The University of Maine men’s basketball team failed to secure a much-needed Border Battle victory against the University of New Hampshire on Saturday night, falling to the No. 4 Wildcats 60-57 on the road. It was UMaine’s fourth America East loss decided by five or fewer points this year, and its second to New Hampshire.
Up 38-33 at halftime and riding a 17-3 run, the Black Bears fell behind 48-46 with 10:42 remaining and never caught back up, shooting just 8-for-31 from the field in the second half. Similar to last month’s Border Battle, UMaine had nearly 10 seconds to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but neither sophomore Jaden Clayton nor fifth-year Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish were able to create enough space for themselves to get a shot off.
It was UMaine’s fifth consecutive Border Battle loss since Jan. 2022, and worsened its chances of catching UNH in the America East standings. Saturday’s result pushed No. 5 UMaine to 3-6 in conference play, while No. 4 New Hampshire improved to 6-5.
The rivals’ all-time head-to-head record is now 123-82 in favor of UMaine.
Burned by crunch time turnovers and a 30-point performance from UNH’s Clarence Daniels at the Cross Center one month ago, the Black Bears flipped the script on Saturday night, winning the turnover battle 17-9 and limiting the all-conference first-teamer to 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
Instead of Daniels, it was 6-foot-8 senior forward Jaxson Baker who stepped up for the Wildcats on Saturday night, notching an 18-point double double on 4-for-8 shooting from distance. Baker also recorded two blocks and a technical foul for UNH, getting called for taunting UNH transfer AJ Lopez (four points on 1-for-4 shooting, two turnovers) in the second half.
Pacing the Black Bears’ offense was senior forward Peter Filipovity, who made all seven of his first field goal attempts and finished with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, plus six rebounds. Sophomore point guard Jaden Clayton (12 points, three steals) and junior combo guard Kellen Tynes (ten points, four steals, two assists) were UMaine’s other two double-digit scorers.
Junior forward Quion Burns accounted for UMaine’s only 3-pointer of the night, finishing with three points. As a team, the Black Bears shot 1-for-13 from beyond the arc, compared with the Wildcats’ clip of 7-for-23. Overall, UMaine shot 22-for-55 from the field, and UNH shot 23-for-55.
Before UMaine returns to The Pit on Feb. 17 to play No. 1 Vermont, the Black Bears clash with No. 2 Bryant on the road at 7 p.m. Thursday. Bryant is coming off an 85-66 home win over UNH on Feb. 8, and a road loss to UMaine on Feb. 3.
