The struggling University of Maine men’s basketball team travelled to the University of Vermont Tuesday to play a sharp shooting Catamounts squad that currently sits second in the American East conference. History surely wasn’t on the Black Bears side, as the last time they won a game in Burlington was during the 2010-11 season. The Black Bears fell by a score of 68-49.
It was a tale of two halves on Tuesday night Maine was outscored by double at the end of the first half losing 40-20. Vermont came out of the gates shooting well, taking a commanding 19-6 lead only eight minutes in.
The Catamounts also played tight defense, as the Black Bears had trouble getting open looks early on. This resulted in Maine ending the night making just one of 16 attempts from downtown, as no one could make the three ball with the perimeter defense Vermont exhibited.
Second-year guard Dre Willis and first-year guard Cam Ward went off for the Catamounts, showing their ability to drive and shoot the basketball early and often.
Willis was the top performer of the night as he finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals, while Ward finished with 14 points.
Maine played a considerably better second half of basketball in which they outplayed Vermont and outscored them 29 to 28. The Black Bears cut into the lead during the second half but never got closer than 11. Rebounding was an uphill battle all night long for the Black Bears, getting out rebounded on the glass 37 to 26.
Maine third-year guard Shaun Lawton was everywhere, finishing with seven rebounds and four steals. In addition to doing the dirty work, Lawton was getting to the basket, scoring six of his 12 points from the free throw line, including an and-one finish.
Aside from Lawton’s good night, first-year guard Kevin Little continued to play exciting basketball for Maine. He dropped 17 points on Tuesday and was perfect from the charity stripe. He controlled the ball most for Maine and played 39 minutes, only turning the ball over twice.
Next, Maine will play Binghamton University at home Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.