University of Maine
UMass Lowell
Men's Basketballs Return Home Spoiled by UMass Lowell, 62-59
1/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine --Despite a matching a career-high in 3-pointers with seven, Zarko Valjarevic and the University of Maine of men's basketball team dropped a tight contest, 62-59 at the Cross Insurance Center on Tuesday night. The game was only the third contest to be played at the Black Bears home court and the decision drops Maine to 1-15, and 0-4 in conference, and UMass Lowell is now 9-8 overall and 3-1 in conference.
Valjarevic scored 17 first-half points including five treys as he finished the game with 23 points, two shy of his career-high. Till Gloger chipped in 14 points, while Garet Beal recorded 10.
For the River Hawks Jahad Thomas paced the squad with 15 points as Chad Holley (14 points) and Tyler Livingston (13 points) also helped the UMass Lowell offense.
While Maine exploited the lack of size the River Hawks have, outrebounding the squad 36-24, the Black Bears got careless with the ball, especially in the second half, committing 16 turnovers for the game and 11 in the second frame.
Maine came out hot as it staged an opening 7-0 run over the opening 1:53 to gain an early lead after capping the run on a 3-pointer from Garvey Melmed.
UMass Lowell answered, cutting the Black Bears' lead down to one on a 6-0 River Hawk sprint. However, the Black Bears were able to run their lead back to six after a layup by Shaun Lawton before a UMass Lowell turnover led to a three from Zarko Valjarevic.
The River Hawks again responded strong as they grabbed their first lead after capping an 11-2 run with a pair of 3-pointers from Tyler Livingston.
UMass Lowell stretched its lead out to five before Maine began its first half comeback. Valjarevic began the stretch with a 3-pointer to bring Maine with two. After a River Hawk make, the Black Bears turned up the offense as they went on a 10-0 run to regain a six point edge with 4:23 left in the half.
Valjarevic kept up his hot first half shooting as the senior cashed in on his fifth 3-pointer of the half to put Maine on top 34-29.
However, the River Hawks closed the half on a 5-0 run to knot the score, 34-all, at the break.
Valjarevic ended his strong opening half with 17 points after going 5-for-7 from behind the arc. As a team, the Black Bears were 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the first twenty minutes of play.
Garet Beal got the Black Bears off to a positive second half start as he 3-pointer on the left wing began a 7-2 Maine run, giving the Black Bears a 43-38 lead.
UMass Lowell again answered as it put together an extended 10-2 run to put it up 48-45.
Maine went right back to the hot hand as Valjarevic knocked down a deep 3-pointer to knot the score and end the run. The Black Bears, working out of an out of bounds play on the baseline, again found Valjarevic who matched his career-high from 3-point range as he gave the Black Bears the lead with his seventh 3-pointer of the contest.
The River Hawks regained their lead, holding Maine to just one point over the next four minutes while piecing together a 9-1 run to give them a 57-52 advantage with 5:11 left.
The Black Bears continued to fight, battling back to within one after Beal knocked down a pair of free throws with 4:10 to play.
UMass Lowell ran its lead back out to four with 2:08 on the clock until Lawton snatched an offensive rebound and went back up strong, making the hoop and drawing a foul. After Lawton hit his free throw, Maine trailed by one with just over a minute to play.
Maine had a chance to take the lead late after pulling down a big defensive board. However, a turnover on the offensive end gave the River Hawks the ball with under 30-seconds to play. The Black Bears were forced to foul, putting UMass Lowell to the line with 24.0 on the clock. The River Hawks missed their free throw chance and Maine grabbed the rebound. Garet Beal drew a foul and went to the line but missed two chances. Maine again had to foul and the River Hawks knocked down both attempts to give them a 62-59 lead with 9.0 left.
The Black Bears called timeout and setup a last second play to attempt to tie. However, a 3-pointer look from Lawton came up short as UMass Lowell escaped.
The Black Bears now settle into a three-game homestand with the next game coming on Saturday against Stony Brook. That game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m.
