The University of Maine men’s basketball team brought The Pit to its feet on Saturday afternoon, as the Black Bears gutted out a much-needed 79-72 comeback victory over the No. 3 Bulldogs.
Right off the bat, the Black Bears had their backs against the wall, as UMaine started out 4-for-16 from the field and faced a worrying 27-16 Bryant lead 12 minutes into play. But with the home crowd in their ears, the Black Bears powered through, stealing the ball 12 times and scoring 46 second half points.
The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Black Bears, who had lost five of their first seven America East games and eight of their last ten. With the win, UMaine improved to 3-5 in conference (11-12 overall), while Bryant moved to 6-2 (14-9 overall).
The tide turned for UMaine late in the first half, as the hosts used a Bryant technical foul and two electric AJ Lopez buckets to retake a 31-29 lead with two minutes to go. In the second half, Lopez and company picked up where they left off, with the junior nailing a 3-pointer followed by an and-one play to turn a 35-33 halftime deficit into a 51-45 lead in less than seven minutes.
“We were moving a step slow, but AJ Lopez breathed life into us, and allowed us to carry some momentum [through] to the second half,” head coach Chris Markwood said. “From there, we played really well as a collective unit; we showed a lot of grit. To have the energy of the gym behind you, just gives you a different feel. There’s no substitute.”
Lopez finished the night with 15 points on 55.5 percent shooting, two rebounds, a steal and a team-best plus-minus of 16.
Juniors Quion Burns and Kristians Feierbergs would help extend UMaine’s lead to 57-47 — their largest lead of the night — with 11:45 remaining in the game, but Bryant’s Conference-best offense wasn’t going to stay quiet for long.
Quickly rattling off seven straight points, the Bulldogs would eventually cut it to one point on two separate occasions, but UMaine’s defense ultimately held strong and the Black Bears never relinquished the lead.
“That’s our identity. Defense has to fuel everything we do,” Markwood said. “We gotta do it the tough way, the gritty way — you’re not gonna win the game if you can’t finish with stops.”
UMaine ended up winning the turnover battle 10 to 16, and scored 19 points off turnovers, compared with Bryant’s 11. Prior to Saturday’s game, Bryant had been averaging 81.6 points per game in Conference play.
Pacing Bryant’s offense on Saturday were senior guards Earl Timberlake (22 points on 10-for-15 shooting, five fouls drawn, three assists and three steals) and Sherif Gross-Bullock (17 points on 7-for-14 shooting, one assist).
UMaine sophomore Jaden Clayton led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, plus six assists. Senior Filipovity logged a 21-point double-double for the Black Bears, drawing seven fouls and picking Bryant’s pockets twice.
“It feels really good. The Pit was rocking,” Clayton said. “We can’t lose that edge. The edge that we brought tonight, we gotta bring for the rest of the season. That’s the biggest thing for our team.”
UMaine’s game against Bryant marked the midway point of America East play, as the Black Bears have now played each Conference opponent once. The next eight games will make up the second round robin of Conference play, leading up to the Conference tournament in March.
Next up, the Black Bears will take on No. 4 New Hampshire away on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. Then, they will head to Rhode Island on Feb. 15 to play Bryant away at 7 p.m.
UMaine’s next home game will be against No. 1 Vermont, on Saturday, Feb. 17 at The Pit at 3 p.m.
“At this point, we’ve played every team in the league. Give credit to the ones that beat us, but we feel like there’s no team we can’t beat,” reigning America East Defensive Player of the Year junior Kellen Tynes said. “We’re just as good as anyone when [we’re] disciplined.”
