BANGOR, Maine – With the score tied at 51-51, the University of Maine men's basketball team was outscored 19-10 over the final 10:14 of the second half, falling to UMass Lowell, 70-61, at the Cross Insurance Center on Wednesday night.
Vincent Eze recorded 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while bringing down five rebounds and distributing three assists in 17 minutes of action.
Dennis Ashley reached double-figures for the third time in his last four games, pouring in 11 points.
Vilgot Larsson shot a perfect 4-for-4, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
Miks Antoms led the squad off the glass with seven rebounds.
Ilija Stojiljkovic posted a team-high five assists.
Maine built an early 8-3 lead, but UMass Lowell countered by scoring 10 straight points to take a five-point advantage at 13-8. The Black Bears would tie the game at 15-15 and 17-17 before building a four-point edge at 21-17 following
Terion Moss layup. The two squads ensued to trade lead as a layup by
Isaiah White with seven seconds would knot the score at 31-31 after 20 minutes.
After the halftime break, both teams traded buckets, as three lead changes and five tied scores resulted in a 51-51 contest with 10:14 to go. UMass Lowell took control with a 14-4 run, taking a 10-point lead at 65-55 with 4:38 to go.
The Black Bears brought the lead back to five on a 5-0 run after an An Eze dunk, jumper and Antoms jumper cut the deficit to five at 66-61 with 2:20 remaining. Maine could not get any closer, falling to the River Hawks by a 70-61 margin.
Christian Lutete registered a game-high 21 points for the River Hawks, while Obadiah Noel (14 pts), Shawn Jones (14 pts) and Joey Glynn (10 pts) also reached double-figures.
Maine will host Binghamton Sunday for senior day, as
Celio Araujo,
Dennis Ashley,
Vincent Eze and
Ilija Stojiljkovic will all be honored prior to the game. The Saturday matinee is slated for 11:00 a.m. at the Cross Insurance Center. For tickets, visit the Cross Insurance box office to avoid fees, or head to ticketmaster.com.
-UMaine-
