defending and methodical ball possession, UMaine cooled Brown off in crunch time, improving to 6-4 on the season.
In the final five minutes of play, UMaine held Brown to 0-for-6 shooting, and senior Peter Filipovity sealed the deal with seven straight points, including an emphatic and-one play with 21 seconds remaining.
Brown had been averaging 74 points scored per game this season — their season low up until Sunday was 59 points.
“We found a way to come up with some big plays to hold them off,” second-year UMaine head coach Chris Markwood said. “It was a collective effort.”
The Black Bears bullied Brown in the first half, converting 66.7 percent of their shots (5-for-8 from three) and racking up ten assists. Coming out of the break, Brown made the adjustment, and limited UMaine to just six points through nine minutes.
“We went on a little [scoring] drought, but at the end of the day it’s about defense,” UMaine sophomore point guard Jaden Clayton said. “I think we really put Maine basketball’s defense on display.”
Clayton and junior guard Kellen Tynes held Brown’s all-Ivy first-teamer Kino Lilly, Jr. to just two first half points and 3-12 shooting on the day. Lilly had been averaging 20.1 points per game this season.
To compensate, Brown turned to junior forward Nana Owusu-Anane, who finished with 15 points, six offensive boards, and seven personal fouls drawn. He and Lilly were their only two double-digit scorers on Sunday.
“They killed us on the offensive glass for the first six to eight minutes of the game, Markwood said. “But after that, we fought. It was a gutsy, tough win.”
On the other end, Clayton, Filipovity, Tynes and junior two-guard Quion Burns each scored double-digit points to outpace Brown. Clayton was UMaine’s leading scorer with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while Filipovity stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, three steals and two assists.
Averaging 6.6 points per game through UMaine’s first eight games, Clayton has exploded for 15 points each against Holy Cross last Wednesday, and against Brown on Sunday.
“The coaches instill so much confidence in me, to be aggressive and go to the rim,” Clayton said. “I’m really starting to get that confidence within me.”
Next up, UMaine will play Boston University on the road Wednesday night, and then host Central Connecticut State at The Pit at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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