ALBANY, N.Y. – Owning a 16-point lead with 2:41 left in the second half, the Maine Black Bears men's basketball team hung on long enough to defeat UAlbany 66-62 for its first conference win on Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. Sergio El Darwich led four Black Bear double-figure scorers by matching career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (8).
 
The Black Bears (3-15, 1-2 AE) made 12 of its 28 attempted 3-pointers, the most Maine has made this season and the most since converting 14 treys against Quinnipiac last season (11/26/17).

The Black Bears made 10 of its 13 free throws (76.9 percent), outshooting the Great Danes (4-12, 0-2 AE), who converted just 55 percent of its attempts from the charity-stripe (11-20 FT). Of Maine's 22 made field goals, 17 came off assists.
 
Along with El Darwich, Isaiah White (13 pts.) Andrew Fleming (12 pts.) and Vilgot Larsson (11 pts.) all reached double-figures in scoring for the Black Bears. Fleming grabbed six rebounds, while distributing a career-high seven assists, as the junior has tallied at least five assist the past three games.
 
White picked up an impressive four blocks and three steals in a stellar defensive performance. All four of the Black Bear double-figurer scorers registered at least two 3-pointers, as the quartet shot at a .545 clip from long distance (12-22 3PT). Terion Moss dished a season-best five assists in 35 minutes of action.
 
The two squads traded scores to begin the contest, as UAlbany took a 4-point lead at 11-7, following a 3-pointer. The Black Bears responded on a 19-6 run to take a 26-17 lead following a trey by Larsson. Both teams continued to trade buckets the rest of the half, as the Back Bears led by 10 points at 38-28 heading into the locker room.
 
UAlbany cut Maine's lead to single digits quickly after the second half commenced, but a 9-0 Black Bear run gave Maine a 16-point lead at 47-31 with 15:37 left in the contest. The two teams went back-and-forth with points, but the Great Danes eventually cut Maine's lead into single digits at 55-46 with 5:30 remaining.
 
Maine quickly built back up its game-high 16-point lead following a 9-2 sprint, with 2:41 remaining. The Black Bears would not make a field goal the final 4:04 of the contest, as the Great Danes finished the contest on a 14-2 run, but ran out of time as Maine earned its first America East win of the season.
 
Ahmad Clark recorded 22 points for the Great Danes, while Cameron Healy tallied 15 points to lead UAlbany in scoring.
 
The win snapped a six-game losing streak this season and a 19 game road losing streak dating back to last season. The win was Maine's first over UAlbany since Maine defeated the Great Danes at the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 15, 2016. The Black Bears last defeated the Great Danes in Albany eight years ago to the date on Jan. 12, 2011 in a similar 66-64 game. Albany had previously won nine in a row in the Empire State's capital.
 
Maine returns home to the Cross Insurance Center this Wednesday, when the Black Bears host Hartford. The opening tip against the Hawks in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. For tickets visit ticketmaster.com.

-UMaine-