By Anthony Panciocco
The University of Maine men’s basketball team was bested twice over the week, falling to the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Wednesday before losing to the University of Connecticut Friday night.
Junior guard Xavier Pollard and junior sharp-shooter Zarko Valjarevic were bright spots for the Black Bears. Pollard followed up his double-double against the Highlanders with a 20-point outing against the Huskies, while Valjarevic poured in 32 total points in the two games, with 21 of those coming via the 3-ball.
UMaine, now 1-7 on the season, will host the Army Black Knights at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor Dec. 13.
NJIT completes season sweep with 81-72 win
A late fourth quarter surge was not enough for UMaine Wednesday night as they dropped their fifth straight game to the New Jersey Institute of Technology 81-72.
The Highlanders move back to .500 at 4-4 with the win.
Wednesday night was the second and last meeting between these two teams, with the first game ending similarly to the first. Both games saw a back-and-forth affair mainly dominated by NJIT in which they staved off late Black Bear rallies to get the win.
The return of junior guard Xavier Pollard from an injury was a bright spot for the Black Bears. Pollard brought with him some much-needed experience and finished the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Highlanders opened up the contest with a 9-4 spurt led by sophomore forward Terrence Smith and freshman Tim Coleman. Smith scored 6 of his 22 points in the opening minutes and 14 total in the first half.
Though the Black Bears struggled shooting early on, just 33 percent in the first 6 minutes, they refused to let the game get away from them.
Down 19-8, sophomore guard Dimitry Akanda-Coronel and junior forward Zarko Valjarevic sparked an 11-3 run that was capped off with a Valjarevic 3-pointer, bringing the Black Bears within two. Valjarevic would go on to score a team-high 19 points on the night, including a 5-10 effort from 3-point range.
New Jersey responded with a 16-9 run that saw Smith taking control late with a layup and dunk on consecutive possessions to give the Highlanders a 37-28 lead going into the half.
UMaine continued struggling on the glass, getting outrebounded 22-11 in the first half including a 15-6 defensive rebound disadvantage. They also struggled shooting, with a 35.5 shooting percentage compared to NJIT’s 51.6 showing.
The Black Bears started out the second half similar to the first. The Highlanders scored the first seven points of the half and forced the Black Bears to take an early timeout.
Pollard pulled the Black Bears out of their freefall, missing a layup but fighting for the rebound and putting it back for UMaine’s first points of the half. New Jersey freshman guard Damon Lynn hit a 3, but Valjarevic wasted no time responding with a 3 of his own to keep the Black Bears in contention.
The Highlanders still held a commanding 44-28 lead. The Black Bears were able to keep pace but were unable to get close and were down 58-41 10 minutes into the half.
Valjarevic helped his team climb back, hitting three 3-pointers as part of a 28-13 run. Pollard added 9 points in the run and the Black Bears cut the lead to just five points with five minutes remaining.
New Jersey’s steadfast free throw shooting once again made the difference down the stretch, with Lynn draining five of his six free throw attempts to give NJIT the 82-72 victory. Lynn finished with 19 points, five boards and four assists.
The Black Bears struggled shooting the ball with just a 36.4 field goal percentage, a far cry from their 44.7 mark that had been good enough for fourth in the conference prior to Wednesday’s game. The Highlanders shot the ball well, finishing at a 47.4 percent clip.
Pollard’s 11 rebounds helped the Black Bears on the boards, though they continued to struggle and were outrebounded 46-33 on the night.
Losing streak hits six with loss to No. 12 UConn
The Black Bears dropped the second game of their two-game road swing to the No. 12 UConn Huskies 95-68 Friday night. UConn remains undefeated on the season at 9-0 with their 12th straight win over UMaine.
Pollard looked healthy in his third game back from injury, starting and playing 34 minutes. He scored a team-high 20 points to go along with four steals and five rebounds. Valjarevic was the only other Black Bear in double figures, finishing with 13 points on three 3-pointers.
The Black Bears kept thing close for the first portion of the game, with Pollard leading the way to a 13-10 deficit eight minutes into the first half. Akanda-Coronel slammed home an alley-oop to bring it to 13-12, the closest the Black Bears would be from that point on.
A pair of UConn 3-pointers gave the Huskies a 19-12 lead that incited a 13-5 run to put them up 32-17.
The Black Bears fought hard at the end of the half but still went into halftime down 54-31. Pollard led all scorers with 15 points and Akanda-Coronel was just shy of double-digits with 9 points at the break.
UConn just barely led in rebounds with a slim 18-17 advantage.
The Huskies came out strong in the second half, with sophomore guard Omar Calhoun capping off an 11-7 run with a long 3-pointer. They did not let up, extending their lead to 80-45 at the halfway point of the second 20 minutes.
Valjarevic led the Black Bears in the second half with 13 points. The Black Bears played better in the second half, keeping pace with the Huskies but were outscored 41-37.
The Black Bears did not give in, but their deficit was far too much to overcome. UMaine finished out the game on a 23-15 run but fell at a final score of 95-68.
UConn’s highly-touted senior Shabazz Napier was held in check for most of the night, scoring just 7 points but added eight assists in 22 minutes of playing time. The Huskies were led in scoring by junior guard Ryan Boatright with 17 points and five assists. Calhoun added 16 points aided by four 3-pointers.
The Black Bears came into the contest struggling in rebounding but only trailed 38-30. They had no answer for the hot shooting of the Huskies, as UConn shot 53 percent from the field and an exceptional 56 percent from three. UMaine shot 40 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc.
UConn will host Stanford University in their next contest Dec. 18.