The University of Maine men’s basketball team went blow-for-blow with No. 2 Bryant University on the road on Thursday night, losing 77-72 for their fifth America East loss by five points or fewer.
Down 73-72 with two minutes to go, the Black Bears orchestrated two consecutive defensive stops but couldn’t find the bottom of the basket, having two layups blocked and another rim out in their final three possessions. UMaine was forced to foul twice in the final minute of play, and Bryant converted on all four of its free throw attempts.
It was UMaine’s fourth Conference loss this year in which it failed to make the game-tying and/or go-ahead shot in the final fifteen seconds of play; having already squandered similar opportunities against rival New Hampshire on two separate occasions, and against winless Binghamton at the Cross Center in Bangor on Jan. 27.
“It’s extremely frustrating, but that’s where we’re at right now,” second-year head coach Chris Markwood said. “We’re not trying to compete and come up short; our guys are working to get over the hump. We just gotta make a few more plays, and find a way to win these close ball games.”
With the loss, UMaine (3-7) moved to sixth of nine in the America East, behind Albany (4-6) and ahead of Binghamton, New Jersey Tech and Maryland-Baltimore County, each of whom are tied for last at 3-8.
Bryant (9-2) strengthened its grip on second place with the victory, and avenged its comeback loss to the Black Bears at The Pit just 12 days ago.
All 40 minutes of Thursday’s rematch with Bryant were highly entertaining, featuring 10 lead changes, two Bryant technical fouls, and multiple scoring runs of 7-plus points for both sides. The Bulldogs led 39-38 at halftime, and never led by more than nine points.
UMaine had four double-digit scorers in junior small forward AJ Lopez (15 points on 6-for-11 shooting), sophomore point guard Jaden Clayton (14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, two steals), junior guard Kellen Tynes (12 points, four assists, four steals) and fifth-year small forward Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish (11 points), and shot 49.2 percent from the field as a team.
UMaine’s efficient shooting wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Bulldogs’ junior small forward Daniel Rivera (23 points on 9-for-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and senior guard Earl Timberlake (20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, two assists and two steals). The 6-foot-6 Puerto Rican Rivera was especially clutch for Bryant in the second half, converting through contact twice and blocking UMaine’s 6-foot-10 grad transfer Adam Cisse at the rim in crunch time.
“We didn’t guard at the level we usually do,” Markwood said. “We kept those two guys at bay last time. They capitalized.”
Next up, UMaine will host No. 1 Vermont (10-1) at The Pit on Saturday at 3 p.m. UMaine played the reigning Conference champs to a 65-58 road loss in the first week of America East play.