ORONO, Maine – Some teams are difficult to figure out if you just look at the end results, and Maine would certainly be one of them. The Black Bears have lost at home to Brown, Delaware State and Columbia, but they won at UMass and Penn State. But there’s one thing that can dictate whether they win better than anything else, and they showed that in Sunday’s 65-52 win over Boston University in the America East opener for both teams.
“I thought we played with a sense of urgency the majority of the possessions throughout the game, which is something that we try to do,” head coach Ted Woodward said.
Woodward continued to emphasize that after the game, along with other intangibles like being focused and following the scouting report. He said that’s constantly talked about with this team, and has seen it be the difference-maker for them. The players are coming to understand this as well.
“The biggest part for our team is that we play together and no one is being selfish,” said senior forward Troy Barnies, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. “That’s huge for us. We should be able to win every game we play together, and we have the mentality to win. I feel like if we keep going like that, then we’ll be all set for the rest of the season.”
An ability to follow a scouting report was certainly evident on Sunday, as they shut off penetration for much of the game and defended the interior very well. It certainly helped that the Terriers were without shooter Jake O’Brien and another who can make shots in Dominic Morris, but give the Black Bears credit for executing the game plan.
The Black Bears certainly have the personnel and experience to contend in the conference. They were an excellent road team last year, and with a more experienced group this time around should be again this season. Barnies, Sean McNally and Murphy Burnatowski aren’t the biggest front line around, but collectively they give them good size up front. They have capable reserves in Alasdair Fraser and Mike Allison, the latter of whom missed Sunday’s game.
The backcourt is the important area for most teams, and Maine is no exception. They have worked with a point guard tandem of juniors Raheem Singleton and Andrew Rogers, and it’s worked well for most of the season. Singleton leads the team in assists, although he’s still adjusting to a different style of play, while Rogers is small but effective. Gerald McLemore can light it up from long range, and Terrance Mitchell is their third-leading scorer as a reserve. The guards are still learning to play off one another, but appear to be getting better as the season goes along.
“They both bring unselfishness and they both can score, so they definitely take the pressure off the wings,” McLemore said of the point guards. “It’s fun playing with point guards that are unselfish, but when we need them to score can score.”
Fun is something this team appears to be having. The chemistry appears to be excellent and Woodward spoke highly of captains Barnies and McNally, who he called “great captains for us.” Barnies said he doesn’t feel much of a change with the team from last year, although he’s more confident. They seem to genuinely enjoy the game, and it’s helping them look like a contender.
“We’re having fun,” Mitchell said. “In order to win, you’ve got to have fun, and I see a lot of guys out there that are smiling and laughing, except when we’re scored on.”
Woodward noted that the Black Bears have been even or had an edge on the backboards for seven straight games, including Sunday’s 39-29 edge. In the first half, they had 11 offensive rebounds while BU had six defensive boards. It is the ultimate effort statistic in basketball, so this is indicative of how they have been playing.
The Black Bears have shown good depth all across the board. Besides the point guard tandem and Mitchell coming in to spell McLemore, the frontcourt depth has been good as well. It’s allowed younger players like Fraser to grow at a pace playing behind the more experienced players. They shortened the bench on Sunday, but that may prove to be an aberration.
“We don’t lose anything at our point, we don’t lose anything on our frontcourt, we don’t lose anything on our wing,” Woodward said. “That’s something that’s been a positive and something I hope will continue to be a positive for us all year.”
McLemore didn’t understate the importance of Sunday’s game. Although there is plenty of basketball left to be played, it was the season opener and against the team picked to win the conference in the preseason poll. There is also something to be said for starting off with wins as opposed to having to play catch-up in the standings as the season goes along. Along the way, the Black Bears showed some intangibles that indicate they will be right in the mix for the conference title.
