BANGOR, Maine – A career-high 23 points from Vilgot Larsson, along with 18 points from Sergio El Darwich led the Maine Black Bears past rival New Hampshire by a score of 62-53 on Sunday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center.
 
The win was Maine's second-consecutive victory in conference play, after taking down UMass Lowell 78-59 on Wednesday. The victory was Maine's fifth on the season and came on head coach Richard Barron's 50^th birthday.
 
Larsson went 8-for-13 from the field including 4-of-7 from 3-point land, establishing a new career-high of 17 points by the time the halftime horn sounded. He added six points in the second half, and grabbed six boards in total. His previous career-high of 15 points came against North Texas earlier this season on Nov. 20.
 
El Darwich got back on track offensively by recording 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor to notch his 13^th game this season reaching double-figures. Maine natives Andrew Fleming and Terion Moss led the Black Bears (5-18, 3-5 AE) with a game-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (5), respectively.
 
The Wildcats (3-18, 1-7 AE) raced out of the gate with an 8-0 advantage, but the Black Bears countered with a 13-0 run, as Larsson registered nine points on three triples within 3:01 of game time. UNH would tie the score at 17-17, but Maine finished the half on a 10-6 sprint, taking a 27-23 halftime lead into the locker room.
 
New Hampshire gained a slim second-half lead of 29-28 after starting the half on a 6-1 run. Maine responded with an 11-4 charge of its own, as El Darwich tallied six point over a span of 3:37 of game clock.
 
After Maine led 45-59 with 10:26 remaining, UNH made three in a row from long range to take a 3-point lead at 48-45. The Black Bear defense settled down, not allowing a single point 5:28 game clock from 8:11 to 2:43, as Maine built a five-point lead at 53-48. UNH was held 0-for-6 from the floor and missed two free throw attempts during the scoreless streak.
 
Maine forced a few key turnovers late, including an eight-second violation and a steal by El. Darwich, as Maine went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe over the final 2:05 to earn a 62-53 win over its rival.
 
Jordan Reed recorded 18 points to lead the Wildcats, while David Watkins added 10 in the loss. Maine outrebounded the Wildcats 35-33, while outscoring UNH in the paint by an impressive mark of 32-8. 13 of New Hampshire's 17 field goals made came from 3-point range, as UNH was out shot from the floor 46.9 percent to just 32.1 percent.  
 
The win marked Maine's first back-to-back victories since December 2016, when Maine defeated Holy Cross 55-53 on Dec. 7, 2016 and Dartmouth 73-68 on Dec. 10, 2016. Earlier that calendar year was the last time Maine defeated back-to-back America East foes, when the Black Bears took down Hartford 105-100 on Jan. 27, 2016, and followed up that win with a 74-63 triumph over Binghamton on Jan. 30, 2016.
 
Maine looks to take down first-place Vermont on Wednesday night in Burlington. The matchup with the Catamounts is set for 7:00 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium on ESPN+.

-UMaine-