University of Maine
Quinnipiac
First Half Comeback Not Enough As Quinnipiac Downs Maine Men's Basketball, 81-64
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HAMDEN Conn. – The University of Maine men's basketball team all-but erased a 17 point deficit in the first half but were unable to do the same in the second frame as the Black Bears fell to Quinnipiac, 81-64 at the TD Bank Sports Arena on Monday night. The Black Bears close out the first part of its non-conference schedule with a 1-11 record while Quinnipiac improves to 6-5.
Quinnipiac which entered the contest shooting just .386 from the field so far this season shot 50 percent against the Black Bears, converting on 32-of-63. The Bobcats got a big effort from forward Ousmane Drame who scored 20 points, as the squad abused the Black Bears under the basket, scoring 42 points in the paint. Zaid Hearst scored 15 for the Bobcats.
Maine was led by Till Gloger who notched 19 points and six rebounds as he notched his fourth straight game in which he recorded double-figure points. He was just three points shy of his career-best of 21 set back against Stony Brook last season. Shaun Lawton chipped in 11 points, as he was the only other Black Bear to hit double-figure points in the game.
The No. 1 rebounding team in the country didn't disappoint on the glass as the Bobcats outrebounded the Black Bears 42-29 for the game. Quinnipiac did commit one more turnover than the Black Bears at a 9-8 margin.
The Black Bear started the game freezing cold from the floor early missing its first five shots and falling to 6-0 early in the contest. Lawton broke the scoreless run with a trey before the under 16:00 media timeout which sparked an abbreviated 5-0 run for the Black Bears to make it 12-5.
The cold shooting remained for most of the first half as the Bobcats surged out to a 17 point lead thanks to strong rebounding and precise shooting. Hearst got the lead out to its largest of the half giving the Bobcats a 17 point advantage hitting a jumper with just under 7:00 remaining on the clock to make it 28-13.
However following a timeout where head coach Bob Walsh preached finding the team's will to fight, the Black Bears did just that as the team went on a 21-7 run into halftime. Back-to-back treys by Garvey Melmed and Garet Beal got it to 33-26 and a Kevin Little 3-pointe moments later cut it even further.
In the second frame Gloger tallied his first bucket of the half early on, to make it 35-32 but a Hearst layup followed by a Chandler steal and layup got the Bobcats lead to 39-32 in the first four minutes.
The Bobcats opened the stanza on an 18-6 run that distanced the two teams in a matter of six minutes.
Maine attempted a comeback down 62-43 as Little hit his third trey of the day to cut it to 62-46 with 9:58 left in the game but Quinnipiac kept up its scoring pace, outgunning the Black Bears 48-34 in the final frame to seal the victory.
Maine will now open up America East play on the road at Albany on Jan. 3. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.
