UMaine men’s hoop coach nets support from old South Portland teammates

Maine mens basketball coach Chris Markwood shouts toward the court during the first half of a Nov.

4 game against Duke in Durham, N.C.

Ben McKeown/Associated Press When Jon Furbush watches the University of Maine mens basketball team play, he sees the reflection of his high school teammate and longtime friend.

That was especially evident in Tuesdays America East semifinal victory at Vermont.

Every time a Black Bear closed out Vermonts leading scorer TJ Hurley giving him less space than found in a clown car to get off a good shot and holding him to 1-for-15 shooting 0 for 7 from 3-point range! Furbush sees the Chris Markwood hes known since they were teammates on the South Portland High basketball team 25 years ago.

Yeah, thats all Chris, he thinks.

The things you can control are your effort and your attitude, said Furbush, who has been the head mens basketball coach at Bates College, his alma mater, for 17 seasons.

His guys always play hard.

The way they guarded Vermont, thats a really hard thing to do on the road.

Maine held the Catamounts to a season-low 25.9% shooting, including 1 for 9 beyond the 3-point arc.

Markwoods Black Bears will face top-seeded Bryant on Saturday at 11 a.m.

for the America East championship (ESPN2, ESPN+).

A victory sends the Black Bears to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

Theres been a mens basketball team at the University of Maine since 1904, and an NCAA Tournament since 1939.

Maine is one of 35 Division I programs that have never played in the NCAA tournament.

Saturdays game against the Bulldogs will not be easy.

Bryant beat the Black Bears by 26 points the first time they played this season, and by eight points in the rematch two weeks ago.

Still, Maine is playing for a conference title for the first time in 21 years, and the guys who played high school ball with Markwood at South Portland saw this coming.

Im not surprised at all, said Matt DiBiase, who graduated from South Portland with Markwood in 2000 and then was his roommate in Orono after Markwood transferred to Maine from Notre Dame.

We envisioned him doing big things for the basketball program, and hes followed through.

Its so great for the state of Maine to have someone like Chris.

Its such a good situation for him.

Look at all the eyes hes gotten on the program.

DiBiase took his 17-year old son, Jordan, to Maines season opener at Duke.

It was surreal, he said, seeing his buddy coach on the Cameron Indoor Stadium floor.

The Blue Devils, led by Newports Cooper Flagg playing his first collegiate game, won by a lopsided 96-62 score, but it wasnt because the Black Bears rolled over.

Maine mens basketball coach Chris Markwood protests a call during the second half of a Nov.

4 game against Duke in Durham, N.C.

Ben McKeown/Associated Press They played hard, DiBiase said.

Chris was always a great defender.

He was always a gritty, hard-nosed player.

Its not surprising hes rolled that into his program.

The Black Bears have already snapped a pair of long streaks.

By beating UMass Lowell on Saturday, Maine won a conference playoff game for the first time in two decades.

Tuesdays win at Vermont in the semifinals snapped a 30-game losing streak to the Catamounts, and propelled Maine into the conference championship game for the first time since 2004.

Maine has played in the conference final just four times since 1980, when America East began life as the ECAC North Conference.

In 1991, Maine lost to Northeastern.

In 1994, it lost to Drexel.

In 2002, the Black Bears fell to Boston University, and in 2004, Vermont ended Maines season one win shy of the Big Dance.

Both DiBiase and Furbush said Markwood demanded a lot of himself and asked for the same effort from his high school teammates.

In winning Mr.

Maine Basketball in 2000, Markwood averaged 16 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, helping the Red Riots reach the Class A West finals.

He was always unselfish as a player.

We almost had to harass him to make him be a scorer, DiBiase said.

Hes not a look at me kind of guy.

Never has been.

You see that in Black Bears, too.

Maine has three players averaging double figures in points, but none above 14.6.

A different guy led the Black Bears in scoring in each of the past three games, and four scored in double figures in last weeks 72-64 America East quarterfinal win over UMass Lowell.

Furbushs season at Bates always starts a few weeks after Markwoods season at Maine, so hes able to get to Orono to observe a Black Bears practice.

In that more intimate setting, Furbush sees his old friends personality really shine through.

Both of us have a similar mindset.

Its always bigger than basketball for us.

Chris practice plans are super-detailed.

He holds his guys to a high standard, but it comes from a place of care, Furbush said.

I just see my good high school friend doing what he does on and off the court.

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