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 -Maine Sports Stories Week of 2/14/99
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BATES WOMEN SURVIVE SCARE FROM TRINITY, 80-68

M. BASKETBALL BOUNCES HAMILTON

Bowdoin Downs Hamilton, 89-77

Bowdoin Men's HOCKEY TIES BABSON

W. HOCKEY BEATS CONN. COLLEGE

UMass-Boston Too Strong For Colby

Dartmouth Women Dominates Colby

Colby Places Second at State Meet

TAYLOR SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT - BATES WOMEN DOWN AMHERST, 79-62

O'Brien Wins 100th as Colby Holds On To Defeat Hamilton, 84-75

Colby Escapes Hamilton With Big Win

Amherst Comes Back to Beat Southern Maine in OT

Colby Trips Up Babson, 4-1

Bowdoin's Women Hockey Down Sacred Heart

U-Mass Boston Defeats Bowdoin

UMO's DYE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE

BEDARD TOPS IN AMERICA EAST STATS

UMO Men vs Towson Matchup

UMO Women vs Towson Matchup

#2 UMaine Hosts Boston University To Complete 4-Game Homestand

Bowdoin Stalls UMF Behind Lovely

Bowdoin's Women's Hoops Bounce UMF

Huskies Win 20th, Beat Beacons 65-39

UMaine Women vs. Delaware Today

Polar Bears Women's Squash Set To Defend Title

BATES BASEBALL DROPS SEASON OPENER TO GUILFORD

Farmington's Rivers Named MAC Player of the Week

Polar Bears earn four All-New England honors

Three Maine Teams Rank In Top Five In New England

Bowdoin 64, Amherst 63

Polar Bears clinch East Division crown, defeat USM 5-1

BATES TAKES STATE OF MAINE TITLE

UMaine Overcomes A Two-Goal Deficit To Defeat Boston College

LEWISTON - The Bates starting front court combined for 58 points, hitting 23 of 44 from the floor as the Bobcats (12-8) overcame a nine-point second half deficit to defeat the Trinity College Bantams (12-8), 80-68.
        The Bobcats started out hot, taking a 31-16 lead with 4:06 remaining. But when Bates junior Jolene Thurston (Post Mills, Vt.) went to the bench with her second foul of the half, the Bantams took advantage, ending the stanza on a 17-2 run, to even the score at 33-33. Trinity first-year Bridget Dullea (Longmeadow, Mass.) had 10 of her first-half high 12 points in the run.
        The Bantams took their biggest lead of the game with a 19-6 run four minutes into the second half. Trinity hit four of their five 3-pointers in the stretch, going up 57-48 on Dullea's trifecta with 11:25. At that point, Bates put the defensive clamps on, outscoring Trinity 21-2 over the next 6:10. Sophomore center Katy Dutille (Lebanon, N.H.) had seven points in the run that put the Bobcats up 69-59 with five minutes to go.
        Dutille led all Bates players with 22 points, adding nine rebounds. Thurston had 20 points, including a game-high 16 in the second half. Junior forward Emily King (Lebanon, N.H.) recorded a double-double
with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while senior guard Colleen McCrave (Walpole, Mass.) had a season-high 12 assists. Bates outrebounded Trinity, 48-31, and shot 48.4 percent from the field, while holding the Bantams to 41.9 percent.
                For Trinity, Dullea led all scorers with 25 points on 11-16 shooting, while first-year forward Jillian Liese (Wethersfield, Conn.) had 14 points and seven assists.

CLINTON, N.Y. -- The Bowdoin College men's basketball team used an 18-point, 10-rebound, 6-block performance by sophomore David Baranowski and 28 points from Hugh Coleman to win a tough road game against NESCAC rival Hamilton, 83-79. The Polar Bears took a 15-point halftime lead and held off a late Continental charge to take the victory.
   Bowdoin (15-7) shot the ball well all game, making 47 percent of its field goals -- including 13-of-27 from behind the three-point arc. Coleman nailed six threes on his way to the 28 points while Wil Smith buried all three of his long-ball attempts. David Lovely and Nate Houser both hit a pair of
three-balls.
   Michael Shantz -- NESCAC's leading scorer and rebounder -- netted 32 in the losing effort for Hamilton (13-9), but was only able to muster four rebounds as the Polar Bears held a 47-37 advantage on the glass. John Schmiegal added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Continentals.

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Bowdoin College sophomore Lauren Myers (So. Boston,Mass.) and first-year Jessica Farmer (Longmeadow, Mass.) each recorded career highs in scoring, helping the Polar Bears defeat Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, 89-77. Myers struck for 29 points along with eight rebounds while Farmer connected for 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor.
        Bowdoin (16-5) took control of the game early, going up as many as 11 points midway through the half and then a pair of free throws and a jump hook by Farmer in the final minute gave the Polar Bears a 48-35 lead at the break. Hamilton (2-20) was kept in the game with the play of first-year guard Jenny Russell (Pawling, N.Y.) whose 17 opening frame points was almost half of the Continentals' total.
        Myers and Farmer helped Bowdoin build a lead off 26 points (69-43) with hot shooting while Monika Dargin (Fitchburg, Mass.) was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point line. Hamilton battled back behind Russell and classmate Amanda Siepiola (Clinton, N.Y.) cutting the lead to 12 late in the game. The guard tandem combined for 40 points and nailed 7-of-11 three-point attempts.
        Time ran out on the Continentals' comeback bid as the Polar Bears won their fifth-straight game.

WELLESLEY, MA -- Sophomore forward Eric Bookbinder (Buffalo, NY) scored a pair of goals and Babson College (7-14-3, 5-9-3 ECAC East) overcame a three-goal deficit to earn a 5-5 tie with Bowdoin College (9-12-3, 4-10-3 ECAC East), in men's college hockey before 613 fans at the Babson Skating Center.
        Babson jumped ahead, 2-0 on first period goals by senior Ryan Dyment (Reading, MA) and Bookbinder, but Bowdoin stormed back with five straight tallies in the second period to take a 5-2 lead and chase Beaver goalie Jon Wurtele (Wyncote, PA).  Bowdoin's Robert Starke (Montreal,
QUEBEC) scored two of the goals, including a shorthanded tally, while freshman Mike Carosi (Warwick, RI) had three assists.
        Babson chipped away at the lead with a Bookbinder breakaway backhander at 14:38 of the second and third period scores by seniors Greg Toskos (Waldwick, NJ) and Steve O'Leary (West Roxbury, MA) to make it 5-5.
        Babson freshman goalie Greg Berard (Woonsocket, RI) came off the bench and saved all 13 shots he faced while Polar bear netminder Josh Clifford (Abington, MA) made 34 stops, 14 in the third period alone. Babson now awaits word on a possible ECAC East playoff berth, which will be determined Sunday.

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Three different Bowdoin players scored a goal, helping the women's ice hockey team record its 12th-straight conference win with a 3-1 victory over Connecticut College on the road. With the weekend sweep, Bowdoin (14-6-1) keeps itself alive for a bye in the ECAC Women's Division III playoffs.
        Elizabeth MacNeil scored the first goal of the game three minutes in off a dish from Jennifer Sinatra. Carrie Simonds tallied a goal less than two minutes later and Megan McHugo took a Caroline Chapin feed with 54 ticks left in the first frame for an early 3-0 lead.
        After a scoreless second period, Conn. College (7-13-1) scored as Liz Hall beat Kate Connelly for the 3-1 final. Although the Polar Bears had just three goals, they outshot the Camels, 52-9.
        Connelly made eight saves to pick up the victory while Anna Trafton stopped 49 shots for the Camels.

BOSTON, Mass. - Senior defenseman Toby Carlow (Harrisville, R.I.) recorded his first career hat trick as the UMass-Boston men's ice hockey team defeated Colby College by a score of 5-2 on Saturday. The White Mules finish the 1998-99 regular season with a record of 12-8-4 overall and 9-4-4 in the ECAC East, while the Beacons improve to 12-10-2 overall and 8-8-1 in the ECAC East.
    UMass-Boston had a 1-0 lead in the first period when senior captain Rob Koh (Etobicoke, Ont./St. Michael's Buzzers) tied the game with his ninth goal of the year. The Beacons then reclaimed the lead just three minutes later as Ryan Kelleher scored to give UMass-Boston a 2-1 advantage.
    Carlow struck for his first goal of the game midway through the second period and then tallied his second early in the third to give his team a 4-1 lead. Koh again rallied the Mules, scoring another goal with eight minutes to go in the game, but Carlow notched an empty netter with 43
seconds left to seal the 5-2 victory.
    Frank Soltesz (Euclid, Ohio) made 33 saves in net to earn the victory for the Beacons, while Jason Cherella (Onset, Mass./Canterbury School) and Greg Stutman (Montreal, Que./Milton Academy) combined to make 18 stops for Colby.

HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth College women's ice hockey allowed no shots on goal on Saturday as the Big Green defeated Colby College by a score of 7-0. Dartmouth improves to 13-6-4 on the season, while the White Mules drop to 0-21-0.
     Kim McCullough was the offensive star for the Big Green, scoring two goal and dishing out one assist. Emilia Peraza added one goal and two assists in the winning effort.
     Sophomore Josephine Chapman (Bristol, R.I./Moses Brown) returned to action for the Mules, making 59 saves in net after missing two games with a concussion.

GORHAM, Maine  - The Colby College women's indoor track team travelled to the University of Southern Maine on Friday, taking second place in the four-team Maine State Collegiate Championships.
     All three of the White Mules' individual first-place finishes came in the distance events, as Jeannine Bergquist (Foxboro, Mass.) won the 600-meter run, Tiffany Frazar (Russell, Mass.) took the 3000-meter run, and Maria Mensching (Newburyport, Mass.) claimed a victory in the 5000-meter run.
Colby also won the 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays.
     Others turning in strong individual performances were Karen Hoch (Hamburg, N.Y.), who earned 14 points with second-place finishes in the weight throw and the shot put, and Faith Anderson (Caribou, Me.), who scored a total of 25 points over five events.

LEWISTON - Bates senior Amy Taylor (Orono) scored her 1,000th career point in the second half as the Bates College Bobcats (18-3) cruised to a 79-62 victory over the Amherst College Lord Jeffs (9-11) in Alumni Gym.

Taylor became the ninth player in Bates history to score 1,000 when she hit a 3-point field goal with 7:48 remaining in the game. Taylor is the Bobcats' career leader in 3-pointers, hitting her 103rd to reach the milestone. Taylor, who missed all but 20 minutes of her junior season with an injury, is the second Bobcat to reach 1,000 this season, joining teammate Emily King (Lebanon, N.H.).

The Bobcats shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half (20 of 36), while holding Amherst to 35 percent shooting (10 of 28) en route to a 47-28 halftime lead. Bates Sophomore Katy Dutille (Lebanon, N.H.) led all scorers with 20 points, while junior Jolene Thurston (Post Mills, Vt.) had 19 points. Amherst was led by seniors Kate Hersey (Westford, Mass.), who had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Crystal Campaigne (Harvard, Mass.), who had 10.

WATERVILLE, Maine - The Colby College women's basketball team had five players in double figures as the White Mules defeated Hamilton College by a score of 84-75 on Friday night. The victory, which improved Colby's season record to 12-10, was the 100th career win for White Mule Head Coach Patricia O'Brien.

Colby threatened to pull away midway through the first half, but theContinentals chipped a 13-point deficit down to five as they went into halftime trailing, 40-35. The Mules quickly regained the momentum in the opening minutes of the second half as they went on a 13-0 run to take a 53-35 lead.

Colby stayed in control throughout most of the second half, leading by as many as 26 midway through the period. With five minutes remaining, however, Hamilton went to a full-court press and a strong transition game that eventually cut the lead to eight at 81-73. Colby finally sealed the victory in the final minute as junior Erin Cole-Karagory (Caribou, Me./Caribou) sank three of four free throws down the stretch to give the Mules the 84-75 win.

Amanda Cochrane (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) led the way for Colby with 16 points, while Cole-Karagory added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kim Condon (Presque Isle, Me./Presque Isle) chipped in with 14 points in 14 minutes for the White Mules.

Jenny Russell (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) paced the Continentals with 28 points, including several key baskets during Hamilton's late run. Amanda Siepiola (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton) added 13 points, while Abby McDermott (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) scored eight points and grabbed eight boards.

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Junior Ken Allen (Monson, Me./Bangor) hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in the game to lift the Colby College men's basketball team to a huge 77-74 victory at Hamilton College on Friday night. The win keeps the White Mules' playoff hopes alive as they improve to 13-9, while the Continentals fall to 13-8.

Hamilton looked strong in the first half, led by the awesome inside play of Mike Schantz, as the Continentals led 37-34 at the break. The White Mules stayed close early in the second half, and finally grabbed their first lead of the contest with 13:34 left to play.

The game stayed close until senior co-captain James Spidle (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) nailed his second three-pointer of the game to give Colby a 75-70 lead with 1:17 remaining. Hamilton then came back with two
consecutive field goals to cut the lead to one with 20 seconds left, and quickly fouled Allen, the Mules' leading free throw shooter this season. The 6-5 shooting guard calmly knocked down both attempts, and the
Continentals' final shot attempt fell short as Colby held on for the 77-74 win.

Allen led Colby with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Spidle added 14 points. Junior point guard Brian Hansen (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) also chipped in with four points, six boards, and eight assists.

Despite his team's defeat, Schantz was spectacular for Hamilton, leading all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Max Stroman also had a big game for the Continentals, recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

AMHERST, Mass.  --  Senior Rob MacDonald (Walpole, Mass.) scored his second goal of the game, and team-leading 19th of the season, at 1:06 of overtime as the third place Amherst College Lord Jeffs escaped with a 5-4 victory over the visiting University of Southern Maine Huskies in an  ECAC East game Friday night at Orr Rink.

Amherst came from behind on three different occasions in the game, and never lead until MacDonald¹s game winning goal.  The win was the fourth straight for Amherst and improves the Lord Jeffs overall record to 18-3-0, 13-3-0 in ECAC East games.  Southern Maine, which lost in the same fashion last Friday night against second place Williams College, slides to 8-16-0 overall, 5-11-0 in ECAC East play.

Southern Maine senior defenseman Jason Leveille (Berlin, N.H.) had the best night of his four-year career netting his first career hat trick.  He scored twice in the first period to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead, and again 62 seconds into the third period to give USM a 4-3 lead.

Amherst freshman forward Greg Carr (Hanover, Mass.) tied the game at 4-4 five minutes after Leveille¹s third goal to force the issue into overtime.

Amherst got goals from senior Matt Rogers (Excelsior, Minn.) and MacDonald in the first ten minutes of the second period to tie the game at 2-2.  USM junior Ross Olesen (Scarborough, Maine) regained the lead for the Huskies at 18:34 with his second goal of the season.  Freshman Bob Miele (Woburn, Mass.) tied the score at 3-3 with just nine seconds left in the second period.

Freshman goalie Andrew Dargan (Melrose, Mass.) was brilliant again for the Huskies making 53 saves in the game.  Senior Chris Addessa (Andover, Mass.) finished with 10 saves for Amherst.

Southern Maine closes its 1998-99 regular season Saturday evening with a game at Trinity College.  Game time is 7:00 p.m.

WATERVILLE, Maine - Senior Masood Dehnavifar (Chicago, Ill./Westminster School) scored the eventual game-winning goal on the power play with just under 14 minutes left in the third period as the Colby College men's ice hockey team defeated Babson College by a score of 4-1 on Friday night. Colby improves its record to 12-7-4 overall and 9-3-4 in the ECAC, while the Beavers drop to 7-14-2 on the season.

The White Mules grabbed an early 1-0 lead when sophomore Chris Tashjian (Stoneham, Mass. / Valley Jr. Warriors) scored at 16:13 of the first period. Babson would then tie the game eight minutes into the second, as first-year Chad McCraith (Clinton, N.Y.) beat Colby goaltender Jason Cherella (Onset, Mass./Canterbury School) to even things at 1-1.

After 18 minutes of scoreless play, Dehnavifar gave Colby the lead for good with a power-play strike at 6:20 of the third. Cherella took over from there, making five of his 18 saves in the period to preserve the lead. First-year James LaLiberty (Waterville, Me./USA National Under 18 Team) and
sophomore Fred Perowne (King City, Ont./St. Andrew's College) iced the 4-1 victory for the White Mules with back-to-back empty net goals in the final38 seconds of play.

BOSTON, Mass. -- The Bowdoin College men's ice hockey took a serious hit to its postseason bid after suffering a 6-1 loss at the hands of UMass Boston on Friday evening. The Polar Bears scored the first goal of the game, but watched the Beacons rattle of the next six for the victory.

Rob Brown put (9-12-2) up 1-0 just two minutes into the game off an assist from fellow co-captain Jared Pheifer. UMass Boston (11-10-2) tied the game when David Graham converted with less than five minutes left in the first.

The Beacons exploded in the first seven minutes of the second period for a three-goal binge capped off by a Jamie Graham goal. The lead ballooned to 5-1 on a Sean Sweeney goal with 34 seconds left in the second frame. David Graham put the icing on the game with a goal in the third for the 6-1 final.

Frank Soltesz made 27 saves in the victory while Colin Robinson and Josh Clifford teamed up to make 23 stops.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Bowdoin College senior Emily Ewell netted a goal midway through the second period and goalie Sue Bernard closed the door on Sacred Heart as the Polar Bears registered a 2-1 victory. The matchup was a battle of the top teams in the East and South Divisions of the ECAC Women's Division III league.

Bowdoin (13-6-1, 12-2-1 ECAC) struck first when Amy Steel scored her 18th goal of the season four minutes into the game off a dish from Laura Enos. Sacred Heart (10-3-3, 9-3-3) knotted the game at one when Sarah Hanna tallied her 14th of the season at the 12:33 mark.

Ewell struck at 5:45 of the second while Bernard made 22 of her 24 stops in the final two periods to preserve the victory. Kim Derleth made 40 saves in the losing effort for Sacred Heart.

Huggy Dye, with his fourth AMERICA EAST Rookie of the Week selection Monday, has become one of the top candidates for the league Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged 14.5 ppg over two games last week. Only one other player (Dereck Franklin-BU) has been recognized as much and Dye leads all first-year players in the league with 10.2 ppg. He has 14 double figure scoring games, including the last five games.

Andy Bedard is first in AMERICA EAST in assists (6.71), and free throw percentage (.865), and fifth in points per game (16.7). He is second in steals with 2.29 per game. Bedard ranks sixth at 44 percent (142-322) in field goal percentage.

A junior captain, Bedard is second among Black Bears, and ranks fifth in AMERICA EAST with 16.7 ppg... he is first in the league and 11th in the nation with 6.71 assists per game and first in the league with an .865 free throw percentage... he scored 22 points and hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer for UMaine to defeat Vermont in overtime Jan. 27 and added 25 points in Jan. 30 loss to Drexel... he dished out a career-high 13 assists at Northeastern and 12 in the home game... has scored 10 or more points in 20 of 24 games... has six or more assists in 15 straight games... he burst onto the UMaine college scene with a 39-point effort against Hampton tying the Alfond Arena record for points scored... added 31 points at Northwestern... Bedard was named AMERICA EAST Player of the Week Nov. 23 after averaging 28.0 ppg over the first three games... scored 25 against Providence... a transfer from Boston College, he sat out the 1997-98 season.

The UMO Black Bears are 1-4 against Towson... Towson behind a career-high 33 points from Peter Mauro defeated UMaine in January... Nate Fox scored 31 in the loss... the Tigers swept the season series last year winning in Towson and 81-57 at New Hampshire in a make up due to the ice storm... Allen Ledbetter averaged 17 points and nine rebounds in two games against Towson in 1997-98... UMaine is 4-0 in home games versus Towson, 2-0 at Alfond Arena.

TOWSON CAPSULE: Coach Mike Jaskulski's Tigers are 5-19 overall and 4-12 in AMERICA EAST. Coach Jaskulski served as an assistant coach at Maine from 1988 to 1993. The Tigers have lost seven straight since upsetting the Black Bears. Towson is 1-10 on the road, with a 56-53 victory at Vermont. The Tigers fell to Vermont 66-57, Monday and visit New Hampshire Thursday Feb. 18 before landing in Orono.

Brian Barber, a 6-6 forward leads the team with 11.5 points per contest. Pete Mauro, a 6-2 junior guard, adds 11.3 points a game. Alphonso Hawes, a 6-5 senior, is the team's top rebounder with 7.0 per game.

UMaine enters the final two games of the season after last nights win over Delaware, 77-66. The Black Bears take to the road Sunday to face Towson.

A LOOK AT TOWSON:
The Tigers have lost three in a row since defeating Boston University on Feb. 1. Towson upset Delaware and Northeastern earlier this season and is 10-13 overall and 5-10 in the league going into a Feb. 18 game with New Hampshire. Jess Gordon leads the team with a scoring average of 10.7 points and is just behind team leader Shniece Perry, who averages 7.3 rebounds per game, with 7.2 rpg.

UMAINE VS. TOWSON SERIES:
Towson is one of two AMERICA EAST teams who have never beaten the Black Bears. The two have only played eight times since starting the series in 1996. In the first meeting of the season, UMaine led by just two points at the half but held the Tigers to 15 second half points to win 72-48.

This will be the final two regular-season meetings between the two schools... UMaine won the first meeting 4-3 on January 5 behind a two-goal performance by Cory Larose... BUs Mike Pandolfo was a teammate of Barrett Heisten and Doug Janik on the U.S. team that competed in the World Junior Championships.

With the 6-4 win over Boston College, UMaine has clinched a home playoff spot for the upcoming Hockey East quarterfinals. UMaine will host playoff games on March 11, 12 and 13 (if necessary) in a best of three series.

The University of Maine has won eight straight games dating back to the win over Yale on January 13. The streak is the longest by a Black Bear club since the 1992-93 National Championship team.

Seniors David Cullen and Steve Kariya both extended scoring streaks in the win over Boston College. Cullen now has a nine-game streak and has 1 goal and 13 assists for 14 points over that time. Kariya, a leading Hobey Baker candidate, has scored in 13 straight games in which he has 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points.

With a 22-2-4 start, UMaine is off to its best start since opening the 1994-95 campaign 21-1-6. The 94-95 club finished the season 32-6-6 and was the national runnerup. UMaine also finished the month of January with an impressive 8-1-1 record with all but one of those games being played away from Alfond Arena.

Farmington, Maine- Senior forward David Lovely scored 23 points and added 8 rebounds as Bowdoin College (14-7) defeated UMF (12-11) and snapped the Beaver's 4 game winning streak.  UMF was led by junior forward Jared Rivers who had 23 points and 12 rebounds and senior forward Shawn Spadea who had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Bowdoin led 42-29 at the break, but 16 points and 5 steals by junior Wil Smith, most in the second half led to the eventual Bowdoin victory.  UMF plays at Presque Isle Saturday February 20 th at 3PM.

FARMINGTON, Maine -- Bowdoin College sophomore Lauren Myers scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Polar Bears defeat the University of Maine at Farmington, 66-50. Bowdoin (15-5) jumped out to an early 19-9 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 21 points in the second half.

Also helping out the Bowdoin cause was Monika Dargin who chipped in with  11 points while Samantha Good had nine points and nine rebounds along with three steals.

Kelly Hartman led the Beavers with 14 points, but a 55-40 advantage by the Polar Bears on the glass was too much for UMF (13-9).

BOSTON, Mass.  --  Seniors Tracy Libby (Falmouth, Maine), Destiny Demo (Skowhegan, Maine and Susan Ware (Owls Head, Maine) combined for 40 points and 22 rebounds to lead the  University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 65-39 victory over the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons in a Little East Conference game Tuesday night at the Clark Athletic Center.

The Huskies' victory, coupled with third place Eastern Connecticut State University's 60-58 win over second place Western Connecticut State University, clinches USM's 12th Little East Conference regular season crown (10th outright) in the 13-year history of the league, and ensures the Huskies homecourt advantage throughout next week's tournament.

The win was the 20th of the season for the Huskies, and extends their NCAA Division III record for consecutive 20-or-more win seasons to 18 (1980-81 through 1998-99).  Southern Maine is 20-3 overall and 12-1 in conference play.  UMass Boston slides to 3-20 overall and 0-13 in the Little East.  The two teams will meet again next Tuesday night (February 23) in a first round LEC playoff game at the Warren G. Hill Gymnasium on USM's Gorham campus.

The Huskies never trailed in the contest racing to a 16-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game. Ware led the early assault with six points.

UMB responded with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to seven (18-11) before the Huskies went on a 10-4 surge over the final six minutes to take a 28-15 lead into the locker room at half-time.

Southern Maine was never threatened in the second half as the lead grew to as many as 32 (63-31 with 2:35 to play) before settling at the final 26-point margin.

Libby paced the Huskies' frontcourt trio with a game-high 17 points.  Demo chipped in 12 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds while Ware finished with 11 points.

Senior guard Zeneida Ramos (Roslindale, Mass.) led the Beacons with 14 points,including four three-point baskets in the second half.  Freshman Andreen Gilpin (Boston, Mass.) added 13 points and grabbed a game-high 22 rebounds.

The Beacons efforts were stymied by the Huskies' defense which held the hosts to just 30 percent shooting (16 for 53) and forced 30 turnovers.

UMaine enters the final three games of the season assured of at least a share of the AMERICA EAST regular season title. This week the Black Bears take to the road to face two tough opponents in Delaware and Towson.

A LOOK AT DELAWARE:
Delaware is 15-8 overall and in fifth place in AMERICA EAST with a 9-6 record. The Blue Hens had won three in a row until losing to Vermont on Feb. 13. They then defeated Hartford 75-62 in their last outing.The Blue Hens hold a 10-1 record this season at the Bob Carpenter Center. Danielle Leyfert leads the team in scoring at 15.7 ppg while Renee Baker is the team's top rebounder with 7.0 rpg. Baker is fourth in the league in blocks (0.95 per game) and Megan Dellegrotti leads the leage in free throw shooting with a percentage of .833.

UMAINE VS. DELAWARE SERIES:
UMaine leads the series 14-1. Delaware's lone win over the Black Bears came on Jan. 17, 1993, a 56-53 decision. Earlier this season,UMaine won an 81-51 decision at Alfond Arena. Delaware's leading scorer Danielle Leyfert did not play in the last game against UMaine.

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's squash team will be heading to the Howe Cup Championships this weekend at Harvard University in hopes of defending their title in Division II. The Polar Bears, ranked No. 9 in the nation, will be the top seed in the second flight of the Howe Cup and will open the tournament by facing Smith at 10:30am on Friday (Feb. 19).

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Bates College baseball team (0-1), making their annual February Break trip to North Carolina, opened the season on the wrong end of a 20-5 decision to Guilford College (3-1) at McBain Field in Greensboro.

 All of the Bobcats' scoring came in the seventh inning. The first three batters reached on an error and two walks, loading the bases. Rookie third baseman John Merriman (Clinton, Mass.) singled home junior first baseman Drew Blicharz (Rutland, Vt.) to start the scoring. After a pop-up and a strike out, senior tri-captain Scott McAuliffe (Concord, N.H.) cleared the bases with a double down the left field line. McAuliffe was then driven in by sophomore left fielder Ben Bines (Lexington, Mass.), but the Bobcats could not add any more. Sophomore Kevin Walsh (Wakefield, Mass.) picked up the loss.

The Bobcats are making the trip south without two-thirds of their starting outfield from 1998 - junior centerfielder Austin Philbin (Clinton, Mass.) is rehabilitating a leg injury, while classmate Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) remains up north to compete in the New England Division III indoor track and field championships.

Feb. 15th, 1999---UMF junior forward Jared Rivers was named Maine Athletic Conference Player of the Week for February 8th through the 15th.  Rivers averaged 33.5 points and 17.5 rebounds in two conference wins for the Beavers including a 5 overtime win over Machias Saturday in which he scored a game high 37 points and grabbed a 1998-1999 NCAA III single game high 29 rebounds.  The 6"4 leaper from Skowhegan, ME and Skowhegan High School is averaging a team leading 17.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg and also leading the team in blocks with 19.

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's indoor track & field team finished in 11th place at the 24-team Open New England Championships held at the University of Rhode Island on February 12-13th. The meet feature teams from Division I, II & II and even with the tough competition, the Polar Bears captured four All-New England honors.

Sophomore Delia Van Loenen (Falmouth, Maine/Catherine McCauley) had the best finish of the day when she took second place in the pentathlon. Van Loenen - who earned All-American honors last season in the outdoor
pentathlon - was just 62 points behind Andrea Clarke of Division I Northeastern University with 3419 points. During the pentathlon, Van Loenen leaped 18-feet, 1.75-inches in the long jump which not only provisionally
qualified for the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships but also broke her own school record in the event.

Although Van Loenen just missed All-New England in the high jump with a mark of 5'5" (7th place), she did provisionally qualify for the NCAAs. Van Loenen capped off her meet as a member of the 4x800 relay team
that finished sixth to earn distinction. Joining her on that relay team was Jessica Tallman (Rochester, Mass./ Old Rochester), Caitlin O'Connor (Woburn, Mass./Woburn) and Vicky Shen (Wayland, Mass./ Wayland).

Shen also earned individual All-New England praise as she finished fifth in the mile. After placing 5th in the prelims with a time of 5:07.21, she shaved over two seconds of her time in the finals. Shen was the second Division III runner to finish and her time of 5:04.90 was a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

Joining Van Loenen and Shen as All-New England athletes was first-year Meka Decyk (Culver City, Calif. / Marymount). Decyk took a fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a height of 10-feet, one-half inch which also broke her own school record that she set earlier in the year.

"I was very happy with some of the performances at the Open New Englands," said Bowdoin Head Coach Peter Slovenski. "I'm hoping this will give us some momentum heading down the stretch."

Bowdoin will resume action this Saturday at the University of Southern Maine when it competes at the State of Maine meet which begins at noon.

Orono, Maine - The University of Maine overcame a 3 - 1 deficit midway through the second period to defeat Boston College, 6 - 4 in Hockey East action Saturday evening at the Alfond Arena. The win improves UMaine to 22-2-4 overall and 14-2-2 in Hockey East. While the loss drops BC to 18-10-2 overall and 12-6-0 in Hockey East.

Boston College would take an early 1-0 lead when Kevin Caulfield scored his sixth goal of the season after receiving a pass from Chris Masters directly in front of the UMaine net at the 11:07 mark of the first period.

UMaine would tie the score at the 0:21 mark of the second period when Peter Metcalf's shot from the blue line beat BC goalie Scott Clemmensen. The power play goal was Metcalf's fourth of the season and first since his returning from an ankle injury.

BC appeared to take control in the second period on a pair of goals. Bobby Allen scored at 4:06 to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Brian Gionta scored a highlight film goal just 0:53 seconds later when he came into the UMaine zone on the right wing, did a complete circle to shake a Black Bear defender and beat Alfie Michaud with a backhander.

After a UMaine timeout, Steve Kariya scored on a partial break away to cut the lead to 3-2 at the 14:34 mark. UMaine would tie the game at 18:53 when Brendan Walsh scored on a rebound.

In the third, UMaine would take the lead on a Jason Vitorino goal at 5:29 after some outstanding work by Tuomo Jaaskelainen and Steve Kariya. Jaaskelainen dug the puck out of the left corner and passed to Kariya, who found Vitorino all alone in front of Clemmensen. BC would come right back and tie the game at 9:13 on a goal by Brendan Buckley.

Mattias Trattnig provided the game winner when his shot from the left circle deflected off a defenseman's stick and beat Clemmensen to give UMaine the lead for good. Ben Guite and Metcalf picked up assists at 14:18. Jim Leger would add an empty net goal to provide the final margin.

The win keeps UMaine in a tie for first place in Hockey East. UMaine will be back in action February 19 and February 20 at the Alfond Arena against Boston University.

With seven event victories, the Bates College men's indoor track and field team claimed their second State of Maine in the past three years.

Two Bobcats set event records in their victories. Junior Mike Danahy (So. Windsor, Conn.) took the 5,000-meters with a time of 15:05.6, bettering the 21-year-old record by just under a second. Daany also captured the mile run earlier in the meet.

Sophomore Erik Zwick (Virginia Beach, Va.) established a new meet, Bates College, and Bowdoin facility record with a time of 22.49 in the 200-meters. Zwick had set a Merrill Gymnasium record the week before.

Other Bates winners on the evening included senior Aron Shapiro (Lexington, Mass.) in the triple jump, junior Lucas Adams (Nottingham, N.H.) in the 35-pound weight throw, senior Peter Beeson (Novelty, Ohio) in the pole vault, his second straight state indoor title, and the 4x800 relay team.

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Bowdoin College senior Amy Steel (W. Hartford, Conn.) had two goals and an assist, helping the Polar Bears to a 5-1 victory over the University of Southern Maine on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, Bowdoin (12-6-1, 11-2-1 ECAC) clinches the East Division of the ECAC Women's Division III league and assures itself a bid in the league playoffs.

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Bowdoin College sophomore David Baranowski (Amherst, N.H.) scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, helping the Polar Bears rally from a 13-point deficit to defeat Amherst College on Saturday afternoon, 64-63. Baranowski sank 9-of-12 attempts from the floor, grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots to boost the Polar Bears to their fourth-straight win.

The two teams battled back-and-forth for much of the first half but three-straight three-point field goals from Amherst (11-7) gave the Lord Jeffs a six-point edge at the end of the first half, 38-32. Amherst started the second frame by going on a 5-0 and Chris Ingraham (Tucson, Ariz.) nailed consecutive jumpers with 11:20 left in the game to give the Lord Jeffs their biggest lead at 55-42.

Baranowski scored seven of the next nine Bowdoin (13-7) points, however an Ingraham bucket kept the lead at 61-51 with 7:00 remaining in the game. At that point, David Lovely (Milton, Mass.) scored five unanswered points to cut the lead to five before he drained a deep three with 50 ticks left to get Bowdoin within one, 63-62. After Amherst inbounded the ball, Hugh Coleman (Boston, Mass.) made a steal and a lay-up to provide the Polar Bears with the eventual winning margin.

Lovely finished with 18 points while Coleman chipped in 10 more. Pat Mulvey (Rye, N.H.) was the only other Amherst player to scored in double-figures with 11.

Boys Basketball
Waterville 64, Presque Isle 56
Brewer 46, John Bapst 40
Hampden 76, Caribou 63
(1) Camden-Rockport 62,  (8) Mt. View 52 - Eastern Maine Tourney
(4) Rockland 64, (5) George Stevens 62 - Eastern Maine Tourney
(3) Houlton 69,  (6) Ellsworth 56 - Eastern Maine Tourney

Girls Basketball
Waterville 59, Presque Isle 51
Hampden 71, Caribou 62
John Bapst 35, Brewer 21
(1) Camden-Rockport 62, (8) Maine Central 54  - Eastern Maine Tourney
(4) Mount View 55, (5) Orono 46  - Eastern Maine Tourney
(6) Houlton 57, (3) MDI 47  - Eastern Maine Tourney

Hockey
York 4,  Greely 3 OT
Waterville 4, North Yarmouth 3
Presque Isle 8, Maranacook 0
Cony 6, John Bapst 4
Gardiner 5, Orono 3

Wrestling
CLASS A STATE CHAMPION - Noble
CLASS B STATE CHAMPION - Marshwood
CLASS C STATE CHAMPION - Dexter

Boys Swimming
CLASS B STATE CHAMPION - Greely

Girls Swimming
CLASS A STATE CHAMPION - Westbrook

College Scores

Men's Basketball
Bowdin 64, Amherst 63
Bates 72, Middlebury 56
UMF 122, UM-Machias 120 (5 OT's)
Colby 74, Trinity 59
USM 74, Rhode Island College 59
UMO 91, New Hampshire 66  - Sunday's Game

Women's Basketball
Bowdin 65, Amherst 62
UMF 90, UM-Machias 33
USM 68, Rhode Island College 62
Colby 68, Trinity 53
Middlebury 73, Bates 58
UMO 83, New Hampshire 58 - Sunday's Game

Men's Hockey
UMO 6, Boston College 4
Trinity 5,  Bowdoin 3
Amherst College2, Colby 1
USM 3, Massachusetts College 0

Women's Hockey
Bowdin 10, Amherst 0
Niagara 5, Colby 0
USM 1, Bates 1
Bowdoin 5, USM 1 - Sunday's Game
Niagara 11, Colby 0  - Sunday's Game
 

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