ORONO – When the University of Maine men’s basketball team stumbled to a 2-3 start on its America East schedule, the Black Bears knew they needed to improve their defense and rebounding.

But offense? Hasn’t been a problem for Maine

Until Thursday.

The Black Bears looked like they were facing the Baltimore Ravens’ defense instead of the Hartford Hawks. Maine shot 38 percent, losing to Hartford 63-49 Thursday night before an estimated 450 fans in Memorial Gymnasium.

Maine lost its fourth straight, falling to 8-9, 2-4 in America East.

Hartford is 4-14, 4-2. The Hawks, who were winless outside of America East, have now beaten the bottom four teams in the league.

Maine won its first two conference games, but now is sinking.

“We certainly have some work to do,” Maine Coach Ted Woodward said. “It’s my responsibility. We get back in the gym (today) and hopefully we can get back to the flow we were in earlier.

“We’re out of sync right now”

Maine last led in this game when it had a 12-10 edge, but that was due more in part to Hartford not yet getting its offense in gear. The Black Bears remained stalled, never showcasing the offense that had been leading America East with an average of 75 points a game.

Maine 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Alasdair Fraser led Maine with 12 points and eight rebounds. Guard Gerald McLemore, who had been averaging 19.6 points a game, scored four on a 2-for-9 night.

But no one picked up the slack.

“Disappointing game all around,” McLemore said. “I felt like we could have had more energy.”

Talented freshman guard Justin Edwards scored nine, but he was off most of the night, shooting 4 for 13, while committing six turnovers.

This was a Hartford team that ranked seventh in defense among nine teams in America East, allowing 71 points a game.

“When you set your defense, you have a chance,” Hartford Coach John Gallagher said. “The No. 1 key was tempo.”

Hartford slowed the game down, kept Maine from running, and executed its own offense.

The Hawks also had the second-worst offense in the league, but they blistered the Black Bears with 51 percent shooting, including 8-for-20 3-pointers.

Guard Wes Cole came off the bench to lead Hartford with 13 points.

Hartford led 27-20 at halftime and kept pulling away in the second half, leading by as much as 20.

“That’s four in a row we’ve lost,” McLemore said. “It’s a ‘once you start losing, it’s easy to lose’ type of mentality. We want to snap that right away Saturday with a win against Stony Brook.”

Maine returns to Memorial Gymnasium Saturday at 1 p.m. to take on Stony Brook (10-7, 5-1).

NOTES: Maine is last in the league in defensive rebounds and was beaten on the defensive boards Thursday 29-19, and outrebounded 32-27 overall. … Hartford got six points from 6-6 freshman Nate Sikma, son of former NBA player Jack Sikma.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinThomasPPH

 

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