Aaron Calixte’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining Wednesday night lifted the University of Maine men’s basketball team to a 69-68 America East victory over the University of New Hampshire at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The win ends a six-game losing streak against the rival Wildcats and improves UMaine’s record to 5-17 overall, 2-5 in conference play.
UNH falls to 8-13 overall, 4-3 in America East.
UNH had rallied from a 66-62 deficit after a dunk by UMaine’s Andrew Fleming with 2:45 remaining to take a 68-66 lead on Jacoby Armstrong’s jump hook with 42 seconds left.
UMaine called timeout, leading to Calixte’s third 3-pointer of the game.
UNH had a final possession, but Darryl Stewart missed a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key and UMaine’s Isaiah White grabbed the rebound as time expired.
“It’s pure toughness, it really was,” said UMaine coach Bob Walsh to Learfield Sports after the game. “We didn’t play great in the second half, New Hampshire’s a tough team, but our guys battled and fought and Aaron stepped up and made a big shot.
“It feels good because it justifies a lot of the stuff we’ve been doing. Our guys showed up on Sunday after a really bad loss (to Hartford) on Thursday with incredible energy and incredible spirit, and we showed up ready to win tonight.”
Calixte, the redshirt junior guard, matched his career high with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field.
Fleming finished with 15 points for the Black Bears, as did reserve wing Vernon Lowndes Jr.
White added eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds as UMaine outrebounded the taller Wildcats 36-33 and outscored UNH 30-18 in the paint.
John Ogwuche led New Hampshire with 19 points while Tanner Leissner scored 18 points and Josh Hopkins added 10.
The two lowest-scoring teams in America East were locked in a shootout through the game’s first 20 minutes as UMaine emerged with a 42-40 halftime lead behind Calixte’s 16 early points.
The Black Bears, who led by as many as eight points (29-21) midway through the opening period, trailed 37-34 after a layup by Leissner with 1:39 left before the break.
A long 3-pointer and a jumper by Lowndes Jr. gave UMaine a 39-37 advantage, and after Hopkins buried one of UNH’s seven 3-pointers of the period Fleming converted a three-point play with 29 seconds left to give the Black Bears their slim halftime edge.
Calixte shot 6 of 11 from the field in the early going for UMaine, which collectively shot 50 percent (16 of 32) and made all eight of its free throws while outrebounding UNH 19-17.
Fleming added nine points in the half while White scored eight points and Lowndes Jr. chipped in seven.
Leissner paced UNH with 14 first-half points while Hopkins scored eight.
