BANGOR, Maine - Maine faced off with conference foe UMBC trying to avenge a 75-64 loss to the Retrievers back in January. The Black Bears started off strong in the first half but UMBC, despite a late second-half run by the Black Bears, was able to hold off Maine and sweep the season series by a final score of 83-71.

Wes Myers' dropped a career-high 33 points on 11-18 shooting and 9-12 from the free-throw line. He also notched a career-high in rebounds with nine, and also tallied two blocks, a steal, and an assist.

Vincent Eze also notched a career-high in points with 15; he shot 4-7 from the field and a career-best 7-8 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and a steal in the contest.

Andrew Fleming tallied 10 points for Maine in the contest, along with four rebounds and a block. Danny Evans shot 2-3 from behind the arc and ended the game with eight points, the most points he's scored in league game.

The Black Bears were off to a very strong start as they began the game on a hot streak, as UMBC sunk the first basket to make it 2-0 and Maine would then score nine unanswered points to give them the early seven point lead. UMBC would bring it back to within three points but another strong offensive showing by Maine put the lead back up to seven points with 14:24 remaining in the half, 13-6 on two free-throws by Vincent Eze.

The two teams traded leads several times in the opening half, a total of five times in the final 10 minutes. With 13 seconds left, Andrew Fleming sunk two key free-throws to tie the game up at 37 all. Just seconds later a quick three-pointer by UMBC gave them a three point lead as an Austin Howard buzzer-beating three just rimmed out; the Black Bears were unable to equalize and were down three points at the half, 40-37.

The two teams would come out trading buckets to start the second half, with Maine getting a little bit of an edge, bringing it to within three points with 17:14 to go on two Wes Myers free-throw shots. Myers had 22 of his 33 points in the second half, and tried to keep Maine in it for the long haul. Eventually a UMBC 11-2 run would begin to put the Retrievers in a seemingly comfortable lead with 13:04 remaining in the game.

The Retrievers held a double-digit lead for a majority of the final 10 minutes; with 3:51 left in the game, Vincent Eze scored two from the charity stripe to cut the lead to 17. With a quick layup the other way, the Bears were back down by 19. The Black Bears would then spark a 12-0 run, which included two straight three-pointers from Wes Myers, and four points on a layup and two more free-throws from Eze. With 1:54 remaining the Black Bears had cut it to a seven point lead for UMBC, 76-69. The run was halted by good UMBC free-throw shooting and defensive stops, which held the Black Bears to just two points after the run, taking the game by a final score of 83-71.

The Black Bears are home again on Monday, February 6th at 7pm to face Hartford, before going on a three-game road trip. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com or the Cross Center box office.

-UMaine-