ORONO, Maine – Facing a seven-point deficit with 1:47 left in regulation, the Boston University men's basketball team scored the game's final 10 points to claim a thrilling 59-56 come-from-behind victory at Maine Sunday afternoon.

Down by as many as 11 late in the first half, the Terriers (6-7) shot 59.1 FG% during the final 20 minutes of action and held Maine (8-7) to 34.6 FG% to snap the Black Bears' seven-game home win streak. Maine entered the contest averaging 17.2 points per game off turnovers but only managed nine against BU, who posted a 40-25 advantage in rebounds to help end the game more than tripling the Black Bears in second-chance opportunities, 14-4.

Sophomores Michael McNair (16 pts.) and Kyrone Alexander (13 pts.) finished as the only Terriers to score in double figures at a combined 29 points with the help of five total 3-pointers alongside 11 rebounds and five assists. Giving BU the lead for good with only 20 seconds remaining, senior Malcolm Chimezie nearly had a double-double at eight points and seven rebounds, while junior Otto Landrum hauled in a game-high eight boards.

Kellen Tynes scored a game-high 17 points for the Black Bears alongside four assists and three steals, while Christopher Mantis had 12 points off four buckets from behind the arc. Maine entered the contest shooting over 50 FG% in each of its first three home games but BU's strong defensive effort held the Black Bears to only 37.5 FG% for its third win of the season against the America East.

DOWN THE STRETCH

• After Landrum hit a free throw to cut Maine's lead to 50-49 at 4:19t, the Black Bears converted on a 3-point play and also scored from behind the arc to move ahead, 56-49, with 2:10 left.
• Alexander and McNair ignited the rally on back-to-back 3-pointers to pull within one at 1:08.
• After the Black Bears missed a 1-and-1 at the charity stripe with 36 seconds remaining in regulation, Alexander fed Chimezie for the go-ahead layup at 20 seconds.
• Maine called a timeout and drained the clock before Mantis missed a contested jumper, as the ball went out of bounds to give BU possession with 3.7 seconds remaining.
• Fouled while receiving the in-bounds pass, senior Ben Palacios hit both free throw attempts, and then McNair intercepted Mantis' desperate in-bounds heave toward mid-court to seal the victory.

THE SETUP

• After McNair opened the contest with a 3-pointer and retook the lead on a layup, 5-4, at 16:41, the Black Bears went on a 8-1 spurt capped by Matnis' 3-pointer at 13:34.
• BU chipped away to tie the game four minutes later off McNair's pair of free throws.
• Freshman Ben Defty kept the game tied, 16-16, on a short jumper at 4:59, but Mantis netted a 3-pointer to both start and end an 11-0 run with 24 seconds left in the first half.
• Freshman Azmar Abdullah though scored from behind the arc before the buzzer to cut the Black Bears' lead to 27-19 entering the locker room.
• Burns started the second half on a 3-pointer for what would prove to be Maine's last double-digit lead of the game, as McNair followed Brewster's layup with a 3-pointer to pull within six, 30-24, at 17:05.
• Palacios responded to Tynes' layup with a 3-pointer to pull within two (34-32) four minutes later, and Alexander put the deficit at 35-34 on a slam dunk at 12:03.
• The teams traded blows over the next seven minutes with Chimezie grabbing BU's first lead of the second half by feeding McNair for a layup with the bonus free throw and then scoring on McNair's assist on a layup for the 47-46 advantage at 5:36.
• After Maine retook the lead on a pair of free throws, BU went 1-of-2 to tie the game, 48-48, at 4:54.
• The Black Bears then followed with an 8-1 run capped by Matnis' fourth and final trey with 2:10 left in regulation.

GAME NOTES

• McNair led BU in scoring for the second time this season after accomplishing the feat once last year as a freshman.
• After missing the first eight games due to injury, Landrum led BU in rebounds for the first time this season.
• Six Terriers had at least two assists apiece with McNair leading the away at three helpers.
• BU shot 5-for-10 in 3-point territory during the second half after hitting just two treys off 11 attempts in the first half.
• BU earned its third win of the year when trailing with five minutes remaining in regulation through 13 contests after only accomplishing the feat twice all of last season.
• The Terriers avenged last year's 74-65 home loss to Maine to improve to 62-42 all-time in the series that dates back to 1902-03.

UP NEXT

• BU will open 2025 and Patriot League play at Lafayette on Thursday (Jan. 2) at 7 p.m.
• The Terriers are 7-3 over the last 10 meetings after both road teams won last season for the split.