Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Trailing by 27 with 14:11 remaining in the 2nd half, the University of New England completed a furious rally against Maine Maritime Academy to tie things before winning in double overtime, 95-93, in a men's basketball contest Saturday afternoon (Nov. 19) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Mariners shot 64.7 percent (22-for-34) with seven treys in the 1st period to build a 25-point cushion, and extended it to 64-37 during the first few minutes after halftime. From there, however, it was almost all Nor'easters.

UNE scored more in the last 14 minutes of regulation (41) than it had in 26 minutes to that point, and did so without turning the ball over once. Winston Bryan tallied all of his 14 in the stanza down the stretch, and Ray Evans tossed in 12. Meanwhile, the hosts increased the defensive intensity and held Maine Maritime to 3-of-12 shooting with 14 turnovers the rest of the frame. [Watch 45, 47]

It was still a very tall order with 4:14 left, at 76-62, and with 2:41 to go, at 78-68, but the Nor'easters kept grinding and kept the scoreboard moving on each of their last four trips down the court. Adrian Torres got the margin back under 10 with his final hoop prior to fouling out [Watch]. Evans scored a driving two, and then received a pass from Bryan for a wing trey with 1:18 on the clock (78-75) [Watch]. After another stop, Bryan canned his second look at a tying triple with 30 seconds remaining to ultimately force overtime [Watch].

The momentum initially carried over into the extra session, as UNE logged the first five to move ahead at 83-78, including four from Drake Gavin. Gavin struck again for an 85-80 edge [Watch], only to see the Mariners score the next seven. Evans came through again to tie things with 0:40 showing (87-87) [Watch], and, after turnovers from both sides, MMA came up empty on two looks at a winning basket.

Gavin finished an offensive rebound on the first possession of double OT to give the Nor'easters the final lead. Carter Rubin got one back for the visitors (89-88), before Gavin and Rubin exchanged two free throws (91-90). The next six trips, combined, saw missed shots or turnovers, until a jumper from Bryan at 2:01 expanded the cushion (93-90) [Watch]. A UNE foul on a three-point attempt by Rubin gave an opening to the Mariners, but each try at the charity stripe bounced away.

The clock was down under 45 seconds when Maine Maritime corralled an offensive board in the paint, but Zach Boulay -- who entered the contest for the first time after Evans fouled out with 2:31 to go in the frame -- stepped in the way of the ensuing bounce pass aimed for a cutter to negate the threat. UNE ran the shot clock out but did not pad the lead, however, Boulay immediately tipped the ball away from the MMA rebounder, into the hands of Bryan, who then converted two freebies to all but seal it with 6.5 remaining [Watch].

Bryan wound up pacing the Nor'easters (2-3) with 24 points and four steals. Evans totaled 22 points with six rebounds and four assists. Torres supplied 20 points, matching his combined output from the first four games of his young career. Gavin posted 10 of his 14 points beyond regulation, while grabbing five boards and four steals.

For the match, UNE turned 12 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. Over the final 30 minutes, the hosts scored 25 points off 25 Mariner turnovers.

Rubin hit four treys on the way to a game-high 26 points for Maine Maritime (1-3). Josiah Dancy did a little of everything, recording 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and steals, while Connor Tuerff dropped in 16 points. Curt Heinz, who scored 16 to go with six blocks and five assists, accounted for the difference in the rebounding department (52-34) with 18 caroms.

Overall, the Mariners still connected on more than half of their field goals (34-for-67), and outscored the Nor'easters by six behind the arc (27-21) and by eight in free throws (16-8). The flow for the visitors was hampered by 33 turnovers, though, which was 19 more than UNE.

The Nor'easters are back in action Tuesday at Bowdoin College.