Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team took down UMass Lowell in the regular season finale on Tuesday night in Orono, 71-70.

In one of the most closely matched games of the season for the Black Bears, neither side was ever able to stake out more than a six-point lead throughout the entirety of the game as Maine got up by five points with 9:02 remaining in the first half and UMass Lowell got up by six points with 11:14 remaining in the second half.

Maine lead at halftime, 29-27, due largely to the impact of Kellen Tynes as he had a game-high 12 points in the first half on an efficient 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He also added in 5 steals.

The score was either tied or the lead changed hands 13 times in the second half, with the Black Bears ultimately coming with the victory on a made free-throw by Jaden Clayton with 18 second remaining in the game and a steal by Tynes with 5 seconds left to seal the game at a final score of 71-70.

Quion Burns scored a team-high 19 points on the night, 13 of them coming in the second half. 

Tynes finished with 14 points and a season-high and career-high tying 8 steals on the night. Jaden Clayton had 10 points and 6 assists.

Maine concludes the regular season with a 18-13 record, a 10-6 record in conference play and a 3-seed for the America East Playoffs. All of those are their highest marks since the 2009-10 season, where the Black Bears went 19-11 with an 11-5 conference record and secured the 3-seed in the America East Playoffs.

The Black Bears will take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks for the third time on the season in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 8 in Orono, their first home playoff game in America East history. On the season, both games against UMass Lowell have been decided by one point with the Black Bears winning both matchups.

Tickets for the Quarterfinals are available here or by calling the ticket office at 207-581-BEAR

-UMaine-