BANGOR, Maine – Redshirt junior Aaron Calixte recorded a game-high 20 points, but the Maine Black Bears (5-19, 2-7 AE) fell to the UMass Lowell River Hawks (9-13, 3-6 AE) 88-64 on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
 
Calixte reached the 20-point milestone for the sixth time this season and the ninth time in his career in the matchup against the River Hawks. He now has 982 points in his career, just 18 points shy from becoming the 30^th Black Bear to score 1,000 career points.
 
Andrew Fleming tallied 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished two assists in 32 minutes of work. Isaiah White added nine points and three blocks, while Danny Evans contributed eight on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
 
With the score tied at 6-6, the visitors raced on 18-6 run over a four-minute span to take a 24-12 lead with 12:10 left in the half. Maine cut its deficit to 24-16 after four consecutive points by Calixte, but UML would extend its lead to 32-16 with 9:43 left.
 
A 7-0 run by the Black Bears, featuring five points from White and two from Fleming, sliced UML's lead to just nine at 32-23. UML responded with an 8-0 charge of their own to retake a 16- point advantage at 39-23 with 5:48. 
 
Once again, Maine fired back on a run to get within nine points of the River Hawks at 41-32, but UML added to its lead late in the half, taking a 49-35 lead into the locker room.
 
The River Hawks shot an impressive 55.9 percent (19-34) from the field in the first half, while the Black Bears connected on 41.9 percent (13-31) of its field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes.
 
"It was just a brutal defensive performance," said head coach Bob Walsh after the game. "You can't expect to win when you play defense like that."
 
Maine went on a 7-3 sprint to open the second half to come within 10 points of UML at 52-42, but that would be the closest the Black Bears would get the rest of the night. The River Hawks held a lead as high as 29 points at 76-46 with 10:25 left in the contest, but Maine finished the game on an 18-12 run, falling to UMass Lowell 88-64.
 
The River Hawks boasted a balanced offense, with six UML players reaching double-figures in scoring. Jahad Thomas led the group with 19 points. He also registered 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals in a double-double performance.
 
"Our mentality has to get a lot better," Walsh continued. "There's a lot of stuff going on that we have to deal with, including injuries. Between the results we're getting and everything going on with the program; we have to be a lot tougher mentally. We're going to figure that out the next couple of days to get ready to beat Binghamton."
 
The Black Bears are back in action this Saturday, when the Bearcats visit the Cross Insurance Center. Maine seeks its second win over Binghamton this season, and its third consecutive in the all-time series. The Saturday afternoon tip is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Bangor. For tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com or visit the Cross Insurance Center Box Office.
 
-UMaine-