BANGOR, Maine - The Black Bears faced off against rival UNH at the Cross Center on Thursday evening, as the Wildcats came out with an early lead and never looked back as they upended the Black Bears 74-63.

Wes Myers lead all Maine scorers with 25 points on 8-13 shooting, 3-5 from behind the arc. He also had four rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Wes was a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line.

Vincent Eze tallied 13 points on 5-6 shooting and four rebounds, along with a block and steal.

Jaquan McKennon scored 10 points off the bench, and dished out six assists and also tallied one steal. Andrew Fleming returned for his first game since January 2nd, he scored six points off the bench and grabbed three rebounds. He was a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line.

UNH got out to an early lead on a 9-2 run in the first five minutes of the game, and did not give up the lead for the entirety of the game. Maine was able to cut the deficit to one point twice in the first half, on a layup by Vincent Eze with 11:18 left, a score of 12-11 UNH, and with 10:54 remaining Wes Myers hit a layup of his own to make the score 14-13. From that point on, UNH would go on a 10-2 run and eventually extend their lead to 10 points with 5:33 remaining in the half. The Black Bears chipped away at the lead and cut it to six at the end of the half, UNH leading 33-27.

Wes Myers opened up the second half for Maine, where he scored 18 of his 25 points, with a layup with 18:57 remaining, cutting the UNH lead back to six after a quick half-opening Wildcat jumper. That was the closest Maine would get in the half, as UNH would extend their lead on several small runs with their biggest lead eventually being 20 points in the second half. New Hampshire dominated the paint in the second half, outscoring Maine 30-18. The Black Bears would finish the game shooting 41.5% after only managing 36% in the first half. The final score was an 11 point UNH lead, 74-63.

Maine will travel to Albany this coming Sunday, the 22nd, to face the Great Danes at 2pm; they are then off for a full week before facing Binghamton at home on Sunday, January 29th at the Cross Center for Alumni Day. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com or the Cross Center box office.

-UMaine-