UMaine men’s basketball team heads into playoffs with ‘gritty’ win over UMass Lowell

ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine men’s basketball team won yet another close game against the River Hawks of UMass Lowell on Tuesday night, following up a Jan. 23 overtime win with a 71-70 victory Tuesday night at the Memorial Gym in Orono.

The Black Bears didn’t need overtime, but they did need some clutch play down the stretch, and can now look toward their first home playoff game in 30 years.

“I thought it was a gritty, kind of tough win. It wasn’t always pretty,” UMaine coach Chris Markwood said after the game. “But we found a way to make enough plays to kind of escape that one.”

And their reward for the win? They get to play the same UMass Lowell team, a team they have beat by a single point in each of their matchups this year, on the same court in Orono this Saturday.

“They’re a really good basketball team regardless of what their record’s been in the league. They’re a tremendous program, they have a lot of older guys who have won a ton of games,” Markwood said about the River Hawks. “And they’re not going to give you the game, you’re going to have to take it from them.”

Graduate student guard Kellen Tynes did that in a literal sense to help close out Tuesday night’s game, saving the best of his eight steals in the game for last. Tynes stole the ball on UMass Lowell’s second-to-last possession, ultimately setting the River Hawks up with just four seconds to attempt a last minute shot that was no good.

Tynes, who has won the last two America East defensive player of the year awards, continues to be all over the court for the Black Bears on both sides of the ball. His 12 points in the first half paced UMaine to start, and he finished with 14 on the night.

“I think a lot of it is just instincts, knowing certain things,” Tynes said about his ability to change games with his defense. “I think if you mix knowing the [scouting report], knowing personnel, with some of the stuff I have like long arms, being fast, that’s kind of where it comes from.”

Tynes set the UMaine men’s all-time record for career steals earlier this season.

Senior guard Quion Burns and junior guard Jaden Clayton both poured in critical points in the second half. Burns had 13 of his team high-19 in that second half. Clayton scored eight of his 10 total points in the second half as well.

“It’s the coaches,” Clayton said when asked about his confidence getting to the basket late in the contest. “They’ve given me the confidence to have the ball at the end of the game.”

Clayton’s made free throw with 18.6 seconds left ended up being the final point of the game, securing UMaine’s one-point victory.

Burns supplied critical offensive production for the Black Bears late in the game, when it looked like UMass Lowell’s potent attack might be too much for UMaine. Two different and-1 baskets from Burns helped quell the River Hawks’ momentum and keep the game in reach for the Black Bears.

“He hits big shots for us and he has all year, too,” Tynes said about Burns.

UMaine finishes the regular season at 18-13 overall and 10-6 in America East Conference play. UMass Lowell ends the regular season at 17-14 with a conference record of 6-10.

Markwood indicated that Lowell’s conference record doesn’t reflect their ability as a team, and they certainly made his point on Tuesday night. Lowell had five players score in double figures, with forward Quinton Mincey notching a game-high 26 points. Forward Cam Morris III and guard Martin Somerville each had 12, while forward Max Brooks and guard Yuri Covington each had 10.

That balanced attack will be right back in Orono on Saturday for the America East quarterfinal game.

Markwood called that situation “a little bit unique” but said UMaine will be focused on playing their best basketball during the playoffs regardless of the opponent.

“Once you get in the playoffs, it’s just whoever lines up in front of you, you’ve got to go through,” Markwood said. “Whether it’s Lowell or anyone else, our mission right now is just to be at our best. And we’re going to worry about, can we put our best foot forward. And I think if we’re able to do that, we can beat anybody in this league.”

Tynes said UMaine needs to “come back better” against Lowell on Saturday.

“Yeah, we beat them by one, but it could have went either way,” Clayton said. “Now we just have to up our level, because it’s playoff time and it’s March.”