PHOTO GALLERY

THE BASICS:

RESULT: Maine 105, Hartford 100
LOCATION: Chase Family Arena at Reich Family Pavilion
ATTENDANCE: 1,141
RECORDS: Hartford (7-15, 2-5 America East); Maine (7-13, 3-4)

THE LEAD:
Pancake Thomas starred again, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, but Maine made a strong comeback in overtime to erase a seven-point deficit and steal a road win over the Hartford men's basketball team, 105-100, on Wednesday.

Aaron Calixte led the Black Bears with 23, while Till Gloger added 22 and nine boards in the victory. Hartford saw four players reach double figures in scoring, with Evan Cooper chipping in 15, Taylor Dyson adding 11 and Jalen Ross posting 10. Thomas added a career-high six assists.

FIRST HALF:
The start of the first half was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading baskets in the opening few minutes. Hartford surged ahead to a 12-10 lead after back-to-back threes from Cooper. A backdoor cut to the rim by Jason Dunne off a sharp pass from Jack Hobbs put Hartford up 14-12 at the 13:43 mark. But every time Hartford scored, Maine answered right back with a basket of their own, and the Black Bears forced their way ahead to a 18-16 lead with 12:13 to play.

The teams went punch-for-punch to a 32-32 tie when Justin Graham hit a turnaround fade away jumper and got fouled. He converted the three-point play to give the Hawks a 35-32 lead. The play by Graham became part of a 10-2 run as Hartford started to create some separation, stretching the lead to 42-34. Maine did not go quietly, though, as the Black Bears stormed back with five quick points to close the gap to 42-39. After a layup by Dyson and a crafty three-point play at the rim by Ross, the Hawks took a 47-43 lead into the locker room.

SECOND HALF:
Both teams fell back into a similar trend from the first half, trading baskets to the tune of a 67-66 Hartford lead with 9:27 to play. After J.R. Lynch got to the line for two free throws, a smooth floater by Thomas created a little breathing room as Hartford pushed out to a 71-66 lead before Calixte of Maine sprinted down court and answered with a layup to bring the Black Bears back within three.

The Black Bears retook the lead for the first time since the 6:52 mark in the first half on free throws from Isaac Vann, which gave Maine a 74-73 lead with 5:26 to play. The Hawks grabbed the lead right back on two made bonus free throws from Ross, who then grabbed the defensive board on the other end and found Thomas on the outlet. Thomas drew a foul and hit both free throws to stretch the lead back to 77-74 for the Hawks.

A clutch three in the corner from Dyson surged Hartford back ahead 80-77, but Maine again punched back and earned four straight points to regain the lead 81-80 with under two minutes to play. Thomas stormed down the court off a missed jumper by Maine and drew a foul, leading to two huge free throws to put the Hawks up 84-83 with just under 34 seconds remaining. Maine answered with a made free throw to tie it, notching the game at 84 apiece. The Hawks had one final opportunity to win in regulation, but Dyson rimmed out a corner three to send the game into overtime.

OVERTIME:
Hartford surged to start overtime, after a Thomas three, a Ross jumper, and a Cooper three pushed the Hawks back up 95-88, their biggest lead of overtime. Maine turned up their defense to a full-court press, and the Hawks struggled to break through as Maine slowly shrunk the lead back down. The Black Bears pushed ahead 97-95 after a three by Kevin Little gave them their first advantage of overtime, and they did not look back. Maine closed out the game at the free-throw line to complete the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Thomas stuffed the stat sheet again for the Hawks, logging 29 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals, and a block. The junior has scored 67 combined points in his last two games.
• The 21 lead changes mark the most for the Hawks in a game this season. The previous high on the year was just 11.
• All 10 players who saw game action scored in the game, with nine of the 10 scoring at least four points. Maine led for just 9:17 of game time, with 1:56 of that coming in overtime to close out the battle. Hartford led for a total of 31:14, leading by as much as eight in the first half.

UP NEXT:
Hartford continues its three-game home stretch when it battles second-place Albany in a Saturday night matchup. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Tickets are available by calling 860-768-HAWK or visiting the Tickets page at HartfordHawks.com.