Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
The University of Maine men’s basketball team chipped away at a 22-point first-half deficit to sweep Binghamton University and extend their win streak to seven games, defeating the Bearcats 77-74.
The Black Bears improve to 14-7 and an America East best 8-1 in conference, while the Bearcats fall to 6-16 and 3-6 in conference play.
The Bearcats got off to an outstanding start, with junior center Kyrie Sutton scoring the Bearcats’ first 10 points.
Seven minutes in, the Bearcats were already up 14. Over the next six minutes, the Bearcats ballooned that to 22 with the help of a pair of threes by senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi.
The Black Bears were able to cut it down to 13 at the half, going on an 8-3 run to enter the break down 45-32.
The Bearcats shot 53 percent in the first half, including 9-17 from beyond the arc, while three players reached double figures in the first 20 minutes. Jabbi led the way with 13, while Sutton and sophomore guard Jimmy Gray added 10 each.
The Black Bears were helped greatly by the play of junior guard Gerald McLemore in the first half. McLemore was the only Black Bear in double digits at the break, going 4-5 from the field, including 3-4 threes for 11 points.
The Bearcats couldn’t duplicate their first-half shooting, as the Black Bears dropped back to a zone and found a way to slow down the home team, holding them to 34 percent from the field in the second half.
The Black Bears managed to get to the free throw line at a substantial rate, hitting 10-12 in the second half and 14-18 for the game, while the Bearcats made just one of four attempts from the charity stripe for the entire contest.
“We didn’t crash the glass and they got us in foul trouble,” Bearcats head coach Mark Macon said. “We have to get fouls and get to the rim. Their zone defense slowed us up, but we need to counter that by attacking the seams of the zone.”
With less than five minutes remaining, the Bearcats were up six at 71-65. The Bearcats proceeded to miss eight-straight shots, as Black Bear junior guard Raheem Singleton tied it up with 3:20 remaining.
Sophomore center Mike Allison had two big blocks on the defensive end and it was the reserve’s dunk that gave the Black Bears the late lead.
Singleton added 17 points and seven assists in the win, while Allison finished with seven points and four blocks. McLemore led all scorers with a season-high 23 points. Senior forward Troy Barnies and sophomore forward Murphy Burnatowski also joined in double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jabbi was the only player to record a double-double, recording his fourth straight with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Black Bears look to keep the streak alive on the road, when they face AEC foe Boston University on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
