Balanced Offense, Stifling Defense Propel UNH Past Maine, 65-48

Monday, January 19

Orono, Maine

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

5-12,1-3America East

Maine

3-17,1-4America East

New Hampshire

Maine

Photo by: Maya Grainger

Balanced Offense, Stifling Defense Propel UNH Past Maine, 65-48

1/19/2026 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ORONO, Maine – Junior forward Belal El Shakery (Alexandria, Egypt) led four Wildcats in double digits with 11 points as a balanced offense and stifling defense led the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team to Monday afternoon's 65-48 win against the University of Maine at Memorial Gymnasium.

Sophomore forward John Squire (Sausalito, Calif.) finished with 10 points and game-high eight rebounds. Junior forward Davide Poser (Veneto, Italy) and freshman guard Tyler Bike (Merrimack, N.H.) both recorded 10 points and four rebounds. El Shakery pulled down seven boards.

Maine's top scorer was Keelan Steele with nine points.

UNH won the Buffalo Wild Wings Border Battle to improve to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in America East while Maine is now 3-17, 1-4.

UP NEXT

UNH returns to action Jan. 22 (6pm) against Binghamton University. Fans with tickets to the game are invited to attend the 5pm Pregame Chalk Talk with head coach Nathan Davis.
The Wildcats are also home Jan. 24 (2pm) vs. UAlbany. There is a Trading Card Giveaway and Postgame Autographs with the 'Cats.
CLICK HERE to buy tickets online – and upgrade to the Lundholm Loft for elevated drinks and eats in elevated seats – at unhwildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000.

FIRST HALF

Poser scored UNH's first five points on a layup and 3-pointer to give the Wildcats an early 5-2 lead.
A steal and layup by Jack Graham (Smithfield, R.I.) ignited a 9-0 run capped by a Giannos Xanthopoulos (Zografou, Greece) 3-pointer that gave UNH a 19-8 lead at 12:29.
Squire made back-to-back layups to push the advantage to 15 points, 25-10, at 9:19.
KiJan Robinson (Apopka, Fla.) threaded the needle with a bounce pass between a pair of defenders to find Comeh Emuobor (Raleigh, N.C.) alone at the rim for a dunk and 27-10 lead at 7:37.
Maine trimmed the deficit to 11 points, 30-19, before El Shakery's layup and two free throws by Graham gave the 'Cats a 34-19 edge at 1:54.
The Black Bears hit two foul shots with five seconds on the clock to send UNH into the locker room with a 34-21 lead.

SECOND HALF

El Shakery made a free throw and layup to push the margin to 16 points, 37-21, at 18:10.
Maine pulled within 11 points, 41-30, at 14:36Bike and Emuobor made consecutive baskets as 13:26 and 12:35 to push the margin to 45-30.
UNH went on a 7-0 run, fueled by Bike's five points and an assist, to establish a 20-point advantage, 52-32, midway through the second half.
Maine narrowed the margin to 13 points, 56-43, at 4:50.
With the shot clock winding down, Bike hit a step-back 3-pointer from the top-right side to quell the comeback effort and give the 'Cats a 59-43 lead with 4:19 on the clock.
The Black Bears trimmed the deficit to 12 points, 60-48, at 2:16 but Poser answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner to advance the score to 63-48 at 1:47.

Squire's layup with 61 seconds remaining capped the scoring.

UNH NOTEBOOK

Bike scored a career-high 10 points in his second career start. His four rebounds, four assists and two steals also matched personal bests.
Graham matched his career high of three steals.

GAME NOTEBOOK

UNH never trailed in the game and led the rest of the way after taking a 5-2 lead at 18:24.
New Hampshire had the edge in points off turnovers (11-7), points in the paint (36-22), second-chance points (8-2) and fastbreak points (6-2).
The Wildcats recorded a 39-25 rebounding advantage and limited Maine to one offensive rebound.
UNH built a 34-21 halftime lead on the strength of shooting 43.3 percent from the floor while holding Maine to 28.0 percent.