HARTFORD, Conn. – Three points.

That’s what ultimately separated the University of Maine from another day of basketball.

A clutch-shooting, sixth-seeded University of Hartford upset the No. 3 Black Bears 66-63 in the America East quarterfinals Saturday night, ending Maine’s season at 15-15.

The loss played out in the game’s final minute as Maciel Genesis hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to play that put the Hawks up by four, 66-62.

“It’s a shame someone had to lose that game. Certainly it’s a shame it’s us,” said Maine Coach Ted Woodward. “We fought all the way through and unfortunately came up a point or two short in that last minute.

“Hartford has so many guys out there that can stretch you out, and tonight was (Genesis’) night.”

Maine’s Raheem Singleton hit 1 of 2 from the free throw line to make it 66-63, but in a frantic attempt to get an open shot on the next possession, Maine was forced to take a timeout.

Gerald McLemore missed on a 3-point attempt with five seconds left.

Terrance Mitchell fouled out, sending Hartford’s Joe Zeglinski to the line on the inbounds pass. Zeglinski missed, giving Maine one more attempt.

Senior Sean McNally rebounded the ball with 2.2 seconds left, hurled it up to Singleton, who turned to square for a 3-point attempt just as the buzzer sounded and Hartford’s fans flooded the court.

The win completed a three-game sweep of Maine this year for Hartford, which hit a remarkable 60 percent of its shots in the second half. The Hawks got a career high 19 points from Genesis, who hit 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“We know he can shoot it. That’s a tough shot,” said McLemore. “And he made it. Got to tip your hat to them.”

Maine had its hands full defensively trying to contain forward Anthony Minor, who scored 14, most of them in the paint. If it wasn’t Minor inside, the ball was being shot cleanly from the hand of Genesis.

Still, Maine was very much in position to win. The lead changed hands five times during the game.

“Going into the last minute of the game and being down by who knows how much we were, you second-guess yourself,” said Maine forward Troy Barnies. “Your (season) flashes before your eyes. Are you going to lose this game, are you going to be done?”

Maine was up by as many as nine points in the first half, but held just a slim lead at intermission, 32-31.

Minor was finding the open shot inside — scoring 10 by the break. He and the Hawks’ defense — which accounted for seven steals in the first half — were Maine’s biggest concern by that point.

Early in the second half, the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to take a 47-40 lead with 13:27 to play and it was clear the offense would be Maine’s concern in the second half.

Maine closed the gap and trailed to one point with 57 seconds to play following a pair of free throws from Mitchell.

Maine hit 52 percent of its shots, rebounded fairly evenly with Hartford (27-26) but did struggle at the line going, just 10 of 17, including a costly string of missed attempts late.

The season, which started with a winning streak that had Maine in first place in the league at one point, ended without a postseason win for a crew of four seniors — Barnies, McNally, Mitchell and Malachi Peay.

“They are going to be a tough loss,” Woodward said. “They really put our program in a position to be in the top three, and their influence will stay behind for all of our guys. No question.”

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at:

jmenendez@pressherald.com