The University of Maine men’s basketball team came up short in its second-half comeback effort at Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Seawolves 74-72.
The Black Bears trailed by 14 points with 7:14 remaining in the game but closed within two points with 35 seconds to play on a Jaden Clayton steal and layup.
Stony Brook’s Collin O’Connor missed a layup with six seconds to play and Clayton rebounded for UMaine. But C.J. Luster stole the ball from Clayton with one second left and the Seawolves held on for the victory.
Clayton and Kellen Tynes each finished with 15 points and 4 assists for UMaine, which slipped to 8-6 on the season. Tynes had 4 steals and 2 blocks while Clayton had 3 steals.
AJ Lopez scored 13 points while Christopher Mantis finished with 11 points off the bench for the Black Bears.
Joe Octave led Stony Brook with 24 points, including 3-for-5 shooting on 3-pointers. Luster and Ben Wight each added 11 points for the Seawolves, who improved to 4-8 on the season.
Stony Brook outrebounded UMaine 32-25.
The Black Bears jumped out to an early 18-13 lead in the first half before Stony Brook responded with an extended 18-5 run to take a 31-23 lead.
UMaine got the score back to within four points heading into halftime as they trailed 34-30.
Mantis led the way for the Black Bears with 8 points in the opening half on 3-for-3 shooting from the field.
Quion Burns had 5 points and 5 rebounds while Clayton had 6 points and 3 assists.
Tynes had 3 steals and 2 blocks on the defensive end of the floor.
Burns finished with a team-high 7 rebounds.
