The University of Maine men’s basketball team played its first game at Memorial Gym in Orono since Dec. 9 on Thursday night, and the return to campus was not disappointing.
A highly anticipated dogfight between the University of Albany’s fast-paced, high-scoring offense and UMaine’s scrappy, turnover-driven defense, the Black Bears emerged victorious on Thursday night, fending off a fierce Albany comeback bid to win it 81-73.
Leading 38-34 at halftime, UMaine forged an emphatic 22-11 run when play resumed, using three Albany turnovers and 10 Peter Filipovity points to outscore the Great Danes over the next eight minutes. Turning to its potent full court press in crunch time, Albany suddenly shrunk the deficit to 71-68 with 3:11 remaining, but UMaine’s defense bore down to stop the comeback there.
It was UMaine’s second consecutive victory — despite six Black Bear turnovers in the last seven minutes of play — and Albany’s second consecutive loss. Both teams stand at 2-3 in Conference play this season, with 10-10 overall records.
