ORONO – Justin Edwards amassed 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to lead Maine to an 84-78 victory against Florida Gulf Coast in a men’s basketball game Saturday.

Alasdair Fraser chipped in 21 points and seven rebounds, and Jon Mesghna had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Black Bears (4-8), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

With Maine holding onto a 71-69 lead with 2:44 left, Edwards made a layup and then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to seven points.

The Eagles (8-5) cut the deficit to four points two times in the final 48 seconds before Edwards put the game out of reach with a dunk with 30 seconds remaining.

Sherwood Brown scored 17 points for the Eagles, who had won six of eight and went into the game ranked 35th in the country in RPI. Brett Comer had 14 points and eight assists, and Eric McKnight added 12 points.

The Black Bears went into halftime with a 37-27 lead after a closing with a 6-0 run.

Florida Gulf Coast opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take a 38-37 lead. But Maine regained the lead on a jumper by Edwards and never trailed again.

Maine shot 50.9 percent from the field (28 of 55), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (6 of 14) and 81.5 percent from the line (22 of 27). The Eagles shot 40.5 percent from the field (30 of 74), 20.7 percent on 3-pointers (6 of 29) and 57.1 percent from the line (12 of 21).

 

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