ORONO – Shooting guards invariably live a statistical life of feast or famine on the basketball court.

Some nights they gobble up points as their shots chug-a-lug through the net. Other nights, they get little or no sustenance as shot after shot spills off the rim.

If University of Maine sophomore Kevin Terrell – the Black Bears’ designated shooting guard – looks a little thinner than his listed 173 pounds these days, it might be a tipoff to how often he has “feasted” this season.

Until he erupted for 21 points on 7-for-10 floor shooting to lead Maine to a 67-61 win over Vermont Saturday in Spokane, Wash., Terrell had been starving through the worst shooting slump of his career. He had connected on only 31 of 100 floor attempts, including seven of 38 3-pointers, prior to Vermont.

“My technique was good, the shots just weren’t falling,” said Terrell, who will try to put two hot-shooting performances together for the first time this season when Maine takes on Loyola of Chicago Tuesday night at the Bangor Auditorium (7:30 p.m.).

Maine head coach Rudy Keeling agreed Terrell’s technique hasn’t been the problem. The Maine coach chalked up Terrell’s shooting woes to the pressure the 6-foot Chicagoan put on himself after being named to the North Atlantic Conference’s All-Rookie team following his freshman season, which saw him average 8.1 points per game.

“I think he’s been pressing a little,” said Keeling. “I think he thinks his only contribution is scoring. That’s led him to take some bad shots. We’ve been trying to convince him he can do more. If he’s not scoring, he can pick up other areas of his game.”

After imparting this advice, however, Keeling took Terrell aside in the pregame shoot-around prior to Vermont and had the player shoot 25 3-pointers. Terrell swished 20.

“That helped me,” said Terrell, who averaged 22 points as a senior at St. Patrick’s High in Chicago. “It showed me it was just a matter of going out and playing and not to worry about my shot.”

Terrell said he went out against Vermont and “just played.” While he was grabbing three rebounds, dishing three assists, and making three steals in 33 minutes, the points came naturally. The results have led him to reassess his role on the team.

“I think I need to score some, but I also need to work on other parts of my game. I need to rebound and play defense. If I rebound, especially, that will help my scoring,” said Terrell, who is averaging 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting .345 from the floor.

Keeling believes Terrell may have turned a corner against Vermont. Regardless, he’ll stick with Terrell.

“He’s a starter. Obviously, we think he’s a good player. He has all the ingredients to be a good defender and he does have the potential to be a good scorer. When he does become more consistent, he’ll really be a threat,” said Keeling.

Bear Tracks…. All high school students wearing a letter jacket or showing high school ID will be admitted to the game free and can attend a New Year’s Eve chemical free dance afterward. WKSQ FM’s Joe Kennedy will serve as disc jockey for the dance…. Chris Foltz, a 6-1 guard from Andover, Mass., has joined the UM team as a walk-on in the wake of Jerome Johnson’s leaving the squad. Foltz will dress for home games and travel on bus trips, said Keeling.