ORONO – They weren’t about to let history repeat itself, especially on their home court.

The University of Maine men combined good ball movement, excellent outside shooting, and solid defense to avenge their most disappointing loss of the season with a 77-72 victory over a struggling New Hampshire squad at Alfond Arena Wednesday night.

The game wasn’t quite as close as the score would lead you to believe. The Wildcats’ only lead came 85 seconds into a game in which Maine led by as many as 21 points.

The Black Bears improved their overall record to 10-12 and, more importantly, evened their America East conference mark at 5-5. The ‘Cats are now 3-18 (1-9). The win avenged a 74-64 loss to UNH a month ago.

“This was real big. It’s about time for us to go on a roll at some point and this was a game that was more for pride than anything,” said Rickey White, who led Maine with 17 points. “I think in that first game, we took them a little too lightly … and you can’t do that.”

Despite still recovering from an ankle sprain, the senior forward from Topsham had a strong overall game with six rebounds and four assists as well. Freshman guard Kevin Reed had 15 points and five rebounds.

Senior center Justin Rowe had six boards and five blocks. Senior guard Derrick Jackson led the team with seven assists and no turnovers.

Maine shot 80 percent (8-for-10) from 3-point range in the first half and 58.8 percent for the game. The Bears shot 55.6 percent from the floor overall, but won this one largely on the strength of their first half play.

“It’s just a matter of swinging the ball and finding the open man,” Reed said of his team’s improved shooting and reduction in turnovers. “We’re getting better in practice and we’re getting more and more comfortable.”

Maine started the first half strong by hitting from long distance right off the bat and outscoring the Wildcats 11-2 in the first five minutes.

The ‘Cats used a 9-2 run to get back in it and, although they never led again, stayed within range. Even after Maine went on a 13-3 run midway through the half, UNH had an answer, in the form of a 12-3 run in which four different players scored to make it 28-27 Maine with five minutes left.

The Bears would end the first half as emphatically as they started it, this time with a 12-0 run in which they canned the last two of eight 3-pointers in the half and took a 44-31 lead into the locker room.

Maine’s guards were particularly tough as the six-man rotation contributed 32 points and shot a combined 12-for-19 from the field in the first half.

“They shot the ball better. They created that with their ball movement and their penetration,” said UNH coach Phil Rowe. “That’s why they’re going to have more success down the stretch.”

The teams were even in rebounding with 34 each. Maine committed 14 turnovers to UNH’s 10 after committing 23 in the last meeting.

Maine saw a 20-point lead with 41/2 minutes to play dwindle to five with 15 seconds left as UNH canned four 3-pointers in the last four minutes and went on a 14-1 run.

“I wish we’d finished stronger today,” said Maine coach John Giannini, “but maybe today was a symptom of not playing a full 40 minutes, but I think that might have been more them loosening up and making some 3’s and us losing some of our edge knowing the game was in all likelihood won.”

Senior forward Jeff Senulis came off the bench to lead UNH with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ioannis Karalis had 12 points and six boards off the bench.

BLACK BEARS 77, WILDCATS 72

New Hampshire (3-18) Maine (10-12)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Sturgill 0 1 0 0 0 Reed 6 9 15

Childs 2 6 3 3 7 Hill 3 4 9

Bullock 3 6 0 0 9 Jackson 2 3 5

Dennis 4 10 3 5 12 White 7 10 17

Karalis 5 7 0 0 12 Rowe 2 2 5

Williams 3 6 0 0 6 Dobson 4 9 11

Walker 2 9 2 2 6 Hadjisotirov 3 8

Senulis 5 10 1 2 14 Petkus 1 2 3

Peterson 1 4 0 2 2 Brown 2 9 4

Collette 2 5 0 0 4

Totals 27 64 9 14 72 30 54 12 77

New Hampshire 31 72

Maine 44 77

3-pt. goals: New Hampshire (9-23): Senulis 3-5, Bullock 3-5, Karalis 2-4, Dennis 1-4, Childs 0-2, Williams 0-1, Walker 0-1, Collette 0-1; Maine (10-17): Hill 3-4, Reed 3-5, Hadjisotirov 2-3, Jackson 1-2, Petkus 1-2, Brown 0-1

Attendance: 1,464