University of Maine
Quinnipiac
Men's Basketball Triumphs Past Quinnipiac in Overtime
12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine men's basketball team was clutch down the stretch, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line in overtime to capture a 98-95 victory over Quinnipiac on Tuesday evening.
Kevin Little and Till Gloger each poured in 20 points while Lavar Harwood (16) and Ryan Bernstein (10) also added double-figure scoring attacks.
The Black Bears finished 37-for-66 from the floor (56.1%), including a 4-for-5 showing in the extra period, and hit 8-of-19 from 3-point range.
Tuesday's contest featured many thrills with 20 lead changes and 14 ties, including 15 total lead changes in the first half alone.
Neither team led by more than three in the first half. Quinnipiac's Abdulai Bundu gave the Bobcats and early three point edge with two of his game-high 23 points.
Maine immediately answered, like it did often throughout the first half, as it was able to put together a small run, capped on a three by Little, take a three point lead of its own with 5:27 to play in the half.
Back and forth action followed for the remaining five minutes before Quinnipiac closed on a 4-0 run, taking a slim 47-46 lead into the break.
The Bobcats continued their charge to open the second, beginning on another 4-0 sprint, to take a five point edge.
Maine knotted things back up with buckets from Devine Eke and a three by Harewood; the 10th tie of the game.
Quinnipiac again put together a run, this time taking its largest lead of the game at 61-55 with 5:17 gone in the second half.
Maine responded with a 10-1 run over the next two minutes and change, taking a three-point advantage.
After another fight from the Bobcats, Maine found itself trailing by one. However, the Black Bears would reel off the next seven points, capped on a fastbreak dunk off a steal by Eke, to build a six point lead with 7:41 to play. Maine's lead would soon reach eight on a three by Troy Reid-Knight and a layup by Aaron Calixte.
Quinnipiac chopped away when James Ford's three-ball cut the deficit to just a pair with two minutes to play.
A free throw by Gloger ran the Maine lead to three but Giovanni McLean sent the game into overtime as he stuck a 3-pointer with 16-seconds remaining in regulation.
The Bobcats hit a three to start overtime but Maine answered, ripping through a 7-0 run keyed on a big three-pointer by Bernstein who received the pass from Gloger down low late in the shot clock.
Maine's lead would sink to just one with 14-seconds to play but the Black Bears finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe to seal the 98-95 overtime victory.
Maine is back in action at Cross Insurance Center on Saturday, Jan. 2 when it hosts Brown at 2 p.m.
-UMaine-
