The Black Bears men's hoops team lost 75-65 to Vermont last night after leading at halftime.

Sounds as if Maine is starting to turn some heads though after running to a 28-18 lead at one point, and leading by two at the half.

This from Burlington Free Press writer John A. Fantino:

"Vermont rolled to a pair of lopsided wins over Maine last season, but the Black Bears (8-13 overall, 3-5 AE), improved from the America East's last-place squad of 2008, gave the Cats all they could handle Wednesday."

If you happen to tune into the 2009 Texas vs. the Nation College Football All-Star Game on Saturday look for No. 52.

Jovan Belcher, Maine's standout defensive end, will be playing. He is the game's lone representative from the Colonial Athletic Association.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. It's being televised nationally on CBS College Sports.

Belcher will be playing with other college football standouts from around the country from programs like Penn State, LSU, Florida State, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

The game is basically a showcase event for college seniors aspiring to play in the NFL or other professional leagues.

Maine sophomore guard Malachi Peay has been making up for lost time for the Black Bears since returning from early season injuries.

Peay has averaged 13 points, and 5.6 rebounds in the last five games - a team high. Maine (8-11, 3-3 America East) has gone 3-2 in that span.

He put up a team-high 17 in a 76-71 loss against Hartford, and snagged eight rebounds in 61-59 loss to UMBC, also a team-high.

UMass transfer Travon Wilcher is enrolled in classes at Maine, confirmed Coach Ted Woodward today.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward will be eligible to play next winter for the Black Bears.

"Honestly I'm just glad he's here with us," said Woodward on Tuesday. "He called us and wanted to come up here. Right now I'm focused on the guys we have. He's a kid who's a talented player. It's a long way down the road."

UMass promoted offensive coordinator Kevin Morris to head coach of the Minutemen football team at a 2 p.m. press conference today.

The Boston Herald reports that Boston College assistant Jack Bicknell Jr. was one of several candidates Morris beat out, along with Fordham head coach Tom Masella, Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore and Troy offensive coordinator Neal Brown.

The Bowdoin men's hockey (6-4-1) team will play its final game in legendary Dayton Arena tonight at 7 p.m. against rival Middlebury (8-2-1).

The game is sold-out.

• Junior forward Colin MacCormack leads the Polar Bears in points with 4 goals, 7 assists.

• Senior forward Mike Collins is next with 3 goals, 7 assists.

Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove said he is not going anywhere, despite rumors reported on two Maine TV stations that he was being considered for the head coaching position at the University of Massachusetts.

Cosgrove said Tuesday he has not spoken with UMass Athletic Director John McCutcheon.

Cosgrove signed a five-year contract extenstion last winter with Maine and led the team to the playoffs this year for the first time since 2002.

Former Iona College quarterback Warren Smith is enrolled in classes at Maine and will compete for time at the position this spring, Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove said today.

Smith - 6-1, 180 pounds - is one of 112 casualties of the disbanded Iona football team.

Maine picked up a big men's basketball win Thursday night, dropping Stony Brook 64-54 on the road to improve to 6-9 and 1-1 in America East play.

The Seawolves are 8-7 and expected to be legit contenders this season having beaten Air Force this year, and UMBC - who Maine plays tomorrow night.

We caught up with Coach Ted Woodward this afternoon when the team arrived at UMBC.

"We played well, hard together and did a lot of things as a team as we wanted to do," said Woodward. "I just think it was a very good team win."

Maine fullback Jared Turcotte arrived back at campus today with a healthy knee and a surprise honor as a second team All-American by the Sports Network.

Turcotte, who rushed for a team-high 625 yards this year, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee last month before the holiday break. He said he is confident he has two healthy knees now and and said he's planning to work on his speed and quickness this offseason.

"It's going to be nice to have two healthy knees now," said Turcotte. "Playing with an injury you know you have to have a surgery on is tough. It's good to have that out of the back of my mind now."

Earlier today Turcotte learned he was named a second-team All-American by the Sports Network. Earlier this week he earned an honorable-mention from College Sporting News.

Sophomore guard Malachi Peay returns to the court for the Black Bears Saturday after two facial injuries sidelined him for more than a month.

The Black Bears open conference play against Binghamton (7-4) at 1 p.m. - the same team that beat Rutgers and Tulane earlier this season.

Peay fractured his upper jaw against Quinnipiac on Nov. 25 and missed the next seven games. He returned on Tuesday against Canisus, only to leave the game after a collision under the hoop that required three stitches to close a gash above his eye.

Peay said Friday he is fine and raring to go. He is generally one of the first players off the bench for Maine.