The University of Maine men’s basketball team gutted out its eighth win of the season on Saturday afternoon, outworking Central Connecticut State 69-56 at The Pit in Orono.
The Black Bears and Blue Devils went blow-for-blow all 40 minutes, exchanging five lead changes and playing within six points of one another from 11:18 in the first half to 12:50 in the second.
With 10 minutes to go in the game, UMaine manufactured its first double-digit lead of the afternoon, parlaying a Kellen Tynes fast break lay-up, an and-one play by transfer Quion Burns, and a 3-pointer from true freshman Logan Carey to make it 51-41 — a lead that CCSU cut down to six with 1:58 remaining.
“It was a battle from start to finish,” second-year head coach Chris Markwood said. “When we settled in and didn’t turn the ball over, that’s where you saw us take control. But it’s Division I — they weren’t going to go away.”
Some clutch free throw shooting from Tynes and sophomore point guard Jaden Clayton finally iced it for UMaine, as the Black Bears (8-4) won their fourth straight, and joined Vermont (8-2) as the winningest teams in America East this season.
UMaine is 8-4 for the first time since 2003-04, and just the second time this century.
“We’re playing really good basketball — our start is honestly not a surprise to us,” Clayton said. “We’re guarding the hell out of the ball, and the world’s finally seeing what Maine’s about.”
Clayton finished with 5 assists and 5 points, all of which came from the foul line. Tynes (11 points, 5 rebounds) was one of three double-digit scorers for UMaine, including senior forward Peter Filipovity (19 points, 8 rebounds) and junior forward Kristians Feierbergs (season-high 14 points, two assists and two steals).
Tynes (14.3 ppg) and Filipovity (13.6 ppg) have been UMaine’s most reliable scorers this season. Clayton is UMaine’s leading assist man with 51 on the year.
With finals around the corner, the Black Bears will study up and rest up the next few days, before prepping for a midseason gauntlet against Minnesota, Central Florida, Vermont and New Hampshire beginning Dec. 18.
“I think we’re prepared — we’re ready for it, we’re excited,” Tynes said of UMaine’s upcoming schedule. “We’re happy with how things are going, but we know we gotta come right back to work next week.”
