BANGOR, Maine – With Maine holding a slim 81-79 advantage with 10 seconds remaining in overtime, Binghamton's Fard Muhammad attempted to shoot the go-ahead 3-pointer, but Isaiah White recorded a block. The Bearcats gained possession following the swat, but failed to connect on a game-winning shot, as Maine held on to beat Binghamton on Saturday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center.
 
With the thrilling win, Maine is now 6-19, and 3-7 in conference, while Binghamton sits at 10-15, and 1-9 in the America East.
 
"We found a balance of toughness and composure and found a way to win," said head coach Bob Walsh after the game. "I thought we were really, really tough for the majority of the game. But we also had the composure down the stretch to finish plays and knock down shots to win the game."
 
White set a career-high with 23 points against Binghamton, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor (64.2 percent). He connected on 5-of-8 shots from 3-point range, while tallying three boards, two steals along with the pivotal block.

Andrew Fleming tied a season-high in scoring by recording 16 points, making half of his 14 shots attempted. The sophomore scored 12 in the second half alone, and also brought down five rebounds in the game. Aaron Calixte poured in 11 points, while Ilker Er and Celio Araujo added eight and seven, respectively.

"Isaiah really carried us in the first half, when we didn't have a lot going on," continued Walsh. "Aaron was struggling to hit shots, and Andrew really stepped up and played loose. He made important plays. Those guys were our two best offensive players down the stretch." 
 
On the offensive end, Maine shot 50.9 percent, its third best single game field goal percentage of the season. From long range, the Black Bears connected on 52.6 percent of its attempts, their second best mark on the year.
 
The Black Bears led for nearly 28 minutes of game time, but it was Binghamton that struck first and built an 11-6 advantage in the first six-and-a half minutes. Maine tied the contest up at 11-11 following a 5-0 run featuring a layup from Dusan Majstorovic, and a 3-pointer from Calixte.
 
The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, with neither team gaining a lead of more than four. With Maine trailing 26-22 with 1:26 left in the half, White drained a 3-pointer to cut Binghamton's lead to just one. A Danny Evans layup, followed by White's 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th points in the half on a deep trey gave the Black Bears  a 30-26 advantage. The Bearcats added a late jumper, as Maine went in to the locker room with a 30-28 halftime lead.
 
The Black Bears started hot in the second half, putting together a 19-11 run to take their largest lead of the game at 49-39 with 11:26 left. Over the next five minutes, Binghamton went on a 17-8 charge, coming within one point of Maine at 57-56. Maine would not lose the lead, but the Bearcats would tie the contest up at 67-67 with 59 seconds left in regulation.
 
Calixte hit both of his free throw attempts with 35 seconds left to give Maine the lead temporality, but Binghamton tied the game with just eight seconds left. Maine could not get a 3-pointer to go in the closing seconds, as the two America East foes went into overtime.
 
It was the visitors that got on the scoreboard first in the extra period, with a 3-pointer going in on Binghamton's first shot of overtime. Araujo fired in a trey to tie the contest back up at 72-72.
 
After Maine held Binghamton scoreless for three shots the next possession, Araujo sunk back-to-back free throws give Maine back the lead at 74-72. Calixte laid in two points and Er put in a free throw to extend the Black Bears' lead to 77-72 with 1:25 left.
 
Araujo was fouled on Maine's next possession, and the Brazilian native drained both shots, as the Black Bears led by seven with 39 seconds to go.
 
Binghamton converted a free throw attempt and registered a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game at 79-76. The Bearcats fouled on Maine's ensuing possession, and Er made both of his free throw attempts to give Maine a five-point advantage. While attempting to shoot a 3-point shot with 10 seconds left, Binghamton's J.C. Show was fouled. He went on to make all three, cutting Maine's advantage to just two.
 
On the next possession, Maine failed to inbound the ball in five seconds, turning the ball over to the Bearcats.
 
The Bearcats had two attempts at a game winning 3-pointer, with Binghamton's Fard Muhammad getting blocked on his first attempt by White with seven ticks left in the game. Show earned the offensive rebound, and passed it back to Muhammad, but he could not knock down the buzzer-beater.
 
All seven of Araujo's points came in overtime, which is a new career-high for the junior.
 
Calixte only needs seven points next week to reach the 1,000 career point milestone. He would become the 30^th Black Bear to accomplish the feat.
 
The Black Bears have now won three consecutive games against the Bearcats, and lead the all-time series by a count of 19-17.
 
Maine treks to New Hampshire this Thursday, in hopes of completing the season sweep over the Wildcats. The Border Battle tip is set for 7:00 p.m. at Lundholm Gymnasium.
 
-UMaine-