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Men's Basketball Falls to Hartford 62-60
Jan. 3, 2007
ORONO, Maine-- The University of Maine men's basketball team fell to Hartford 62-60 on America East Opening Night. The Black Bears had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but the shot bounced off the rim, giving the Hawks the victory. Maine falls to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in America East play. Hartford improves to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Maine was led by America East Player of the Game Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass.). Reed had 14 points, nine rebounds and an assist for the Black Bears. Hartford was led by America East Player of the Game Bo Taylor who had a game-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. Hartford jumped out to an early 9-4 behind four early points from Alex Zimnickas. Maine pulled to within two points at 11-9 behind five points from Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif.) and a pair of hoops by Kevin Reed. The first three-point field goal on the night for Sheets was the 100th of his career. Sheets second three-pointer of the game gave the Black Bears a 12-11 lead. Reed added a three to give Maine a 15-11 lead. Hartford stopped the Maine run with a pair of free throws by Michael Turner. Hartford tied the game at 10:42 on a pair of free throws by Fabrice Tafo. Maine extended its lead to 21-17, before Rich Baker drained a long three-pointer to pull the Hawks to within one point. Maine answered with a Chris Bruff (Bloomfield. Conn.) hoop. Maine extended its lead to 29-22 after a three-point field goal and three straight free throws by Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine). Hartford stopped the Maine run with a conventional three-point play by Bo Taylor. Maine took a 35-30 lead into halftime. The Black Bears, who shot 54.5 percent in the first half, were led by Sheets who had 10 points. Bruff and Socoby each added eight points in the first half. Maine shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line as it converted 7-of-8 shots from the line.
Hartford, who shot 32 percent in the first half, was led by Bo Taylor who had 11 points. Hartford was also impressive from the line as it shot 92.3 percent, hitting 12-of-13 shots. Hartford cut the Maine lead to 35-32 early in the second half, but Maine responded with a three by Sheets. Maine pushed the lead to 41-34 on a three-point field goal by Reed with just over 14 minutes to play in the game. Baker halted the Maine run with his third trey of the game with just over 13 minutes left to play and Hartford pulled to within four points. Tafo had back to back hoops for Hartford to knot the game at 41-41. The teams continued to trade hoops and Hartford grabbed a 48-47 lead with 8:59 remaining in the game on a three-point field goal by Joe Zeglinski. The Hawks extended their lead to 50-47 when Zeglinski hit a jumper, before Bruff responded with a hoop for the Black Bears. The Black Bears regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon) with just under 5:30 remaining in the game. The Hawks took a 55-51 lead when Turner scored on a conventional three-point play. Turner then grabbed a rebound and put the ball back up and Hartford had a 57-51 lead. A Chris Bruff dunk and a three by Reed pulled Maine to within one point at 59-58. Jaret Van Rosenberg hit a pair of free throws with 56 seconds remaining in the game to give the Hawks a 62-58 lead. Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y.) answered with a pair of free throws of his own, but that is as close as Maine could get. Reed had 14 points and nine rebounds for Maine. Bruff finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Jon Sheets added 13 points, three assists and two steals, while Mark Socoby chipped in with 11 points and four assists. Maine shot 45.2 percent in the game, including 40.0 percent from three-point range. Hartford was led by Taylor who had 15 points and seven rebounds. Michael Turner added 12 points and four assists for the Hawks. Hartford shot 41.7 percent in the game. The Hawks committed just four turnovers in the contest. The Black Bears return to action on Saturday, January 6 when they host New Hampshire at 7:00 p.m. at Alfond Arena. -U-M- |
