Notes and observations ...

... from the Black Bear trail

... UMaine guard Junior Bernal and Albany forward Will Harris were teammates for a year at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, where they were coached by former Black Bear Ed Jones. The two embraced after the game and chatted for a few moments before heading to their locker rooms. UMaine coach Ted Woodward also embraced Harris following the contest.

... Coming off three successive performances in which he established career highs in points, Black Bears forward/guard Malachi Peay was inserted into the starting lineup. Peay, a 6-6 sophomore, is showing an ability to find creases and cracks in the traffic around the hoop.

... Travon Wilcher, a 6-7 forward out of Springfield, Mass., was in the arena. No word yet on whether his transfer to UMaine is official. When approached, he politely acknowledged he couldn't talk on the matter. Wilcher prepped at Lee Academy in Maine before going to UMass. His coach at Lee Academy, Carl Parker, was at Saturday's game and spent some time huddling with Wilcher.

... Maine's solid performance on the defensive end included mixing in some halfcourt trapping that delayed Albany from getting into its offensive sets. Albany was hovering around 30 percent shooting from the field until late in the game when the Black Bears gave up a number of easy hoops underneath.

... For quite some time, America East game-plans for the Black Bears usually include some full-court pressing. Saturday, the Black Bears not only were breaking the press, they were scoring off of it. Nothing gets a team out of a scrambling defense faster than giving up lay-ups and dunks at the other end. Sean McNally's "And-1" flush at the end of one press-breaker provided a big emotional lift.

... Saturday's UMaine win, combined with the results from around America East, leaves every team in the league with at least two losses with one exception: New Hampshire. The Wildcats will enter Monday night's game in Orono in first place at 2-1.