WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut — Sophomore guard Aaron Calixte scored six points in overtime, helping the University of Maine overcome a seven-point deficit in the extra period to post a 105-100 America East men’s basketball victory over Hartford on Wednesday night at the Chase Family Arena.
Coach Bob Walsh’s Black Bears (7-13, 3-4 AE), who battled through a tight second half, forced overtime on a Shaun Lawton free throw with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Calixte went 8-for-14 from the floor en route to a team-leading 23 points and dished out five assists to pace UMaine, while senior forward Till Gloger finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Kevin Little tossed in 16 points and added three assists and three steals and Devine Eke chipped in with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Issac Vann and Lawton each posted seven points and eight rebounds for the Black Bears, who shot 44 percent overall (39-for-88) and hit 10 3-pointers.
UMaine prevailed despite making only 17 of 30 foul shots (57 percent) and being outscored 22-17 from the line. However, the Black Bears came away with a 55-42 rebounding edge.
Pancake Thomas paced Hartford (7-15, 2-5 AE) with a game-high 29 points, among them nine free throws. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and provided six assists, four steals and a blocked shot.
George Blagojevic tallied 12 points and seven rebounds and Evan Cooper scored 12 points, while Jalen Ross (7 rebounds) and Taylor Dyson wound up with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Hawks came out hot to open the overtime as Thomas drained two 3-pointers to help them pull in front 92-85 on a Blagojevic 3 with 3:27 to play.
UMaine trailed 95-88 at the 2:50 mark before Gloger scored on a layup and Issac Vann’s offensive rebound led to a foul and one free throw. Lawton followed with a steal that resulted in one foul shot and cut the deficit to 95-92.
Lawton continued the defensive surge with another steal and Eke swooped in to dunk Lawton’s missed layup try. After two missed Hartford free throws, Little buried a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 97-95 lead.
UMaine cashed in on yet another Hartford turnover as Calixte fed Lawton for a 3, then Troy Reid-Knight answered a Thomas free throw by scoring off his own miss to push the visitors’ advantage to 102-96 with 50 seconds left.
Calixte helped close it out with two free throws that made it a seven-point game with 34 seconds to go.
Gloger sparked the Bears in the first half with 12 points and eight rebounds. Guard Kevin Little chipped in with seven points and Ilija Stojilkovic added six.
Guard Thomas paced the Hawks with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists. Guard Evan Cooper contributed eight points and forward George Blagojevic put in seven.
The lead seesawed several times in the first half until the Hawks surged to a 42-34 advantage with 2:20 left. The Bears responded with guard Ryan Berstein nailing a 3-pointer and Little following with a layup to cut it to 42-39 with 1:49 remaining.
The Hawks answered and upped their back to eight, capped by a 3-pointer from Jalen Ross with 1:05 left, but Glogger hit a jumper for the Bears at the 48-second mark and Little made a layup with two seconds left to cut Hartford’s lead to 47-43 at halftime.