AMHERST, Mass. – After a slow start in the first half, the Maine Black Bears finished the game on a 32-9 run, but ultimately fell to UMass, 74-63 at the Mullins Center. The Black Bears (3-11) outscored the Minutemen (7-6), 48-34 over the final 20 minutes.
 
Ilija Stojiljkovic led the Black Bears with team-highs of 11 points (5-6 FG) and six rebounds. He scored all 11 of his points in the final seven minutes and 16 seconds of the second half.

Andrew Fleming reached double-figures in scoring for the fifth time this season, dropping 10 points on the afternoon. Danny Evans (3-4 FG, 2-3 3-Pt.) and Dusan Majstorovic each added eight points against the Minutemen.
 
It was a tale of two halves, as Maine struggled from the floor (6-28, 1-15 3-Pt.) in the first half, falling behind the hot shooting Atlantic 10 foe 40-15 at the break. After the halftime intermission, Maine's offense slowly picked up, and caught on fire with 12 minutes to go in the second half.

Down by 34 points at 65-31 with 12:04 left in the half, Maine clicked both on the offensive and defensive end, slashing UMass's lead to just 11 points at 72-61 with 1:51 remaining. The 30-7 run featured nine of Stojiljkovic's 11 points, while Evans's tallied six over the 10-minutes of game time.  A total of nine Black Bears scored during the run in the group effort.
 
UMass added two free throws with 1:23 remaining, to increase its' lead to 74-61. Stojiljkovic laid-in his final two points with 29 seconds remaining off an assist from Celio Araujo to cut the deficit back to 11. UMass ran out the clock to earn the 74-63 win. The Black Bear defense held the Minutemen offense without a field goal for the final 5:18 of the contest.
 
The Maine offense that went cold in the first half shot 69 percent (18-26) after halftime, including 66 percent (4-6) from 3-point range. 12 of Maine's 16 assists came in the final 20 minutes, as the Black Bears turned over the ball just three times compared to UMass's nine giveaways.
 
Maine held advantages in points in the paint (34-22), points off turnovers (17-14), and had fewer turnovers (13-12) than the Minutemen.
 
Going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, Aaron Calixte tied a Maine school record with 32 consecutive free throws. The steak has spanned over nine games, which started after Calixte missed his first attempt in the second half against Quinnipiac on Nov. 26. If Calixte sinks his next free throw, he will break Skip Chappelle's 57-year old record set in 1960-61. The redshirt junior is now shooting above 92 percent on the season.
 
Carl Pierre led UMass with 25 points, while Luwane Pipkins added 16 points for the Minutemen. C.J. Anderson recorded 12 assists in 34 minutes for UMass.
 
Maine is off from game action for the holidays until Dec. 30, when the Black Bears close 2017 and non-conference play in New York City with a matchup against Columbia. The opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium.
 
-UMaine-