TOWSON, Md. – John Giannini said his team had every reason not to defeat the Towson Tigers on Thursday night.

“This is the kind of game that puts you in position for a great season,” Giannini said after his University of Maine squad had edged Towson 68-67 at Towson Center.

“We traveled 14 hours yesterday and did not practice. We played in front of a crowd of about 150 people. We played a team that is very hard-nosed and has been playing well.”

To top it all off, UMaine had never won at Towson Center.

But in the end, the Bears found an answer.

Nate Fox chased down the rebound of Julian Dunkley’s 3-point attempt, drew a foul, and made both free throws with 5.6 seconds left and UMaine escaped with the win.

The Black Bears improved to 15-5, 7-2 in America East, while the Tigers, which entered the game in fourth place in the league, dropped to 9-9, 5-5.

Damon Cason missed an off-balance 20-footer as time expired for the Tigers.

Fox scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Black Bears. He made 10 of 14 shots from the floor and made three of four 3-pointers.

Julian Dunkley added 13 points for the Bears and Huggy Dye and Carvell Ammons had 10 each. Andy Bedard shot the ball only twice against a defense that Giannini said conceded the 3-pointer to him. He finished with eight assists.

Brian Barber scored 18 points for the Tigers. Raul dePablo added 12 and Damon Cason notched 11.

Black Bears 68, Tigers 67

Maine men (15-5) Towson (9-9)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Dunkley 5 12 2 2 13 Barber 7 10 4 4 18

Fox 10 14 5 6 28 Davalli 1 3 2 2 4

Bedard 0 2 2 2 2 Shin 4 8 0 0 8

Haynes 0 2 0 0 0 Weathersp’n 1 5 0 0 2

Dye 4 11 1 1 10 Cason 4 12 0 0 11

Thibodeau 0 0 0 0 0 Ragin 1 2 0 0 2

Jackson 2 4 0 0 5 Allen 0 0 0 0 0

Ammons 4 7 2 4 10 dePablo 4 10 2 2 12

Holtz 2 6 3 4 8

Augustus 0 2 2 2 2

Totals 25 52 12 15 68 Totals 24 58 13 14 67

Maine 31 68

Towson 31 67

3-pt. goals: Maine (6-20): Dunkley 1-6, Fox 3-4, Bedard 0-1, Haynes 0-2, Dye 1-4, Jackson 1-3; Towson (6-20): Davalli 0-1, Weatherspoon 0-2, Cason 3-7, Ragin 0-1, dePablo 2-6, Holtz 1-3

Attendance: 513