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Coming off an impressive and well-deserved win at SUNY Albany, in which the Black Bears rallied in the second half to overcome the Great Danes 81-70, the University of Maine faltered against America East leading Binghamton in Sunday night’s contest.
The Black Bears could not match up with Binghamton’s offensive attack, losing by a score of 69-58. Kaimondre Owes, who was 3-5 from outside the arc, as well as 6-8 from the charity stripe, led UMaine with 15 points. Junior Bernal led the team with 13 rebounds, and freshman forward Sean McNally accounted for 10 points and seven rebounds. With the loss, the Black Bears dropped to 6-14 overall and are currently 3.5 games behind first place Binghamton in America East play, 2-5 conference record.
UMaine struck first in the game when Mark Socoby popped a trey in the team’s first trip down the court. During the first half, the two teams swapped possession of the lead, never exceeding a scoring deficit more than five points.
Binghamton played a tight defense against the Black Bears, causing the team to turn over the ball five times before halftime, and ultimately, 17 times by the game’s end. The Bearcats also had the offensive edge over UMaine. Their first-half field goal percentage of 46 percent was more consistent during the game than UMaine’s shooting percentage.
In the second half, Binghamton wasted no time adding on to the two-point lead they had going into halftime, working a 9-0 run the first four minutes. Strong defensive play on the Bearcats’ behalf, which produced several costly UMaine turnovers, and a great all-around effort from game-leading scorer Lazar Trifunovic, who had 26 points, kept the Black Bears from regaining the lead. However, down by 12 points with nine minutes to go in the game, UMaine came together in a solid team effort on both ends of the court. The trifecta of Owes, Bernal and McNally pulled UMaine within three points and three minutes to go.
Despite their late turn-around in the second half, the Black Bears were unable to capitalize with a series of failed three-point attempts. The Bearcats went 6-for-7 from the foul line in the final four minutes, sealing the victory by an 11-point margin.
Although Maine was out-scored in the game and shot a dismal 16-for-49 from field goal range, they had a significantly higher amount of rebounds with 40, against Binghamton’s 27 boards. If UMaine can keep this aspect of their game alive down the stretch, handle the ball with better care and make wiser shot decisions, they still have a great chance of being contenders in the America East conference.
Hoping to make a late-season comeback, UMaine plays host to conference rival Boston University on Wednesday night with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. That game will conclude after this paper’s print time.
