UNH versus Maine. White out Lundholm Gymnasium. A stunning come-from-behind victory. UNH fans couldn't have asked for anything better.
Thursday's men's basketball game was everything that a UNH and Maine rivalry should be: a thrilling, down-to-the-wire finish that ended with the Wildcats on top, 63-54.
The win moves UNH's conference record to 6-7, and their overall to 11-14, while Maine drops to 9-17 (4-9).
Sophomore center Dane DiLiegro contributed 21 points and 12 rebounds in his best offensive performance of the season. Sophomore guard Alvin Abreu added 13 in the win, and senior guard Tyrece Gibbs had 11. The Wildcats can place their win largely on a 16-0 run midway through the second half.
"When you go on a run like that I think they biggest key is your defensive intensity," UNH head coach Bill Herrion said. "We had about five or six steals, and I think that just sort of ignited things. It's a really big win for us."
Maine jumped out to an early lead, but it was quickly erased as Abreu buried a jumper from just inside the three-point arc. The next offensive series for UNH gave them some momentum, as junior forward Radar Onguetou found DiLiegro wide open on the low block, who threw down a big two-handed dunk. A Maine offensive foul on the other end led to another high percentage shot from DiLiegro, giving the Wildcats some breathing room.
For the rest of the first half, both sides traded baskets until the halfway buzzer sounded. UNH had the slight advantage, up 32-29.
Maine came out of the locker room ready to show that they didn't need double overtime again in order to win, as they did in the pair's last meeting on Jan. 19. Early in the half, the Black Bears went on a 10-0 run that put them up, 48-38.
"I told the guys during a timeout that we were playing tight on offense, and that we just needed to loosen up a little bit," Herrion said. "It was the same way up in Orono. We thought we had it won but they came back and sent it to overtime late."
That's when UNH turned it on offensively. With the help of a large, supportive crowd, the 10-point Maine lead soon dissolved and turned in the Wildcats favor.
The lead swing started with sophomore forward Rony Tchatchoua's offensive rebound and put-back. Within just seconds, it was Tchatchoua again, this time drawing a foul and going to the free-throw line for two. The drive later continued with Gibbs and Abreu each getting fast-break lay-ups, and the lead finally swayed over to UNH when DiLiegro hit a reverse lay-up. The crowd erupted as soon as the lead changed.
"Rony gave us great minutes off the bench," Herrion said. "It was great to get a win in front of that crowd, too. It's great for the building and support of this program."
By the time the UNH bombardment ended, the Wildcats had grabbed a six-point lead, which held for the final five minutes of the game. After back-and-forth baskets, and another big DiLiegro jam to cap it off, the Wildcats walked away from the contest with the big conference win.
"We were all really feeding off of the crowd tonight," DiLiegro said. "When we got that run going we could tell that the other team was feeling it, we knew we were feeling it, and the crowd was feeling it. That kind of energy just really gets you going."
DiLiegro also had one of his several dunks featured on SportCenter's Top 10 Plays.
"The guards deserve most of the credit, I just stood on the low block until they found me," said DiLiegro. "They did a great job driving the lane tonight."
The next contest for the Wildcats is Sunday against conference powerhouse Binghamton. Game time is scheduled for 2 pm.
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