DURHAM, N.H. – Mark Socoby scored 29 points, including the free throw that sent the game into overtime and five points in the extra period, to lift the University of Maine to a 75-72 America East men’s basketball victory over New Hampshire Saturday at Lundholm Gymnasium.

Coach Ted Woodward’s Black Bears (7-16, 3-7 AE) squandered an 18-point lead during a span of 11 minutes in the second half, but regained their composure to eventually send the game into overtime and eventually win it.

“The way they [UNH] play, they shoot a lot of 3’s. You know it’s going to be a game of runs,” Woodward said.

“We never really panicked, we knew it was going to be a 40-minute game. They did a good job down the stretch,” he added.

Socoby, a sophomore from Houlton, also pulled down 10 rebounds for UMaine. Kaimondre Owes tossed in 20 points on the strength of 13-for-13 shooting from the foul line.

Brian Andre of Bingham contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Bears converted 24 of 29 free throws, including all five in overtime, and came away with a 47-36 rebounding advantage.

Tyrece Gibbs paced a balanced effort by New Hampshire (7-16, 4-7 AE) with 20 points. Eric Gilchrese tallied 15 points and five assists, while Mike Christensen scored 11 points and Alvin Abreu 10.

The Bears made their move in overtime when a layup by Owes gave them a 66-64 edge with 3:02 remaining. Owes followed a UNH miss with two foul shots, before Gibbs drained a 3-pointer to get the Wildcats back within 68-67 with 2:22 left.

After the hosts failed to cash in on a UMaine turnover, Socoby converted a clutch three-point play with a layup and free throw to put the Bears in front 71-67. Abreu countered for UNH with two foul shots, but Socoby’s jumper with 29 seconds left helped the Bears seal the victory.

“We always talk about putting yourselves in position to win and making plays when that time comes,” Woodward said. “Mark Socoby made some plays. “Mark played very well. He’s been playing very well.”

In regulation, Socoby hit one of two free throws with 26 seconds left to tie the game at 60. UNH had a chance to win when Gibbs drove to the basket, then passed to Dane DiLiegro, but Phil Tchekane Bofia blocked DiLiegro’s shot with two seconds remaining in.

Socoby scored 21 points in the first half as Maine led by as many as 19 and took a 45-28 halftime lead.

New Hampshire stormed back in the second half with a 25-7 run and eventually gained a 53-52 lead on Gilchrese’s 3-pointer with 7:01 remaining.

UMaine committed 20 turnovers, which the Wildcats turned into 22 points.

BLACK BEARS 75, WILDCATS 72

Maine (7-16) UNH (7-16)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Bernal 3 8 2 4 8 DiLiegro 2 6

Owes 3 8 13 13 20 Gibbs 6 15 3 20

McNally 2 3 0 1 4 Gilchrese 6 12 2 2 16

Socoby 9 18 7 9 29 Abreu 3 13 10

Cook 0 2 0 0 0 Christnsn 2 9 11

Barnies 1 2 0 0 2 Valladars 1 2

Hanzlik 0 0 0 0 0 Tchatcha 1 2

Andre 4 5 2 2 10 Conley 1 8 5

Costigan 0 0 0 0 0

Peay 0 0 0 0 0

Bofia 1 6 0 0 2

Totals 23 52 24 29 75 Totals 22 68 18 23 72

Maine 45 60 75

New Hampshire 28 60 72

3-pt. goals – Maine (5-16): Bernal 0-2, Owes 1-2, Socoby 4-10, Tchekane Bofia 0-2; UNH (10-27): Gibbs 5-11, Gilchrese 2-4, Abreu 1-3, Christensen 1-5, Conley 1-4

Attendance: 1,261