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Maine Tops New Hampshire in OT, 59-56
ORONO, Maine- The University of Maine men's basketball team overcame a 12 point deficit to earn a 59-56 victory over New Hampshire in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine in front of 2,767 fans. It is the fourth straight win for the Black Bears in overtime games. Maine improves to 10-15 on the season and 5-9 in America East play, while New Hampshire falls to 10-16 overall and 7-8 in conference play.
Maine jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind a pair of three-point field goal by Rashard Turner (Peekskill, N.Y.). New Hampshire responded with a 20-6 run to take a 22-14 lead with 9:14 remaining in the first half. Ioannis Karalis had a pair of three-point field goals during the run, while Chris Vetrano added one. Branimir Zeko's hoop with under a minute remaining in the first half gave the Wildcats a 33-23 halftime lead. New Hampshire opened the second half with a hoop by Mike Christensen to extend its lead to 35-23. Maine answered with a 13-5 run to pull to within four points. Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif), Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon) and Rashard Turner each drained three-point field goals for Maine during the run. A Jermaine Anderson three-point field goal for New Hampshire gave the Wildcats a 45-38 lead with 8:19 remaining in regulation. The Black Bears then used an 8-0 run to grab a one-point lead. Rashard Turner sank his fourth three-point field goal of the day during the run, while Olli Ahvenniemi (Vaasa, Finland) had a layup and Ernest Turner (Camden, N.J.) a pair of free throws. New Hampshire regained a 49-46 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game. A pair of Ernest Turner free throws pulled Maine to within one point. Leading by one point, New Hampshire's Blagov Janev was fouled and converted one of two free throws to give UNH a 50-48 lead. The miss by Janev at the free throw line was the lone miss for the Wildcats on the day as they finiahed 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Ernest Turner answered with a pair of free throws to tie the game for Maine with 49 second remaining. The Black Bears then stole the ball and had a chance to win the game, but Rashard Turner's shot at the buzzer missed and the two teams went to overtime. Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn.) opened the scoring in overtime with a layup. UNH's Blagov Janev countered with a layup to tie the game. The Wildcats took a 56-52 lead after Mike Christensen hit a jumper and Jaamal Caterina followed with a pair of free throws, Tchekane Bofia pulled Maine to within two points when he hit a layup with 1:02 remaining in the game. Ernest Turner then recorded a huge steal for Maine and scored on a fast-break layup to tie the game at 56-56. He was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to give Maine a 57-56 lead. UNH has two shots in the final seconds, but Bruff came up with a big rebound for the Black Bears. Bruff was then fouled and converted both of his free throws to give Maine the 59-56 win. Maine was led by Rashard Turner who finished with 16 points, including four three-point field goals. Tchekane Bofia added 12 points and four rebounds, while Ernest Turner had 11 points. Ahvenniemi led Maine on the boards with nine rebounds and two blocks. Jermaine Anderson led New Hampshire with 12 points and six rebounds. Blagov Janev and Mike Christensen each added 11 points for the Wildcats. Caterina had a team-high seven rebounds. The Black Bears will play their final regular season home game on Thursday, February 23 when they host UMBC at 7:30 p.m. at Alfond Arena. Before the game Maine will honor seniors Ernest Turner and Freddy Petkus (Plunge, Lithuania). Tickets are available for the game by calling 1-800-756-TEAM, 581-BEAR or at the door. -U-M-
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