Peter Filipovity had a career-high 27 points, including a steal and layup to put his team up for good with 2:16 left in the second half on Tuesday night, leading the Maine Black Bears to a 71-65 win over UMass-Lowell in America East men’s basketball action at the Pit inside Memorial Gymnasium in Orono. It was the regular season finale for both teams.
On Senior Night, the senior forward Filipovity stepped up huge as he scored eight of the first 10 points of the evening for Maine. The Black Bears would lead by as many as 10 in the opening 20 minutes on a jumper by AJ Lopez at 30-20. UMass-Lowell cut it to 37-33 at the halftime break on a three-pointer by Quinton Mincey.
After Maine pushed their advantage back to 10 just over three minutes into the second half, UMass-Lowell would storm back to take their first lead since it was 15-12. The Riverhawks capped off a 15-2 run with a layup by Cam Morris III to jump in front 50-47 with 9:46 left to play. They would lead by four points twice in the last 5:04, their largest of the night. With the Black Bears down 61-57 and 3:54 to go, the seniors would help spur their team to the win. Graduate forward Adam Cisse got a layup to go in the paint, and then Filipovity tied it with a short jumper 40 seconds later. Filipovity then came up with his steal and layup to put Maine up for good with 2:16 remaining, as part of an 11-0 run. Graduate guard Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish also knocked in a three-pointer during the spurt as the shot clock was running out. Wright-McLeish, Kellen Tynes, and Jaden Clayton iced it going 5-6 from the free throw line over the final 53 seconds.
The seniors players that were honored and played in the game would all score (Filipovity, Wright-McLeish, Cisse) in the win for Maine. Filipovity added seven rebounds and two steals to his career-high point total, shooting 13-19 from the floor. Lopez and Clayton also scored in double figures with 11 points a piece. Lopez had a double double by also hauling down 10 rebounds, while Clayton chipped in seven assists, six rebounds, and five steals. Wright-McLeish finished with eight points, and Tynes had six. The Black Bears finish the regular season at 15-16 and 7-9 in America East. Morris III would lead UMass-Lowell with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Mincey and Brayden O’Connor each had 13 points. The Riverhawks will go into the postseason tournament as the #2 seed finishing at 20-9 overall and 11-5 in the league. Maine gets the #6 seed and will travel to #3 Bryant for a quarterfinal in Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Black Bears and Bulldogs split the regular season meetings, with each team winning on their home court (79-72 Maine on February 3, and 77-72 Bryant on February 15).
Recap by Chris Lessner
