ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine’s Black Bears rallied from a three-point halftime deficit with a dominant second half performance en route to a 24-13 non-conference victory over Long Island University.
They secured the win Saturday in front of a Homecoming crowd of 8,588 at Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
UMaine senior quarterback Derek Robertson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Lamson to give UMaine a 14-10 lead with eight minutes left in the third period.
Then, after Michael Coney kicked a 40-yard field goal for LIU, Robertson tossed a 51-yard TD pass to Trevin Ewing on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Cody Williams added a 30-yard field goal with 7:32 to go and Kahzir “Buggs” Brown salted away the win with an interception.
UMaine improved to 2-5 overall while Northeast Conference team LIU fell to 1-5.
Robertson completed 20 of 32 passes for 235 yards and Joe Gillette had eight catches for 102 yards.
The Black Bears turned in a forgettable first half performance and were fortunate to go into the locker room trailing by just three points.
LIU nearly doubled UMaine in total yards (265-135) and if it wasn’t for a fumble at the goal line and a blocked field goal at the end of the half, LIU would have taken a two-score lead into the intermission.
Fleet-footed LIU redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Greenwood carried the ball 13 times for 92 yards.
LIU gained 140 yards on the ground on 21 carries compared with UMaine’s 34 yards on 13 carries.
Tavion Banks rattled off a 22-yard run on UMaine’s first rushing play of the game and the Black Bears managed a paltry 12 yards on the other 12 carries in the half.
It took the Sharks just three plays to take a 7-0 lead.
Facing a third-and-six at their own 29-yard line, Greenwood found a wide open Michael Love over the middle and Love did the rest, weaving his way through the Black Bear secondary and sprinting down the sideline for a 71-yard TD.
The Sharks were on the verge of expanding the lead on its next series but LIU fumbled onto the end zone pylon, which resulted in UMaine gaining possession at the 20-yard line as a result of a touchback.
UMaine took full advantage, marching 80 yards on 14 plays with Robertson capping the drive with a 13-yard pass to Moss.
The Sharks responded by moving the ball 70 yards on seven plays.
But UMaine stopped the Sharks short on a third-and-three play so LIU settled for a 30-yard field goal from Coney.
The Black Bears strung together a 10-play drive that was extended by an LIU personal foul penalty but Williams missed a short field goal that would have tied it.
LIU marched down to field goal range at the end of the half but Damon Matthews blocked the field goal attempt.