PHILADELPHIA – Trailing by just seven points with six minutes to go, the Maine Black Bears men's basketball team fought hard, but ultimately could not complete the comeback, falling to Saint Joseph's 72-59 at Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon. Isaiah White registered a game-high 21 points, including 14 in the first half alone to lead Maine in scoring.
 
In just his second start of the season and his third game back from injury, White shot 8-for-14 from the field, including an impressive 5-for-7 from 3-point range. White also brought down  nine rebounds in a near double-double performance.
 
Aaron Calixte (14 points) and Ilker Er (13 points) also recorded double-figures in scoring for Maine. Calixte registered 12 of his points in the second half, as the redshirt junior added three assists and a steal in 32 minutes played. He converted both of his free throw attempts, as the Stoughton, Massachusetts native has now made 26 consecutive attempts from the stripe.
 
Off the glass, Andrew Fleming tallied a game-high 11 rebounds, while Er brought down nine boards. Maine excelled in the category, out-rebounding the Hawks 47-43. The 47 rebounds marks the most by Maine in a single game this season.
 
After the Hawks (5-5) scored the first point of the game off of a free throw, Maine (3-9) and White settled in, as the transfer from Harford Community College scored the Black Bears' first 11 points. Ilker Er sunk a 3-pointer to give Maine a 14-7 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half, but the Hawks would battle back to cut Maine's lead to just two points at 16-14.
 
Maine kept its lead, and added to it on a 6-0 run featuring 3-pointers from White and Dusan Majstorovic. The Hawks went on to tie the game at 25-25, and took its second lead of the game with 3:19 left in the first half. After 20 minutes, Saint Joseph's held a slim 30-27 advantage. The Black Bears led for nearly 13-and-a-half minutes in the first half against the Atlantic 10 foe, holding a lead as high as eight points.
 
Following the halftime intermission, Saint Joseph's immediately embarked on a 12-2 run to take a 42-29 edge with 15:26 remaining in the second half. For the next eight minutes, the two teams traded baskets with Saint Joseph's holding their lead.
 
With Saint Joseph's holding a 56-42 lead with 8:53 left, Maine put together a 10-3 run over the next two and a half minutes to cut the Hawks lead to just seven with 6:16 left, but the Hawks immediately responded with a 9-2 run to seal the game.
 
The Hawks were led in scoring by James Demery and Shavar Newkirk, who each poured in 19 points.
 
Maine resumes action this Wednesday, when the Black Bears travel to New Britain, Connecticut to play Central Connecticut State. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Detrick Gymnasium.
 
-UMaine-