The University of Maine men’s basketball team is heading into a new season with a level of hype that hasn’t been seen in years around the program.
That won’t get any quieter after Wednesday night’s 89-47 scrimmage win over Husson University at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Yes, the Division I Black Bears were playing a Division III opponent. But the Husson Eagles are a perennial powerhouse in their conference, and more importantly for the UMaine team, a revamped squad featuring 11 new arrivals withstood their first public test in front of expectant fans.
“We’re still in the preseason, so right now our main focus is getting a little bit better each day,” UMaine head coach Chris Markwood said after the win.
Markwood led the Black Bears last year to their best finish in two decades, falling just one game short of making the NCAA Tournament. He credited the fan support, both for UMaine and Husson, at Wednesday night’s friendly scrimmage at the Bangor arena.
“There’s no substitute for that. You’ve got to play with the lights on,” Markwood said about the game environment after a couple months of preseason practicing.
The team is working to incorporate seven freshmen or redshirt freshmen, along with four transfers. Just four players from last year’s team remain after several veterans were lost to graduation or the transfer portal.
“That’s college basketball, and that’s college athletics right now,” Markwood added.
One of the four returners is Logan Carey, a junior guard who looks likely to step into a bigger role this season for the Black Bears. He echoed Markwood’s sentiments after the win, and said he’s ready for that expanded role and willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“We’re just trying to get better each and every day, and I think this is another opportunity to play someone else that’s not in a Maine jersey, and see what we can do against them,” Carey said about the scrimmage.
UMaine shot nearly 54 percent from the field on Wednesday night, including over 41 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Sophomore guard Caleb Crawford led the team in scoring with 15 points as part of a balanced offensive attack that saw nine of the 13 Black Bears who played Wednesday night register at least eight points.
“I thought our guys responded really well to the atmosphere,” Markwood said.
And amid that fan support, there was little doubt which player was drawing the most attention from the crowd.
The arrival of UMaine freshman Ace Flagg had taken the excitement around the program to a whole other level.
The 6-foot-7 Flagg, a Newport native, had won championships at every stop along his illustrious high school career. He and twin brother Cooper Flagg won titles in Maine and Florida, and then Ace Flagg won another state championship his senior year in North Carolina.
Flagg has brought his winning ways back home to Maine, and he started his UMaine career in front of enthusiastic fans Wednesday night with nine points, three rebounds a block in just over 18 minutes on the court.
Flagg’s well-advertised toughness and hustle, frequently cited by current and former coaches alike, was on display as he dove on the court against Husson and played strong help defense. He also elicited the game’s most raucous reaction from the Cross Center crowd, throwing down an emphatic one-handed dunk with about a minute left in the second half.
“I thought he played really well,” Markwood said about Flagg after the game. “He did tonight what he’s been doing. He’s a super solid kid who’s really tough, and is gunna help you win basketball games.”
The Black Bears will look to start winning official games on Monday when their season kicks off away against the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Opposing America East coaches have picked UMaine to finish tied for second in the conference.
