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The University of Maine men’s basketball team rallied from a six point halftime deficit and Hartford’s David Ruffin missed a game, tying three pointer Saturday night en route to a 61-58 Black Bear victory at Alfond Arena.
Hartford began the game on a 7-0 run and led by as many 10 points, but UMaine started the second half with a 13-4 run and took their first lead of the night with 15:30 to go. Hartford managed to tie it several times in the final five minutes, but the Black Bears kept their composure and were able regain the lead each time. Hartford’s Trevor Goode missed five free throws down the stretch to help the Black Bears stay ahead.
“A lot of guys played with a lot of heart tonight. If there’s one reason we won the game, that’s it,” said UMaine head coach Ted Woodward.
Hartford shot 54 percent in the first half, but UMaine’s defense held them to 40 percent in the second. The Hawks shot 50 percent from the charity stripe, a statistic that wasn’t lost on Hartford head coach Larry Harrison.
“We made some mental mistakes too, but when it comes down to it in a close ball game like this, you’ve got to make your free throws,” said Harrison. “Maine did, and they won the game,” said Harrison.
“At halftime, we talked about picking up our defensive intensity,” said Woodward. “The first five minutes we were able to jump on them a little bit, I think because they didn’t expect us to come out with intensity.”
Senior center Mark Flavin converted a three-point play to give the Black Bears the lead for good with 2:13 remaining. Flavin had 14 points, 10 of them coming in the game’s final eight minutes. Flavin shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
“At half time, coach said everyone had to step up and Flav did,” said junior guard Kevin Reed, who led all scorers with 17 points.
The Black Bears had four players in double figures. In addition to Reed and Flavin, senior guard Chris Markwood had 10 points and senior forward Joe Campbell had 13 points to go with nine rebounds.
“Balance is an important part of our team, and we’re glad we got back to it tonight,” said Woodward. “I thought the transition game and our defense helped us get some baskets, and we’re certainly very pleased with that balance.”
With the win, UMaine improves to 12-13 on the year, and 7-9 in America East, moving into fifth place in the conference. UMaine clinched a spot in the conference’s top six, which allows the Black Bears to circumvent the play-in game for the bottom four teams in the conference tournament.
In addition to his 10 points, Markwood had a team high five assists, and despite recovering from a broken wrist and a pulled hamstring, he became the only Black Bear to play all 40 minutes in a game this season.
“I can’t say enough about the heart Chris is showing right now,” said Woodward. “It’s a testament to his courage and his loyalty to this team.”
“It’s my last year, and I’m just trying to do whatever I can do to help the team get to where we want to be,” said Markwood.
Markwood cited the play of freshman guard Jason Hight as one reason for UMaine’s success. Hight chipped in with 4 assists.
“He doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” said Markwood. “He does a great job of controlling the tempo, pushing the ball, and getting everybody on the floor involved.”
The Black Bears got a tremendous lift from Campbell, who hit key free throws down the stretch, collected two steals, and was a force on the boards all night.
“Joe Campbell is so active and plays so hard. If you have guys like him and Reed out there, good things are going to happen for you,” said Harrison.
UMaine has two important tune-ups before the conference tournament next week, traveling to the Hub to play second place Boston University on Wednesday before returning to Orono to host first place Vermont on Sunday in the final game of the regular season.
“This was our seniors’ second to last home game, so to win it is big. They’ve only got one left and we’d like to send them out on a good note,” said Reed.
