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Men's Basketball Falls to UMBC in America East Quarterfinals
March 3, 2007 BOSTON, Mass. -- The University of Maine men's basketball team fell to UMBC 70-61 in the America East quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Agganis Arena in Boston, Mass. Junior Bernal (Manhattan, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Black Bears. Maine ends its season with a record of 12-18. It was the final career game for Maine seniors Kevin Reed, Chris Bruff, Olli Ahvenniemi and Jon Sheets. Maine jumped out to an early 8-6 lead with 15:05 to play in the first half. The Black Bears got a balanced scoring attach early with four different players chipping in with points. UMBC then took a 16-13 lead as four of its first five field goals were from three-point range. The Retrievers were able to push their lead to 19-13 after a long three-point field goal by Jay Greene, his third of the game. The Black Bears answered with a 7-0 run to take a 21-19 lead. Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass.) had a pair of three-point field goals during the run. Greene stopped the Maine run with a layup with 6:34 left in the half. The two teams continued to trade leads the remainder of the first half. UMBC took a 32-28 lead, but the Black Bears answered with a pair of Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn.) hoops to tie the game at 32-32 in the final minute of the first half. Kevin Reed paced Maine in the first half with 10 points and six rebounds. Bruff, Junior Bernal and Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif.) each chipped in with six points. The Black Bears shot 48.3 percent in the first half.
UMBC was led by Jay Greene who had 16 points, including four three-point field goals. The Retrievers shot 44.0 percent in the first half. UMBC had seven three-pointers in the first half. Sheets opened the second half with a pair of three-point field goal as Maine grabbed a 38-36 lead. The Black Bears were able to open up a 44-39 lead, but UMBC answered with six straight points to take a 45-44 lead. The Retrievers scored four straight points midway through the second half to take a 52-48 lead. The Black Bears answered with four straight points by Junior Bernal to tie the game at 56-56. Kevin Reed broke a 59-59 tie with 3:12 remaining in the game. Jay Greene gave UMBC a 64-61 lead with a conventional three-point play with just over a minute to play in the game. The Retrievers used an 11-0 run to end the game and earn a 70-61 victory. Bernal led Maine with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Sheets added 14 points on four three-point field goal, while Reed chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. He finishes his career with 1,601 career points, third all-time on Maine's scoring list. Bruff and Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon) each added 10 points.
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