Sports

Men’s basketball edges out UNH

Socoby leads Black Bears in over time

By Danny Bartlett

Posted on Feb. 11, 2008, at 12:00 a.m.

Three days after dropping a close decision to the Hartford Hawks, the University of Maine men’s basketball team rebounded with a 75-72 victory over the University of New Hampshire. The Black Bears improved to 7-16 (3-7 in conference play), while the Wildcats dropped to 7-16 (4-7 in conference play).

UMaine came out firing from the get-go and took an early 18-6 lead after the first five minutes of play. UNH tried to cut into the lead repeatedly but the Black Bears always had an answer. That answer was sophomore guard Mark Socoby, who had 21 points in the first half alone. Socoby closed out the half with eight straight points to give UMaine the 45-28 advantage.

The scoreboard showed that UMaine had dominated the first half of play and was in complete control. The second half was a different story, as UNH came out looking like an entirely different team. Down by 18 and with 16:19 remaining in the game, the Wildcats began cutting into the deficit. UNH used a 23-4 run over the next nine minutes, which included a seven-minute scoring drought by UMaine, to take a 53-52 lead. The scoring went back and forth the rest of the way and it took a free throw by Socoby with 26 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

The two teams entered overtime notched at 60-60. UMaine took the lead with three minutes remaining in extra time and never looked back. The Black Bears were led in overtime by Kaimondre Owes with eight points, and Socoby, with five points.

UMaine out-rebounded the Wildcats 47-36 and was led by Socoby, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Owes tossed in 20 points and dished four assists, while Brian Andre narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. UNH had four players score in double figures and were led by Tyrese Gibbs with 20 points and Eric Gilchrese with 16 points and five assists.

Earlier in the week, UMaine was defeated 69-67 by Hartford. Socoby led Maine with 20 points in the loss, while Owes added 14 points. First-year Sean McNally chipped in with 13 points. Hartford was led by Joe Zeglinski with 20 points and Morgan Sabia with 15 points.

The Black Bears return to action this Thursday when they host Albany at Alfond Arena at 7 p.m.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.