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The University of Maine men’s basketball team got off to a cold start in their opening games this weekend, dropping decisions to the William and Mary and High Point at the William and Mary Tip-Off Classic in Williamsburg, Virginia.
It was a tough opening schedule to begin with, but several injuries and tremendous youth didn’t help matters. UMaine is without its best player and captain, senior Kevin Reed, who has a foot injury. Highly touted freshmen Junior Bernal and Philippe Tchekane Bofia also did not play due to undisclosed injuries.
“We showed great character despite being down three key players,” said UMaine head coach Ted Woodward. “This is a team to be judged in March as opposed to December. Three guys started their first college game this weekend and three other guys played for the first time ever. We’ll continue to grow and improve as we get experience and get healthy.”
The Black Bears opened up their 2005-06 campaign Friday night with an 89-55 drubbing at the hands of the tournament’s host, William and Mary.
“We’re certainly disappointed with our play tonight,” Woodward said. “We were missing on all cylinders and, in turn, William and Mary played great. We’re a far better team than we showed.”
The Tribe jumped out to a 7-0 lead but a three-pointer by senior Ernest Turner and freshman Christian Cavanaugh drew UMaine within one. The Tribe responded with an 11-2 run to take a commanding 10 point lead.
The Black Bears would come as close as six points, but a 12-2 Tribe scoring run to close out the first half all but ended the Black Bears’ comeback hopes as they trailed 43-25 at the break.
William and Mary put their feet on UMaine’s throats as junior Corey Coefield scored 7 of his 19 points in the first five minutes of the half and the Tribe had another 12-2 run to take an insurmountable 68-34 lead.
Turner would score seven unanswered points and 12 in the game’s final eight minutes, but the Black Bears couldn’t dent the Tribe’s lead. Turner led all scorers with 20 points.
In his first career start, junior Olli Ahvenniemi played well, recording 11 points six rebounds and three blocks, but was hampered by foul trouble and fouled out of the game with 9:52 left to play. Cavanaugh also had an impressive debut, collecting 13 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block. Cavanaugh and Ahvenniemi led UMaine to eight blocked shots, two shy of the school record.
As a result, the Black Bears faced High Point in the tournament’s consolation game on Saturday and were narrowly defeated 70-67, with senior Freddy Petkus missing a potentially game-tying three-pointer as time expired.
The Black Bears were perfect from the free throw line, going 18-18 to tie the school record of 13-13 from 1999. Junior Chris Bruff hit four foul shots down the stretch to give UMaine the chance at the game-tying trey.
“Although we don’t talk about moral victories, I’m very pleased with our comeback,” Woodward said. “We played like we’re accustomed to and unfortunately had a very cold shooting night on good shots.”
Starting the game was again a problem for UMaine, as High Point took a 7-0 lead early in the first half. The Black Bears answered with an impressive run that gave them their first lead at 23-21, but the Panthers responded and went into halftime leading 36-32.
High Point had an 11-0 run to start the second half, but this time UMaine was able to battle back. Their comeback bid was fueled by junior Jon Sheets, who had 10 of his team leading 22 points during a 16-5 UMaine run that closed the gap. Turner also had six points in that span and finished the night with 21.
The teams would trade baskets the rest of the way and High Point’s Arizona Reid, who had a game-high 24 points, hit his two free throws with 17.9 seconds remaining to keep the Panthers advantage at three.
The Black Bears will look for their first win of the season Tuesday night in their home opener at Alfond Arena against UMFK. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Bangor Daily News