University of Maine
Marist
Men's Basketball Falls Just Short Against Marist
2/18/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine men's basketball team battled back from a 16-point deficit in the second half to cut it to just two points, but Marist was able to outlast the Black Bears for a 77-71 win in a Sears BracketBuster matchup at the Memorial Gym. Maine fell to 11-15 on the season while Marist improved to 11-16. Mike Allison (Lynden, Ontario) notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and was named the America East Player of the Game.
After trailing 39-27 at halftime, the Black Bears found themselves down 43-27 one minute into the second half.
Maine cut it to nine at 52-43 on a pair of Allison free throws with 13:40 left, but less than three minutes later the Red Foxes pushed the lead to 59-45.
The Black Bears responded by going on a 17-to-5 run courtesy of six points from Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif.) and five from Xavier Pollard (Bronx, N.Y.).
Marist answered with a three but McLemore hit a jumper to keep it a three-point game. The Black Bears got a stop on the defensive end, but could not convert the three.
The Red Foxes recovered to push the lead to 74-64 with less than a minute left to seal the win.
Maine was down 19-11 midway through the first half before the Black Bears went on a 9-to-3 run the next four minutes and make it a 22-20 game on a Justin Edwards (Whitby, Ontario) one-handed dunk over a defender with 6:33 left.
However, Marist went on a 17-to-7 run to finish the half to take a 12-point lead into intermission.
Edwards finished with 12 points, including 10 in the first half. McLemore scored 20 points with 17 coming after intermission. Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass.) added 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Maine shot 39.7 percent from the field while Marist shot 51.8 percent, including making 8-of-15 from long range.
Chavaughn Lewis led Marist with 24 points and nine rebounds.
Maine continues play Wednesday at 7 p.m. against New Hampshire on Senior Day.
