The University of Maine men's basketball team celebrates after beating UMass Lowell, 72-64, in an America East quarterfinal on Saturday in Orono. The Black Bears advance to face No. 2 Vermont in the semifinals. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

ORONO — One dubious streak ended for the University of Maine men’s basketball team at the opening tip. Approximately 1 hour and 49 minutes later, the Black Bears ended another one.

Maine beat UMass Lowell 72-64 on Saturday for its first victory in the America East tournament in 21 years. The Black Bears hosted a conference tournament game for the first time in 30 years after earning the No. 3 seed in the regular season.

“Honestly, we’re not really talking about the historic side of it. We’re just locked into what we’re doing right now. I think all that will come after the season,” said Maine coach Chris Markwood, a South Portland High graduate who was a member of the team that last won a playoff game, in 2004. “I know it’s a big deal. I know it’s been a long time. I was part of the team that won the last one. I know how long it’s been.”

Maine (19-13) will play Vermont, the No. 2 seed, in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The 1,282 fans in the The Pit were boisterous throughout. Members of the Maine football team sat in the first rows of the student section and began heckling UMass Lowell players in warmups. Lowell’s Cam Morris III complained to the officials about their antics when he went to the free-throw line barely five minutes into the game. The officials shrugged, as if to say “What do you want us to do?” Morris missed both shots.

“I think across the league … the only environment like this is Vermont. This environment isn’t here during the year, it’s in the playoffs,” UMass Lowell coach Pat Duquette said. “When it’s that loud, it’s probably worth eight to 10 points, and that’s what they beat us by.”

Maine guard Kellen Tynes, named America East Defensive Player of the Year on Friday for the third consecutive season, called it the loudest he’s seen the Pit in his three seasons with the Black Bears.

“The football team, they’ve given us a boost all year, and everyone else who was there. They definitely gave us a boost,” Tynes said.

Maine beat the River Hawks twice in the regular season, each time by a single point. This time, the Black Bears got a balanced attack, with four players scoring in double figures. Tynes, led the Black Bears with 20 points. Holding the River Hawks, who averaged 80 points per game in the regular season, to 64 was the result of strong team defense, Markwood said.

The Lowell duo of Max Brooks (25 points) and Quinton Mincey (23 points) accounted for 48 of the River Hawks’ 64 points. Maine knew that pair would score. The key was contesting 3-point shots, and Maine held the River Hawks to 3-for-14 shooting behind the arc.

“We want to be one of the best defensive teams, not just in the conference, but in the country,” said Jaden Clayton, who like Tynes had three steals. “Honestly, this is just one step on the road for us. You celebrate in the moment, but we’re ready to go on to the next thing, and that’s Vermont.”

Tynes hit a short jumper with 4:39 to play, giving Maine a 66-53 lead, its largest of the game. The River Hawks then made their final run, scoring nine straight points to cut their deficit to 66-62 with 1:32 to play on an Anthony Blunt basket.

Clayton came off a Killian Gribben screen for a layup to push Maine’s lead to 68-62 with 1:05 left. Following a Clayton steal, Gribben’s dunk with 41 seconds remaining was the exclamation point for Maine’s win.

Maine led 34-29 at halftime on the strength of a strong final 10 minutes. UMass Lowell was No. 1 in the conference in field-goal percentage in the regular season, connecting on 49.6% of its shots. The River Hawks began Saturday’s game even better, making seven of their first 11 shots (63.6%) while leading by as many as seven points. Midway through the first half, though, the Black Bears found their shooting touch and outscored UMass Lowell 21-12 over the next 10 minutes, including an 8-0 run. Maine took the lead for good, 20-19, on a Clayton layup with 7:58 left in the first half.

“They do a good job of jamming us off cuts, being physical. In the timeouts, we were just talking about making sure we were getting open, cutting hard,” Tynes said. “As the game went on, we settled in offensively and defensively. We kind of got used to the physicality, and we kind of matched it.”

AJ Lopez and Clayton each had 16 points for the Black Bears, while Quion Burns added 11. The Black Bears shot 52.7% from the floor (29 for 55), while Lowell shot 51.9% (27 for 52).

“Our strength lies in the depth that we have. It could be a different guy every night,” Markwood said. “I think when we’re clicking and we’re playing some of our best basketball, we’re hitting from different angles with different guys. That’s what we’ve got to continue to do.”