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The University of Maine men’s basketball team dominated their home opener against the University of Maine Machias, 95-44.
Forty-five seconds into the contest, the theme of the game had been set. After forcing turnovers or perimeter jumpers from the Clippers, junior point guard Raheem Singleton would start the break pushing the ball to eventually find Maine’s high rising sophomore forward Murphy Burnatowski for one of his highlight reel dunks.
The up-tempo style displayed by the Black Bears Friday night was led by Burnatowski, who finished with 17 points on a 7-7 shooting night from the field including 3-3 from behind the arc.
The Black Bears entered the contest at 1-1, with their line loss coming against Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse the University of Maryland, so it was relieving for head coach Ted Woodward to come home.
“I really wanted to see us improve in a lot of areas tonight, and we did that,” Woodward said. “After a tough game on the road at Maryland it was great to play at home in front of our own fans.”
The key to the game was Singleton’s smart decision making. When UMaine forced turnovers and bad shots from the Clippers, coach Woodward would instantly yell to “push it” to take advantage of UMaine’s dominant speed and athleticism over UMM. With the ball always in Singleton’s hands, he finished with eight assists and just one turnover.
The 23 assists by the Black Bears led to easy buckets and a field goal percentage of 62.5 percent, including a remarkable first half of 73.3 percent. Junior guard Gerald McLemore also regained his stroke, going 4-8 from behind the arc, finishing with 13 points. The Black Bears’ size was too intimidating for the Clippers, as they scored 48 points in the paint to the UMM’s two.
While UMM is not an America East Conference opponent, a game like this still helps the team, Woodward pointed out.
“Every game helps moving forward. Some guys get minutes and every bit of experience helps. The plays we go over in practice need to be run in game situations,” Woodward said.
The practice will help as the Black Bears move forward on what looks to be a promising season with high expectations. Yet star forward Burnatowski does not seem to be worried.
“We’re not worried about expectations; anything can happen. Last year we were projected eighth and came in third.”
The Black Bears travel to Big East power, the University of Notre Dame to face the fighting Irish on Monday, and play their next home game Nov. 29 against Quinnipiac University.
Bangor Daily News