DURHAM, N.H. – With the University of Maine men's basketball team holding a 45-39 lead with 8:12 left in the second half, rival New Hampshire closed to the game on a 21-8 sprint to earn a 60-53 victory on in the regular season finale on night at Lundholm Gymnasium.
 
The Black Bears (5-26, 3-13 AE) will head to first-seed Vermont on Saturday for the America East Playoffs quarterfinal round, while New Hampshire ends its season with a 5-24, 3-13 AE record.
 
Junior Sergio El Darwich led the Black Bears (5-26, 3-13) in scoring with 12 points on the evening, adding five rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of work. Senior Ilija Stojiljkovic poured in 10 points and brought down a game-high seven boards.
 
Sophomore Miks Antoms put up nine points and six caroms, while Isaiah White scored eight points for Maine.
 
The first half was a defensive battle as Maine established an early 10-3 advantage after five minutes of game play. UNH erased the Black Bear lead with a 10-2 charge to earn its first lead of the game at 13-12.
 
Maine quickly retook the edge in scoreboard at 14-13 on a layup by Antoms with 8:23 left in the first half, as the Black Bears would hold no greater than a six-point lead and no less than a 3-point advantage for the rest of the first half. At halftime, the Black Bears led the Wildcats by a 22-19 edge.
 
A layup and 3-pointer by Terion Moss gave Maine a six-point lead at 27-21, before the Wildcats tallied back-to-back triples of their own to tie the game at 27-27.
 
The two Border Battle rivals would trade points, until an 10-2 surge by the Black Bears lifted Maine to a 45-36 after a Stojiljkovic trey with 8:12 remaining. The Wildcats responded with three consecutive treys from long range to tie the game at 45-45. In total, UNH would go on a 15-0 run to take a 51-45 advantage with 3:05 to go.
 
El Darwich would slice the Wildcat lead to just three on a 3-pointer with 1:18 left, but the Wildcats responded with one of their own to bring their lead back to six.
 
After two UNH free throws, El Darwich fired another triple through the rim and net and Lundholm Gym, but UNH continued to make free throws to earn a 60-53 win on its senior day.
 
Mark Carbone led the Wildcats with 14 points off the bench, while Jordan Reed recorded 13 points in 40 minutes of action.
 
The No. 8 seed Black Bears will travel to No. 1 Vermont in the quarterfinal round of the America East Playoffs. The opening tip is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
  
-UMaine-