This has been a year full of injuries for the University of Maine men’s basketball team, and Tuesday’s final game of the regular season was no different.
The Black Bears were without leading scorer TJ Biel as they lost 67-56 to the University of Massachusetts Lowell at home in Orono on Tuesday night.
UMaine certainly could have used Biel’s production on the offensive end, but stuck around for much of the contest and made Lowell work for the victory with a swarming defensive effort.
The Black Bears’ zone helped slow the game down and bottle up the River Hawks offense much more successfully than the previous matchup between the two teams. UMass Lowell ran away from Black Bears 91-77 in late January.
Guards Logan Carey and Mekhi Gray led the scoring for UMaine with 14 points, followed by freshman Ace Flagg and senior Keelan Steele with nine points apiece.
Flagg just won his second America East Rookie of the Week award of the year, and has looked increasingly comfortable on the floor for the Black Bears as he has settled into a starting role late in the season.
UMass Lowell received a commanding performance from guard Angel Montas Jr., who scored a game-high 32 for the River Hawks. Victor Okojie had a double-double for Lowell with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
With the loss, UMaine drops to 8-23 overall on the year and 6-10 in the conference. Despite a spate of injuries throughout the season, the Black Bears have still earned a playoff spot and will see postseason action on the road this Saturday.
UMass Lowell is now 14-17 overall on the season and 9-7 in America East, good enough for the No. 4 seed in the conference.
