Bryant’s Barry Evans, left, drives past Maine’s Logan Carey during the first half of the America East championship game Saturday in Smithfield, R.I. Bryant won, 77-59. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Barry Evans scored 19 points, Earl Timberlake added 17, and top-seeded Bryant cruised to the America East men’s basketball championship, defeating No. 3-seed Maine 77-59 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, having made their other trip when they won the Northeast Conference in 2022.
The Black Bears finish at 20-14 after advancing to the conference championship game for the first time since 2004. Maine had a landmark win in the semifinals, beating Vermont for the first time in 31 games.
AJ Lopez scored 20 points and Kellen Tynes had 10 for the Black Bears. Maine has played in a conference final just five times since 1980, when America East began life as the ECAC North Conference. In 1991, Maine lost to Northeastern. In 1994, the Black Bears lost to Drexel. In 2002, they fell to Boston University, and in 2004, Vermont ended Maine’s season one win shy of the Big Dance.
Bryant (23-11) led by 11 points at halftime and maintained control through the first 11 minutes of the second half, outscoring Maine 23-13. Evans hit a 3-pointer for a 19-point lead, and his layup on Bryant’s following possession made it 61-40 with nine minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs then went cold for several minutes. They had four missed shots and three turnovers before Timberlake converted a three-point play with about five minutes left and another Evans 3-pointer on the next possession made it 67-50. A 3-pointer from Connor Withers extended the margin to 75-54 with 1:23 remaining.
Evans made 8 of 11 shots, including both of his 3-point attempts, and grabbed seven rebounds. Timberlake, the America East Player of the Year, had four rebounds, five assists and four steals. He also blocked two shots.
Rafael Pinzon added 13 points and Keyshawn Mitchell scored 12.
Bryant never trailed in the first half and there were only two ties, the last at 8-8. Bryant led 20-16 before Mitchell scored four points and Evans added a dunk to give the Bulldogs a 28-18 lead. Timberlake hit a jumper with two seconds remaining, and Bryant led 38-27 at halftime.
The Bulldogs improved to 9-3 on their home court in the postseason.
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