The University of Maine men’s basketball team came up just short in its push for a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament.
The Black Bears lost against Bryant University 77-59 in the America East championship game on Saturday. The visiting UMaine team entered the second half trailing by double digits and could not catch up to the high-powered Bulldogs.
Bryant, now 23-11 on the year, previously finished No. 1 in the conference overall in the regular season, and now heads to the NCAA tournament.
UMaine finishes its impressive campaign this year at 20-14. The Black Bears were the No. 3 team in the conference during the regular season and played their way into their first conference final since 2004.
America East Defensive Player of the Year Kellen Tynes propelled Maine throughout the season. The graduate student guard spoke earlier in the year about strides the program has made.
“I wanted to try and do my part, leave the place better than when I came here,” Tynes said after breaking the UMaine men’s all-time steals record in February. “So I think, not just me by myself, but with my teammates and coaches, we’re doing a good job of that so far.”
There can be little doubt that Tynes and his teammates achieved that this season, taking the UMaine men’s team deeper into the playoffs than it has been in decades.
Tynes had 10 points and four steals on Saturday. Senior guard AJ Lopez led the Black Bears in scoring this year and had a game-high 20 points in the conference championship game.
The high-flying Bryant team, led by America East Player of the Year Earl Timberlake, proved once again on Saturday why they set the standard in the conference this year.
Forward Barry Evans led the scoring for Bryant on Saturday with 19 points. Timberlake had 17 for Bryant in the win.
