On March 8, the University of Maine men’s basketball team played UMass Lowell River Hawks in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament. Maine had not hosted a men’s quarterfinal since 1995. The Black Bears won the contest, 72-64, marking their first playoff win since 2005.
Fourth-year guard Kellen Tynes was recently named the America East Defensive Player of the Year. It marks the third straight season he earned the award.
The River Hawks were quick to open up the scoring in the game, maintaining a seven-point lead for the first 10 minutes of the game. The lead was short-lived, as halfway through the first half, the Black Bears found their rhythm and maintained a lead for the rest of the game.
A three-pointer by fourth-year forward Christopher Mantis, assisted by Tynes, closed the gap. Third-year guard Jaden scored on the next two possessions to give Maine their first lead of the game.
With 55 seconds remaining in the first half, fourth-year guard Quion Burns made a three-pointer, assisted by third-year forward Killian Gribben, to increase Maine’s lead to five going into the break. Lopez and Burns both led the Black Bears with eight points in the game.
The second half started the same as the first, with the River Hawks opening up the scoring. Fifth-year UMass guard Quinton Mincey scored a layup. Tynes scored crucial points to maintain the lead, as UMass Lowell tried to close the gap with a dunk by fifth-year forward Max Brooks.
Third-year guard Jaden Clayton made a layup to prevent the River Hawks from tying the game. Brooks once again answered with another dunk. After more back-and-forth play, Clayton made another layup, assisted by Tynes.
Fifth-year guard Yuri Covington and the River Hawks gained newfound momentum after a made layup from Covington. The momentum proved to be short-lived when Burns was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws. After a few attempts, Mincey made a jumper. Clayton and Mincey exchanged opportunities, and Maine still held on by four.
In the last three minutes of the game, the River Hawks were within four points of tying with the Black Bears after scoring to nine unanswered. Clayton stepped up and put the game away with a layup and found Gribben for a dunk.
Free throws by Lopez and Clayton helped run the time down left in the game. The River Hawks were unable to recover any momentum they had.
Tynes paced the Black Bears with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, all of which were team-highs on the night. Lopez and Clayton both finished with 16 points. Maine forced 14 turnovers on the night while only having 8 of their own. The Black Bears also rejected seven shots on the night, six of which were in the second half.
The Black Bears will move on to the semifinals and travel to Burlington, Vermont, to take on the University of Vermont Catamounts on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
