Vestal, N.Y. – In a game which featured seven ties and six lead changes, the Black Bears clawed back from a nine-point deficit in the first half to take the lead in the second, but were unable to close the contest, falling by a final of 73-63 at Binghamton on Saturday afternoon.
 
Anne Simon turned out a career effort, finishing with a career-best 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting while pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds to tally her first career double-double.
 
Simon, who registered her 12 double-digit scoring total of the year and her eighth in her last nine outings, paced three Black Bears in double-digits with Maeve Carroll, 13, and Kelly Fogarty, 10, also finishing with double-figure scoring efforts.
 
Maine's second half comeback came as a result of the Black Bears oustcoring Binghamton 19-10 in the third quarter. However, Binghamton put the game away by holding a 29-18 advantage in the fourth and final quarter.
 
Maine turned in one of its best rebounding efforts of the season, pulling down 34 boards including 13 on the offensive end; the Black Bears second-highest offensive rebounding total of the season. Maine held a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint.
 
In total, Maine finished 26-of-68 from the floor while going 5-of-20 from 3-point range and cashing in on 6-of-7 free throw attempts.
 
Binghamton was led by Kai Moon's 26 points. The Bearcats were 25-for-53 from the field, 7-of-18 from three and hit 16-of-18 from the charity stripe.
 
Despite Maine forcing 11 Binghamton turnovers in the first half, the Bearcats were able to build an eight point lead at the break, thanks in part to a 7-of-9 shooting performance in the first quarter. Binghamton, which ended the half 46.3-percent from the floor, carried a 34-26 at the end of two quarters.
 
Moon's triple midway through the first quarter lifted the Bearcats' lead to eight. Maine responded with a 4-0 run as a bucket by Simon and a pair of free throws from Carroll trimmed the deficit to four.
 
A 5-0 run by Binghamton, running from the first quarter into the early stages of the second, gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the half, 20-11.
 
Maine, looking for offensive consistency, looked to answer. Back-to-back buckets from Simon again brought the Black Bears within five.
 
The teams traded buckets down the stretch with Fogarty's triple late in the half again bringing Maine to within five. However, the Black Bears were unable to close the gap. Moon's three at the buzzer sent the game into the break with Maine trailing, 34-26.
 
The Black Bears got off to a quick start in the second half, opening with a 12-4 run in the third quarter. The spring began five-straight points from Simon. A crossover layup followed by a triple from Simon brought Maine within three.
 
Maine's offense kept charging. Trailing by five, Simon went back to work with another left-handed, driving layup. On the ensuing position, Carroll pulled down the defense board and quickly found Simon who zipped it ahead to Fogarty for the transition triple, tying things at 38-all and completing the 12-4 run.
 
Binghamton rebuilt a 42-40 edge before Saar's triple regained the lead for the Black Bears with 2:24 left in the third. The bucket extended Maine's third quarter run to 17-8.
 
The Bearcats started the fourth with a 5-0 run, giving them a 49-45 lead on a trey from Moon. However, Maine again answered, this time with a 6-0 run. Simon's driving layup started the sprint before a jumper from Fogarty and another by Simon, this one tying her career-high with 23 points, to give Maine a 51-49 advantage.
 
Yet another 5-0 run followed, this one giving the Bearcats a 54-51 lead with 6:58 on the clock.
 
The Binghamton lead stood at 59-55 as Maine's offense continued to charge. A 6-2 run by the Black Bears tied things once again. Carroll started the run, hitting a layup while drawing the foul. Carroll would complete the 3-point play and, after a jumper by Binghamton, the junior would cash in again in the paint. A free throw by Simon tied the game at 61-all with 3:18 left.
 
However, Maine was unable to climb over the hump. Binghamton closed the contest on a 12-2 run, hitting all eight of its free throw attempts down the stretch to capture a 73-63 victory.
 
Maine is back in action on Wednesday, completing its three-game road trip at Vermont at 6 p.m.
 
-UMaine-