The University of Maine men’s basketball team won its second straight home game on Saturday, powering past New Jersey Tech 68-58 to retake fifth place in the America East standings.
At 5-8 in conference games, the Black Bears have now won four times at The Pit, losing just once in Orono to No. 1 Vermont (12-1) last week. Last place NJIT moved to 3-11 in conference play with the loss.
Down 34-31 and looking flustered offensively early in the second half, UMaine willed themselves — and the fans — back into the game on three thrilling plays at the rim. First, junior Kellen Tynes found senior Peter Filipovity in transition for a tough bucket through two Highlander defenders, followed by a Tynes steal and emphatic two-handed jam, and finally a Quion Burns fadeaway layup through contact for a successful and-one play.
Riding the momentum, the junior transfer Burns would add a 3-pointer and two more jumpers to help extend Maine’s lead to 49-42, and sophomore point guard Jaden Clayton would cap off UMaine’s 17-1 run with a 3-pointer.
“It’s just the energy at The Pit. When it’s rocking and we’re getting the fans going, we’re [playing] excited basketball,” Burns said. “There’s nothing better.”
Burns finished with 13 points and two rebounds in only 17 minutes, Clayton with 12 points and two assists, and Filipovity led all scorers with 21 points and seven rebounds. Tynes was UMaine’s leading assist man on Saturday with eight dimes, seven points and three steals.
NJIT guards Elijah Buchanan and Tariq Francis led the Highlanders, scoring 16 apiece and combining for six assists and 10 rebounds. The duo started the day 11-for-25, but were totally confounded down the stretch, finishing 11-for-36.
“That’s what we wanted,” Clayton said. “We knew [Tariq] was gonna get up his shots — he’s talented and can score well — but we wanted him to take 20 shots. That’s what we preach against guys with a lot of talent: high volume, low percentage.”
Next up, UMaine will hit the road for a few days, visiting Binghamton University (4-9) on Thursday at 6 p.m., and then the University of Albany (4-9) on Saturday at 4 p.m. UMaine lost to Binghamton 51-50 at the Cross Center on Jan. 27, and beat Albany 81-73 at The Pit on Jan. 25.
UMaine is 4-11 on the road this year, and just 1-5 in America East play. In four of these five road losses to Conference opposition, the Black Bears have lost by seven points or fewer.
“The championship teams are the ones that are consistent on [the road], and for us that’s the next major step,” Markwood said. “The hard part is, I don’t think we’ve played terribly on the road. Bryant, New Hampshire, even Vermont — we’ve played better basketball on the road than our road record shows, but that’s the case with our overall record too.”
On the year, UMaine is 13-15 with an average scoring margin of plus-0.9.
