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It has been the best of times, and the worst of times for the University of Maine men’s basketball team’s tale of two seasons.
After very few problems in the beginning of America East Conference play where the Black Bears reeled off seven straight victories, the Black Bears have now dropped their last five, including their latest to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member Siena College, 71-60.
The loss drops the Black Bears to just one game over .500 at 14-13, while the Saints improve to 11-16.
The Black Bears were up six early in the game until the Saints came back to tie the score at 15. Junior forward Gerald McLemore gave UMaine the lead as each team exchanged baskets to tie it at 25 with 6 minutes left.
Sophomore center Mike Allison continued to showcase his size, slamming home a pass from senior forward Malachi Peay to put the Black Bears up one.
UMaine was able to extend that lead to five at the break after junior guard Raheem Singleton went coast-to-coast for the layup.
McLemore and senior guard Terrance Mitchell led the way for the Black Bears in the first half with seven points each, while senior forward Troy Barnies had six points and six rebounds.
The Black Bears were aided by good shooting in the first half, making 46.7 percent of their shots compared to 37 percent from the Saints.
To continue the theme, it was a tale of two halves for the Black Bears, as the Saints opened the second on a 15-2 run to grab a 43-35 lead.
After the Black Bears closed the gap thanks to a Barnies jumper, the Saints compiled another run, jumping out to a 16-point lead at 57-41 with 7 minutes remaining.
The Black Bears still wouldn’t go down as back-to-back baskets by Singleton and Barnies cut the lead to six with under 2 minutes to play. The Saints stood strong and marched on to a double-digit 71-60 victory.
Barnies led the Black Bears with 14 points and nine boards, and Peay was the only other Black Bear in double figures with 11 points. McLemore went cold in the second half, scoring no points in the final 20 minutes and finishing with seven.
The shooting that gave UMaine the lead in the first half disappeared in the second, going 8-32 in the half and 0-7 from the three-point range, while the Saints made over half their shots in the second half, going 14-26 and 6-9 from downtown.
The Black Bears stay on the road for their next game, traveling to Durham, N.H. to take on the University of New Hampshire. With two games left in the regular season, the Black Bears, 8-6 in AEC, look to stay comfortably in third place heading into the conference tournament.
Bangor Daily News