The University of Maine men’s basketball team dropped their twelfth consecutive game of the season to the New Jersey Institute of Technology by a score of 65-55 Monday afternoon at the Cross Insurance center in Bangor.
A 15-2 run by the Highlanders upended Maine’s seven point lead late in the second half to give NJIT the advantage. UMaine fourth-year forward Zarko Valjarevic led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds. NJIT second-year guard Damon Lynn led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 7-16 from the field in contest and sparking the surge that allowed the Highlanders to overcome a seven point deficit late in the second half.
Maine received strong contributions from first-year guard Kevin Little and second-year guard Garet Beal as well. Little tallied 11 points and four assists and Beal added 10 points and six rebounds to keep the Black Bears within reach of the Highlanders.
Back and forth action up and down the court kept things competitive for the first few minutes of the opening half, but NJIT went on a 9-2 run midway through the period to take a 17-9 lead.
The Black Bears would cut the Highlanders lead to just four points before Lynn sunk a three point shot to extend NJIT’s lead to seven points.
Maine strung together a 7-0 run to knot the game at 22 points each. Little scored a three-pointer of his own and first-year guard Aaron Calixte added a layup to start the run. Little finished the seven point spurt with a jump shot to tie the game 22-22.
NJIT held a slight advantage going into halftime, outscoring the Black Bears 25-24 in the opening period.
Valjarevic came out shooting in the second half, giving the Black Bears a 43-36 lead after leading a 14-7 spurt at the beginning of the period. The seven point advantage was Maine’s largest in the game.
Valjarevic nailed a trio of three-point attempts on three consecutive Maine possessions, closing the gap and extending the Black Bears lead to 38-36. Little tallied his second three-point bucket of the contest and second-year forward Erik Nissen added a shot in the paint in the 14 point burst to secure the 43-36 Black Bear lead.
The Highlanders answered Maine with a 15-2 run of their own, giving them a 51-45 lead with less than five minutes in the contest.
Valjarevic brought the Black Bears within three points when he tallied his fourth three-point shot of the contest with three minutes remaining. Maine was unable to respond to the Highlanders late offensive explosion, and NJIT coasted to a 65-55 victory with the aid of free throw shooting in the late fouling situation.
With the loss, the Black Bears fall to 1-17, while the Highlanders improve to 11-10 on the season.