Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Hartford 76, Black Bears 71

Spot the opposition 13 points to open the game. Allow a team to convert 12 of 28 three-point field goal attempts and odds are pretty good you are not going to fare well. Especially on the road. The Black Bears were guilty on both counts Wednesday night and paid with a loss at Hartford.

UMaine is quickly painting itself into a corner in America East, falling to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in America East. The Hawks, playing without All-America East peformer Joe Zeglinski, moved to 6-11, 2-1.

It's no secret that Hartford lives by the three-point shot. The Hawks set records last season for attempts and 3-pointers made and they've shown the same aggressiveness from behind the arc this year. Still, they torched the Black Bears. Twenty-eight of Hartford's 48 field goal attempts were from long range.

For Maine, the storyline was a familiar one: Long dry spell at some point during the contest (tonight it was at the beginning); work like mad to get back in the game; ultimately run out of gas.

Jaret von Rosenberg paced the Hawks with 26 points (4 of 6 from deep). Michael Turner didn't even bother with a two-point field goal attempt. He was 4 of 6 from behind the arc and had 13 points.

For the third straight game, Malachi Peay set a career high in points, going for 17 to lead UMaine. Gerald McLemore had 13. Mark Socoby had 12 points and seven rebounds. Sean McNally (pictured) posted a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds).

The Black Bears took 13 more shots than Hartford and made one less.

UMaine now faces a crucial stretch of three home games with no room for error.

Up next is conference front-runner Albany on Saturday. The Great Danes will enter the game coming off a big win against I-88 rival Binghamton.

2 comments:

MattT said...

Although I listened to only the last few minutes to the game, I know what happened. Ted has got to come to his senses and end the love affair with his zone defenses. Did he not witness the Harvard or Binghamton game? How can you allow a team like Hartford get open looks behind the arc? That is poor coaching. Zones are great if you're worried about penetration or a good big guy that you can't handle. What are they thinking? Another problem... how in the heck do you let Von Rosenberg touch the ball when it's hack time, he's probably the best free throw shooter in the league? Double him and make them throw it to somebody else.

Dan King said...

It's like knowing the plot and the ending of every game.