BANGOR, Maine — Maine erased a 13-point second half deficit to force overtime and used an Andrew Fleming 3-pointer at the buzzer to sink the Columbia men's basketball team, 75-72, Thursday evening. Mike Smith led the Lions (4-11) with 20 points and Ike Nweke added 17 in the defeat.
 
With Columbia in front, 51-40, with 11:31 to go in regulation, Fleming caught fire and scored eight points during a four-minute stretch to make it a three-point contest at the 6:58 mark. The Lions restored a six-point advantage after Nweke converted on a pair from the foul line until Sergio El Darwich took over. El Darwich went to the rim and went on a personal 7-1 run, including a game-tying layup with 1.3 seconds remaining to help force the extra session.
 
El Darwich continued his hot-hand in overtime, draining a three and followed that up with another lay-in and free throw to give the Black Bears (4-10) a 71-68 cushion with 26 seconds to go. Luke Bolster answered with two free throws at the other end and Maine left the door open with some missed foul shots to keep it a one-possession game.
 
With time winding down, Nweke corralled an offensive rebound to knot things up at 72-72 with four seconds left. The Black Bears raced up the floor and the ball wound up in Fleming's hands around half court. Fleming worked his way to the top of the key and drained a shot from the top of the key with a hand in his face.
 
Neither team shot well in the first half with Maine knocking down 35.7 percent, compared to 26.9 for the Lions. However, Columbia was aggressive on offense, put the Black Bears in foul trouble early and knocked down 12-of-12 from the charity stripe to take control for much of the opening 20 minutes.
 
After falling behind, 9-3, the Lions ripped off a 12-2 run to go up by four after a pair of Asa Shannon free throws with 10:17 left in the period. Maine's Mykhailo Yagodin buried a triple to cut the Lions' lead to 19-17 at the 5:22 mark, but that would be as close as the Black Bears would get.
 
Nweke and Tai Bibbs combined to go 6-for-6 from the line and Mike Smith added an off-balance jumper to put Columbia in front, 27-20, with 2:32 before the break. Shannon knocked down his first career 3-pointer with 1:10 on the clock from the left wing to keep it a seven-point game before Maine trimmed its deficit to 30-26 at the half with a free throw and layup in the post.
 
Steals and easy buckets for Smith and Bibbs pushed the margin up to eight less than a minute into the second half. Columbia built the lead up to 13 only to see the Black Bears trim it to 47-40. Mike Smith big 4-point play restored a double-digit advantage, but the Lions could not put Maine away.
 
Fleming posted 26 points and 11 boards and Sergio El Darwich scored 24 to lead the Black Bears.
 
Columbia played without six student-athletes, including four rotation players, due to injury or illness.
 
The Lions close out non-conference play on Thursday, January 9, against Mount Saint Vincent for a 7 p.m. contest in Levien Gymnasium. Tickets are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. Fans who cannot make the contest, can watch the action live on ESPN+.

For the latest on the Columbia men's basketball, follow @CULionsMBB on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.