Senior Day Photo Gallery
BANGOR, Maine - The Black Bears and Great Danes faced off for the second time this season, as Albany traveled up to the Cross Center and outscored Maine 39-14 in the first half on their way to a 74-56 victory.
Austin Howard led all Black Bears scorers with 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists; seven of his 12 points came in the second half as he led the charge for Maine to outscore Albany 42-35 in the second half.
Vincent Eze recorded his second career double-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-high four blocks.
Dennis Ashley finished with 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists, while
Andrew Fleming finished with seven points, five rebounds, a block and a steal.
Danny Evans also had seven points for Maine, along with four boards, three assists, and a steal.
Albany opened up the game on a massive scoring run, outscoring Maine 21-3 in the first 10 minutes of play. Maine struggled in the first half to get anything going on offense, as they finished the first half with three made baskets on 19 tries. Maine would eventually get it going, though, as
Vincent Eze continuously drove to the hoop, drawing contact and going 4-8 from the free-throw line in the half. Maine scored six points off of free throws in the half, as the first half ended with Albany in control, up 39-14.
Maine opened up the second half with
Danny Evans bringing the ball up the court off an Albany miss, and immediately got it to
Andrew Fleming just outside the low post as he sank the first jumper of the half. Maine and Albany would trade baskets through a majority of the opening minutes of the half, with Maine cutting the lead down to 20 on a three-pointer by
Garvey Melmed with 12:44 remaining in regulation. For just the fourth time this season,
Andrew Fleming also hit a three-pointer with 4:52 remaining in regulation. Maine was able to get within 17 points in the final half, as Ashley Dennis dished it to
C.J. Ward at the top of the key as he drained his first shot of the game with 49 seconds remaining to make the score 72-55. After another Albany layup and a
Dennis Ashley free throw, the game would end with the final score 74-56.
The Black Bears are back in action on Saturday, February 25th as they travel to Binghamton to face the Bearcats at 2pm. After that game, they will wait for the rest of the America East games to finish and prepare for their first round opponent in the America East tournament.
-UMaine-
