Lowell, MA – The University of Maine men's basketball team scored the final five points in the last 30 seconds to pick up the overtime victory over UMass Lowell on Thursday night, 86-85.
 
Maine jumped out to an early 11-6 lead as AJ Lopez scored all 11 of the opening points for the Black Bears on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from behind-the-arc.
 
The two sides remained close throughout the first half before the River Hawks got out to a double-digit lead at 43-33 with just over 3 minutes to go on the back of a 8-0 run.
 
UMass Lowell took their double-digit lead into the break at 48-38.
 
AJ Lopez had a game-high 13 points while Quion Burns had 11 as both shot at least 50% from the field.
 
Jaden Clayton had 3 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
 
Maine opened the second half up on a 7-0 run as they cut deficit down to just three at 48-45.
 
The Black Bears retook the lead at the 10:12 mark in the second half after having tied up the contest on two separate occasions before Burns buried a pair of free throws to make it 63-61.
 
The two sides traded buckets down the stretch as neither side as able to grab more than a four-point lead over the course of the final 10 minutes.
 
The two sides would both miss a shot with under 30 seconds remaining to force overtime as the scored was locked up at 75-75.
 
After trailing 85-81 with under a minute to go, the Black Bears came roaring back as they scored the final five points of the contest and picked up the victory, 86-85.
 
The win was their fifth-straight victory, the longest conference winning streak under Coach Markwood and their first victory at UMass Lowell since the 2018-19 season.
 
Burns finished with a career-high and game-high 28 points while Lopez also set a career-high in scoring as he had 27 points.
 
Clayton finished with 7 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals while Kellen Tynes scored 16 points and had a pair of steals.
 
Maine (13-8, 5-1 AE) returns to Orono to host the New Hampshire Wildcats in the Buffalo Wild Wings Border Battle on Thursday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 PM.
 
-UMaine-