Black Bears take the border battle victory over Wildcats

The University of Maine Black Bears (14-8) defeated the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (4-19) 71-46 Thursday evening in the Pit.

UMO is coming off of an overtime win against UMass Lowell (14-7), capturing the game by scoring five points in the last thirty seconds. On top of that, guard Quion Burns was named America East player of the week after his exceptional game as the top scorer with 28 points. The Black Bears are on a five game win streak and sit at 2nd in the standings beneath Bryant, their only loss. 

UNH sits at 7th in the conference, losing their last game to UMass Lowell 97-80. The Wildcats are on a three game losing streak, but have some exceptional players. Guard Sami Pissis dropped a career high of 33 points along with 5 assists last game, which is something the Black Bears need to watchout for in this rivalry game.

The Wildcats won the tip to start the game, however, Kellen Tynes made a big block on the Black Bears first defensive possession, stealing the ball and exciting the crowd. Burns drove hard to the basket through the defense to score the first basket for UMO a minute in.

Continuing with their articulated defense, Maine often held New Hampshire to the very last seconds on the shot clock, disrupting their plays. Up 4-0, Tynes stole the ball and whipped it to Jaden Clayton up the court for a fast break layup. The Wildcats scored their first points from the hands of Pissis on free throws, who went on a minute later to cash a three making the score 9-5 with 15 minutes to go in the first.

The Black Bears held the Wildcats at nine points for nine minutes with their exceptional defense, all while capitalizing on the other end of the court through Burns. With 8:30 to go, Burns hit a three to advance Maine’s score 21-9. Pissis hit another triple to break New Hampshire’s scoring drought 14 minutes into the game. 

Besides Pissis, Khalil Badru and Anthony McComb III contributed to UNH’s score. Badru elevated over UMO’s big men, slamming the rock into the basket forcefully cutting their deficit to 29-14 with a few minutes left. 

The Black Bears headed off to the locker rooms shooting 67% from the field, compared to the Wildcat’s 18%. Burns was the high scorer of the first half for Maine with 17 points, while Pissis took the lead for New Hampshire with 10 points.

Tynes, who scored 14 points this game, opened the second half with an old-fashioned three point play. Weaving through the defense, he welcomed the contact and put three on the board to make the score 40-16. 

Though the Wildcats struggled this match, they were only two points shy of tying the Black Bear’s second half points. Down 47-23 with 13 minutes left, McComb III drained a three for New Hampshire directly after A.J Lopez did the same for Maine. Keeping with his flow, McComb III hit a corner three a few minutes later to contribute.

UNH was still pushing the ball with confidence up the court even with their twenty-eight point deficit. But, it wasn’t until Tynes dunked to push UMO’s lead 57-27, shutting down their opponent.

The Black Bears finished off the Wildcats winning 71-46. Burns was the high scorer of the game with 26 points, just 3 points away from surpassing his career high. As a team, Maine capitalized on New Hampshire's turnovers, scoring an additional 16 points from them. 

The Wildcats will face UMBC at home February 6th, at 7:00 p.m. 

The Black Bears are travelling to the University of Vermont for a 2:00 p.m. game this Saturday, February 1st.