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Men's Basketball Wins in Overtime
Nov. 17, 2007
ORONO, ME.--The University of Maine men's basketball team defeated St. Francis in overtime on Saturday night, 85-82, and improved its record to 2-2, while St. Francis fell to 1-2. The Black Bears were led by Brian Andre (Bingham, Maine) who had 28 points and seven rebounds, and Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine) who had 24 points, including the game tying tip-in with less than one second left in regulation. In the first half the Black Bears had an outstanding performance from Andre. Andre had 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go with four rebounds. Included in those 14 points for Andre were two thunderous dunks that brought loud applause from the Alfond Arena crowd. Socoby, America East's fourth-leading rebounder, had six rebounds in the first half to go with 11 points, and Junior Bernal (Manhattan, New York) had nine points and four assists. For the half, Maine shot a blistering 60 percent from the field, going 18-for-30. Andre had 12 points and Socoby had nine points in the second half as Maine overcame a six-point deficit with less than a minute left in the half. After St. Francis's Jamaal Womack (Bronx, New York) was fouled, he made the first free throw, but missed the second. Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon) grabbed the rebound and got the ball upcourt. Bernal had the ball near the basket and got fouled. Bernal missed the first free-throw. After the second free throw missed, the Black Bears got off a few shots that hit the backboard and rim, but would not go down. Socoby finally tipped the ball in with less than a second left in regulation. In overtime, the Terriers jumped out to a six-point lead midway through the period. Maine clawed back to cut the lead to one with just over a minute remaining in the game. Socoby hit the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds left to put the Black Bears in front for good. The Terriers came back down the court, but Socoby took the charge and sank two free throws with three seconds left to ice the game.
Bernal finished with 15 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals for the game, while Socoby added 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals to go along with 24 points. Womack had 30 points and Robert Hines (Trenton, New Jersey) had 29 points to lead St. Francis. The Black Bears continue play on Tuesday when they travel to take on Quinnipiac for a 7pm tipoff. |
