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Maine Rallies To Defeat Vermont In Overtime
ORONO, Maine-- Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn.) scored a career-high 26 points, including six in overtime, as the University of Maine men's basketball team overcame an 11 point deficit in the second half to defeat Vermont 85-82 on Sunday afternoon in Orono, Maine in front of 1,754 fans. The Black Bears improve to 6-10 on the season and 1-4 in America East play, while Vermont falls to 7-8, 3-2 in conference play.
The game, which featured five ties in the first half, was close much of the half. Vermont went on a 7-0 run to build a 21-14 lead with under nine minutes to play. Kyle Cieplicki had five points during the run, including a three-point field goal. The Catamounts were able to push the lead to 11 points with 5:17 remaining in the half. The Black Bears ended the half on a 12-5 run to cut the Maine deficit to four points, 36-32 at the half. Chris Holm led Vermont with 12 points in the half. The Black Bears shot an amazing 65 percent in the first half as they connected on 13-of-20 shots. Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif.) and Bruff each had eight points for Maine. The Black Bears tied the game at 38-38 less than three minutes into the second half when Ernest Turner (Camden,. N.J.) hit a jumper. The Black Bears took a 43-42 led when Rashard Turner (Peekskill, N.Y.) drained a three-point field goal. The Catamounts answered with a 14-3 run to take a 56-46 lead. Colin McIntosh had eight points during the run, while Chris Holm added six as Vermont continued to look inside. The Catamounts pushed their lead to 62-51 with seven minutes remaining in the game. Bruff recorded back-to-back hoops, a jumper and a dunk, to pull Maine to within seven points, but Vermont's Mike Trimboli answered with a three-point field goal to push the lead to 10 points once again. Ernest Turner responded with a layup and Bruff hit a pair of free throws to cut the Vermont lead to six points. Vermont missed a shot the next time down the court and Maine's Freddy Petkus (Plunge, Lithuania) got the rebound. Petkus fed Bruff who scored a layup and Maine trailed by just four points with 3:49 remaining. Maine cut the lead to just two points when Ernest Turner hit a layup. Vermont pushed the lead to three points, 66-63 when Kyle Cieplicki hit a free throw. Bruff answered with a pair of free throws, but Trimboli scored on Vermont's next possession as Vermont regained the three-point lead. Petkus hit a three-point field goal with 38 seconds remaining to knot the score at 68-68. Vermont missed a pair of shots in the final seconds of regulation and the game went to overtime. Maine struck first in overtime when Rashard Turner scored on a layup. Vermont answered with a jumper by Trimboli. The two teams traded baskets before Maine jumped out to an 80-75 lead thanks to a free throw by Rashard Turner and a pair by Bruff. Vermont answered with a three-point field goal by Trimboli to pull to 80-78. Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif) hit a single free throw to give Maine a three-point cushion at 81-78. Vermont was able to cut the lead to just one point after Josh Duell hit a layup. Jon Sheets hit another free throw to give Maine an 82-80 lead with 22 seconds remaining. Bruff then blocked Vermont's Trimboli and Petkus got the rebound and was fouled. He hit both free throws to give Maine a 84-80 lead. Trimboli scored on a layup with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game to cut the Maine lead to two points once again. Rashard Turner added a free throw to make the final 85-82. Maine was led by Bruff who had a career-high 26 points, 13 points higher than his previous high. He also had four blocks, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game. Bruff shot 9-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. The 26 points ties Ernest Turner for the most points scored by a Black Bear this season. Turner has scored 26 points twice this year. Ernest Turner added 17 points for Maine, four rebounds and three assists. Jon Sheets had 14 points, a career-high seven rebounds and four assists. His seven rebounds were a team-high. Rashard Turner added 11 points. Vermont was led by Chris Holm who scored a career-high 24 points. The 24 points ties Martin Klimes for the most points scored in a game this season by a Catamount. Mike Trimboli scored a career-high 23 points in the game, while Kyle Cieplicki added 10 points. Maine shot a season-high 58.7 percent in the game as they connected on 27-of-46 shots. Vermont shot 47.1 percent in the game as it connected on 33-of-70 shots. The 11 points is the largest deficit that Maine has overcome to win a game this season. The Black Bears return to action on Thursday, January 19 when they travel to New Hampshire for a 7:00 p.m. game with the Wildcats.
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