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It is often said that defense wins games. That simple adage proved true for the University of Maine men’s basketball team this Saturday evening as the Black Bears merited a hard fought victory against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
It was the team’s sensational defense that limited the Retrievers to a pitiful shooting percentage of 29.5 percent and hold them below 50 points in the game.
En route to the Black Bears’ 54-43 victory, forward Mark Flavin picked up a commanding 19 points and sophomore guard Kevin Reed tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on the evening. With the victory, the Black Bears improve to 11-6 on the season and 5-3 in America East play, while UMBC falls to 6-11 and 3-5 in conference competition.
“I am very pleased with the win,” head coach John Giannini said. “It was a hard-fought win. Both teams struggled and one was going to persevere and we did. I am proud of our effort. We just have to get better offensively.”
The two teams would flip-flop scores for much of the first half, unable to get into a consistent groove. UMBC forward Mike Housman and UMaine’s Mark Flavin stood as the lone offense standouts for the half. Housman was able to penetrate the paint for the first 20 minutes and contribute seven points to the team’s offensive attack. UMBC was able to get to the Black Bears due to a well balanced assault that saw six different players record points for the Retrievers. Flavin added six points for Maine who shot a dismal 33 percent from the field for the half. UMBC would enter the intermission with a slim one point advantage at 22-21. After the match, Giannini commented on his team’s play in the first half, saying he believed they could have been far ahead if the offense had not struggled so much. He cited his team’s strong defensive play and excellent rebounding as one of the factors that allowed the Black Bears to stay in the match.
“It was a frustrating half,” Giannini said.
The second half would play out much like the first with both teams trading baskets until Flavin took control of the game. During a 9-2 run, Flavin scored nine consecutive points, pushing the Black Bears’ lead to 38-31. The explosion came at the midway mark of the first half, allowing Maine considerable breathing room. Flavin’s inside presence was felt after the run as the Black Bears were able to collect a seven-point lead with four minutes remaining.
The Retrievers made one last stab at the advantage, cutting the Black Bears’ lead to four points with time dwindling.
Maine responded with a 14-7 run to finish the game and close out the decision. Senior guard Eric Dobson and Reed combined for 12 points in the final four minutes to put the finishing touches on the match. The Black Bears pulled down 48 rebounds in the contest and held a 48-35 edge on the glass.
Flavin led the way for Maine with his second-straight double-double, while Reed recorded his third double-double of the season. Dobson totaled 11 points, while Joe Campbell hauled down 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Reed later commented on Campbell’s ability to collect the basketball whether on offense or defense.
“Joe has been big for us this year and looking at today’s match it was no different,” Reed said.
UMBC was led by Seth Davis who had nine points, while Kareem Washington had nine rebounds to lead the Retrievers on the glass. UMBC head coach Tom Sullivan said after the game that the absence of talented forward John Zito may have hurt his team in the rebounding department.
Coming off a fresh loss against a talented Boston University team, the Black Bears’ victory, no matter how it was achieved, was a positive one, Giannini said.
“We are not winning because of anything offensively; we are winning because of our defensive rebounding. And when you have players that are playing as well as they are, you know the offense is going to come around,” Giannini said.
Giannini said it is vital that his team continues its success on the boards because there are so many teams that can’t rebound and compound losses for that reason. The Black Bears’ success on the boards will undoubtedly need to continue as Maine heads into a Wednesday duel with Northeastern at Alfond Arena at 7 p.m. The match promises to be one of the more exciting and important duels of the year with Maine and Northeastern ranked third and fourth in the America East Conference, respectively.
