HAMDEN, Conn. – Holding a seven point lead at the half, the University of Maine men's basketball team could not fight off a strong second half offensively by Quinnipiac, falling to the Bobcats 58-50 on Sunday afternoon at the People's United Center.
 
The Black Bears (0-6) led 26-19 after 20 minutes, but the Bobcats (2-2) outscored Maine 39-24 in the second half to claim the victory.
 
Isaiah White led Maine with 19 points (8-9 FG), while Vincent Eze added 10 points, sinking 5-of-7 field goal attempts. Sergio El Darwich and Vilgot Larsson both contributed seven, while Andrew Fleming totaled five points.
 
Maine led in rebounds by a mark of 38-32, with Larsson grabbing nine boards and Fleming taking seven caroms off the glass. The Black Bears controlled the paint offensively as well, outscoring the Bobcats 24-14 in the paint.
 
In the first half, Maine put together an efficient offensive performance (11-23 FG, 47.8 percent), while holding Quinnipiac to just six field goals made on 24 attempts (25.0 percent). The Black Bears scored 10 of the game's first 12 points, including six points from White.
 
Maine built its highest lead of the contest at 21-10 following a White layup, but the Bobcats cut the deficit to just five at 24-19 after a 9-3 spurt. Eze responded by knocking down a jumper with 12 seconds left, as Maine took a 26-19 advantage into the locker room.
 
The tides turned quickly in the second half, as the Bobcats erased Maine's lead within five minutes, tying the contest at 30-30 on a 11-4 sprint. Eze slammed home a dunk on an impressive pass from El Darwich as Maine reclaimed the lead temporarily, but QU immediatley responded with a 3-pointer to take the lead right back.
 
Eze followed with two more points, but another trey by Quinnipiac gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 36-34 with 13:34 left. The teams would trade baskets, as Maine came within five points of the Bobcats at 49-44.
 
Quinnipiac iced the game with an 8-2 sprint to take an 11-point lead at 57-46 with 1:38 remaining. White and Larsson added baskets late, but Maine ran out of time, falling to Quinnipiac 58-50.
 
The Bobcats found their stroke from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes, improving its 3-point field goal percentage from just 25.5 percent in the first half (4-15) to 43.7 percent (7-16). Overall, QU doubled its field goal percentage from 25.0 percent (6-24) in the first half to 52 percent (13-25) to help take the lead. QU also took advantage of scoring 21 points off of Maine turnovers (15 turnovers) in the contest.
 
Four Bobcats reached double-figures, led by Tyrese Williams' 19 points. Cameron Young put in 12 points, while Jacob Rigoni and Aaron Robinson added 11 tallies.
 
After a six-game road trip with games in four different time zones, Maine will open its home slate at the Cross Insurance Center on Wednesday night against Princeton. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. against the Tigers. 

For tickets, visit the Cross Insurance Center box office, or head to TicketMaster.com.
 
-UMaine-