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The Maine Campus | The Maine Campus
The Maine Campus | The Maine Campus
Anyone who jumped ship on the University of Maine men’s basketball team following their two-game losing streak and ensuing fall from the conference lead was reeled back in Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena. The Black Bears held off a late run by third-place Binghamton University to earn their seventh conference win 61-49.
UMaine, now 15-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play, had lost their previous two decisions after reeling off six straight. They dropped a one-point game to last place University of Maryland Baltimore County at home and then to conference power University of Vermont on the road. Following a 6-1 conference start, the mini-collapse had raised doubts about the Black Bears’ ability to sustain their winning ways, but an energetic and confident squad responded to their detractors.
“I really wanted to turn it around for me and the rest of the team,” said America East Player of the Game Sean McNally, who scored 15 points to go with 13 rebounds. “These last two games were hard on us, but we kept our heads up and we worked hard and came into this game knowing we were going to win.”
The 12-point win would seem to indicate that McNally’s confidence produced an easy win for the Black Bears. What the final score does not show is the Binghamton Bearcats were within two points of the lead with possession of the ball 2:06 in the second half.
On Binghamton’s possession, they got the ball to their leading scorer, Greer Wright, who got fouled on a lay-in attempt but failed to convert on both of his free throws. Junior forward Troy Barnies ripped down the big rebound and got the ball into the hands of point guard Junior Bernal. Bernal quickly got the ball up the court and found Gerald McLemore (nine points) wide open for a three in the corner. The sharp-shooting sophomore had made just seven of his last 29 from beyond the arc, but he found his groove at the right time at the end of the game.
“It was a big shot. I wasn’t making them all, but I kept shooting,” McLemore said. “I mean, what am I going to do, sit outside and not shoot it? If I’m open, I have to shoot it — and luckily it went in and it was a big boost to our team.”
As big as the shot was, McLemore defers credit for the victory to his teammates, who came up with several key rebounds and converted on eight of 10 free throws down the stretch. UMaine’s end-of-game efficiency did not go unnoticed by Binghamton coach Marc Macon.
“They pounded the ball inside and got to the foul line. The disparity in rebounds (39-to-35) and fouls (19-to-14) doesn’t look so bad, but from a coaching standpoint, it’s terrible. It’s the kind of fouls they got. They are getting shooting fouls. When they got fouled it changed something. They played the way they were supposed to play.”
McNally was huge in the final minutes of the game as the big man hit four consecutive foul shots after McLemore’s three to give Maine a commanding eight-point lead. In the first half, the game belonged to the guards — specifically, a recent addition to the starting lineup, Terrence Mitchell.
The junior guard from Milton, Fla., tied McNally as the game’s leading scorer in his first start, pouring in 14 of his 15 points in the first half.
Coach Ted Woodward made no waves about the substitution, which relegated Barnies to Mitchell’s usual sixth-man role.
“I wanted to take care of the ball a little better to start the basketball game, and having an extra guard out there helps with that,” Woodward said. “I also wanted to make sure that when we subbed we had quality depth in the post, so we get both of those things accomplished.”
The move proved to be a savvy one against Binghamton’s less traditional small lineup forcing them to double McNally in the post, and freeing Mitchell up for four three-pointers in the first half.
In the second half, Mitchell was blanketed by Bearcat defenders, limiting his effectiveness, but his presence on the outside freed up lanes to the basket. That accounted for Maine’s 12 second-half points in the paint, compared to just four in the first.
The Black Bears’ ability to make defenses adjust to their versatile and experienced personnel gives them an edge at the end of games that McNally readily acknowledges they have not had in recent years.
“These last two years that [late Binghamton run] would have dug us a hole and we probably would have ended up losing,” he said. “But this year we are just more mature and we have the capability to lock down on defense and get a big rebound and convert on the other end.”
Mitchell summed up the game more succinctly. “We just wanted to get our swag back,” he said.
UMaine will have a chance at redemption when they square off on the road against UMBC Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Related Posts:- Men’s basketball snaps losing steak at Morgan St., heads to R.I. Friday (December 12, 2002)
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- Court change for second game in men’s basketball (February 28, 2008)
- Women’s Basketball: UM snaps losing streak (February 16, 2009)
