In a nip-and-tuck game that featured four ties and two lead
changes over the final eight minutes, Maine edged Mount St. Mary's,
68-65, in a non-conference matchup at Knott Arena on Monday night.
Maine's Jon Sheets hit a three-pointer with 2:01 left to snap a
65-65 tie and send the Black Bears (3-4) to the victory.
The Mount missed three potential game-tying three-point attempts
over the final two mintues in the loss. Trailing by three with
just under a minute left, the Mount's Jeremy Goode stole the ball,
advanced in transition, but missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds
left. The ball, however, was tipped out of bounds by Maine, giving
the Mount a final possession. On that possession, junior Chris
Vann kicked the ball to Mychal Kearse in the corner, but his three
at the buzzer was long and Maine escaped with the victory.
The Black Bears started the game strong, racing to a 9-2 lead in
the early going. The Mount (1-5) fought back and eventually took
an eight point lead (33-25) with 4:21 left in the first half after
a Will Holland three-point basket. Maine was able to get back in
the game with an 8-3 run to close the first half to trail 36-33 at
the break.
Maine surged to its biggest lead of the game, 53-45, with 12:05
left in the game. The Mount responded with a 10-2 run that was
capped by a Vann three-pointer at the 8:16 mark that tied the game
at 55-55. From that point, there were four ties and two lead
changes.
Maine shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half and
finished the game 23-of-44 (.523) from the field and 8-of-20 (.400)
from three-point range. The Mount was 24-for-64 (.375) from the
field in the game, including 9-of-29 (.310) in the second half.
Goode and sophomore Sam Atupem paced the Mount with 13 points
each while Holland and Vann added 11 points each in the loss.
Sheets scored a game-high 19 points for Maine, hitting 5-of-9 from
three-point range. Junior Bernal added 16 points while Kevin Reed
(11) and Chris Bruff (10) also reached double figures.
The Mount returns to action on Saturday, December 2, with a 2:00
p.m. game at longtime rival Loyola. It will be the 161st meeting
in the all-time series that the Mount leads, 93-67.
