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 Maine Crushes Maine-Farmington 90-53
ORONO, Maine-- Playing in its first game at Alfond Arena this season, the University of Maine men's basketball team took advantage of the home court advantage as it downed UMaine Farmington 90-53 on Thursday night in front of 1,536 fans. The Black Bears improve to 6-4 on the season with the win, while Farmington falls to 6-3.
Maine jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but a gritty Farmington squad fought back and grabbed a 19-10 lead on a jumper by Steve Ginn with 13:07 remaining in the first half. Maine answered with an 8-0 run. Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass.) was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer and converted all three free throws. Back-to-back jumpers and a foul shot by Mark Flavin (Weymouth, Mass.) pulled Maine to within one point at 18-19. Travis Carrier hit a jumper for UMF, but a basket and free throw again by Flavin tied the game at 21-21. Maine slowly built a lead it would never relinquish. Ernest Turner (Camden, N.J.) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Maine a 46-37 lead at the half. Maine came out on fire in the second half, outscoring the Beavers 44-16. The Black Bears held Farmington to just four points in the first 10 minutes of the half as they were able to build a 69-41 lead. Maine continued to add to its lead throughout the half, building it to as many as 41 points with a pair of Olli Ahvemmiemi (Vaasa, Finland) free throws with 2:28 remaining. The half featured a 22-0 run by Maine midway through. Turner led the run with nine points, while Reed added six during the run. The Black Bears shot 58.6 percent from the floor in the second half, including going 6-of-9 from three-point range. For the sixth game in a row, four or more players scored 10 or more points. Turner led the balanced attack with 22 points. Flavin was impressive as he recorded his first double-double of the season. He had 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Reed added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Olli Ahvemmiemi notched a career-high 11 points, while Joe Campbell (Bangor, Maine) added 10 points and three steals. Steve Ginn and Travis Carrier each added 11 points for UMaine Farmington. Maine returns to action on Sunday, January 2 when its hosts America East rival Stony Brook at Alfond Arena at 1:00 p.m. For more information or tickets log onto www.GoBlackBears.com or call 207-581-BEAR or 1-800-756-TEAM. -U-M-
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