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| Photo, Recap Courtesy Of UMaine |
Lowndes Jr. finished with 20 points, a game-high nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 25 minutes played. The Charleston, S.C. product broke the Maine school-record for 3-point field goal percentage in a single game, that was held by four different Black Bears.
The record was most recently set by Fred Meeks in a game against Hampton on November 14, 1998 who shot 4-of-4 from 3-point range. The transfer from USC Salkehatchie entered today's game only playing a combined 15 minutes in three games this season.
Head coach Bob Walsh was impressed by what he saw from Lowndes Jr. today.
"Vernon was terrific," said Walsh. "He brings an athleticism and an energy that can really boost us when he is on. He struggled to get comfortable here so far. I haven't done a good enough job of finding the right buttons to push to get the most out of him. To come off of a game that he didn't play, and be ready to go and help us like that, says a lot about his character. He's talented, he can score, he can rebound, and hopefully we can get him to the point where he's consistent and he can help us every night."
Lowndes Jr. gave credit to his teammates and coaches following the win.
"The coaches got us riled up before game," said Lowndes Jr. "We have struggled in the early part of the season. We wanted to come out today with fire and carry over what we do in practice to the game. We brought that fire today and fed off of each other."
The Black Bears (1-5) shot 52.9 percent (27-for-51) from the field against Quinnipiac (1-5). Coming into today's game, the Black Bears' previous season-high from the field was 38.3 percent (23-for-60) against Boston University last Wednesday.
Maine's defense held the Bobcats to shoot 35.5 percent (22-for-62) from the field. The Black Bears drained 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, while only allowing the Bobcats to muster 30.3 percent (10-for-33) from long-range.
Aaron Calixte finished with 18 total points, with 11 coming in the final 20 minutes. The redshirt-junior came up clutch late in the game, draining six free throws on six attempts in the final minute of the second half. He finished the contest sinking 8-of-9 shots from the charity-stripe.
Danny Evans and Ilker Er also reached double-figures in scoring, adding 10-points apiece.
Maine never trailed, starting the game on a 26-7 run. The Black Bears kept the pressure offensively and defensively, increasing its lead to as high as 46-20 with 44 seconds left in the half.
The Black Bear offense was on fire in the first 20 minutes, shooting 10-14 (71.4 percent) from 3-point range, while nailing 18-of-28 shots from the field (64.3 percent). On the 18 field goals made in the first 20 minutes, 14 of them were assisted. An even seven Black Bears registered a 3-pointer and an assist in the first half.
While the offense put up impressive statistics, the defense was just as impactful. The Black Bears held the Bobcats to just 7-for-23 shooting (30.4 percent), and recorded five steals to take a 46-23 advantage into halftime. Maine only allowed three field goals on Quinnipiac's first 21 possessions.
After halftime, Quinnipiac outscored Maine 49-32 in the second half, and cut Maine's deficit to just five with 36 seconds remaining, but Calixte converted his final two free throw attempts of the game to seal Maine's 78-72 victory over the Bobcats.
Chaise Daniels led the Bobcats with a game-high 24 points, while Andrew Robinson added 17.
Maine entered the game struggling from distance, shooting 24 percent from 3-point range in five games this season. After today's game, it jumped over six percent to 30 percent.
Including Lowndes Jr.'s 20 points, Maine held the advantage in bench points over Quinnipiac by a 38-24 margin.
The Black Bears will continue their road trip this Tuesday, when Maine battles BIG EAST foe Georgetown at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted nationally on Fox Sports 1 from Capital One Arena.
-UMaine-
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