University of Maine
Boston College
Maine Men's Basketball in ESPN3 Matchup Against Boston College
12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
vs Boston College | Live Stats | Video (ESPN3) | Audio | Full Notes
SCOUTING MAINE
The University of Maine men's basketball team heads to Boston for the second game of the week, looking to upset, 4-3, Boston College. The Black Bears are coming off its first home loss of the season when team fell to LIU Brooklyn, 83-70 on Tuesday.
Shaun Lawton led the team with 16 points while Garet Beal had his best statistical game with 14 points and Zarko Valjarevic posted 12.
The game was decided in the second half as the Blackbirds hit 7-of-7 from beyond the arc and scored 53 second half points as Maine wasn't able to keep up, scoring just 36. Below are some notes about the Black Bears:
- Maine is averaging 65.0 points per game while opponents are scoring 82.1
- Black Bears are struggling from long range, registering 27 percent from beyond the arc.
- Maine's rebounding has improved but so has their opponents as the squad maintains a -6.2 margin (30.0-36.2).
- Maine is looking for its first win on the road this season after going 0-6 away from the Cross Insurance Center.
- Shaun Lawton currently leads the team in points per game with a 12.5 mark.
- Marko Pirovic continues to pace the Black Bears in rebounds with 5.3 boards per contest.
- Aaron Calixte, who is logging 29.8 minutes per game leads the team in assists as he is dishing out 3.6 helpers per game.
- While Maine doesn't record a ton of blocks, Till Gloger leads in that stat with four in eight games.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles enter this home contest with a 4-3 record and are looking to extend their win streak to three after knocking off Marist and Providence on Dec. 1 and 5, respectively.
In its last game Boston College defeated the Friars, 69-60 in front of a crowed of 6155 at the Conte Forum on Dec. 5.
This will be the second time that Boston College has played an America East foe as the squad handed New Hampshire a 65-60 loss to open the season on Nov. 14. Here are some notes on Boston College.
- The team is averaging 65.1 points per game and 63.1 points against through seven games this season.
- The squad is shooting 43 percent from the field but like Maine, a chilly .241 from beyond the arc.
- The Eagles are winning the battle of glass this season as the team is averaging 35.4 boards while opponents are taking down 31.0.
- BC does turn it over slightly more than their foes with a mark of 15.3 giveaways per game while opponents are averaging 14.7 per contest.
- Olivier Hanlen has been a bit of a Renaissance man as he leads the team in a number of categories including points per game 17.3, assists per game (3.9) and steals pre contest (2.6).
- Dennis Clifford leads in the other major categories as he takes down 5.6 rebounds per game and averages one block per game.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE
The Black Bears have been on the short end of the stick when it comes to the series history with Boston College. The Eagles hold a decided 15-5 record against the Black Bears. However the latest history went in Maine's favor as the team from Orono, Maine upset the BC Eagles, in 2009-10 with a 52-51 win at the Conte Forum. No current Black Bears have ever played against the Eagles.
MR. CONSISTENT
Shaun Lawton has proved to be a threat on both ends of the court but when looking at the stats he's also been incredibly consistent in a number of ways. First and foremost Lawton is the only Black Bear to play-in and start all eight contests this season. Lawton has also tallied double-figure points in four of the last five games and five of the eight games total this season. He is currently leading the team in points per game with a 12.5 mark.
LARCENY STREAK
Shaun Lawton has been a standout on the defensive end for the Black Bears during his career and he's on a streak that dates back to 2013-14. Lawton has tallied at least one steal in the last 13 games dating back to Feb. 8, 2014 against Binghamton. Along with his steals he's gone ten of his last 13 tallying at least one steal and double-digit points. Lawton has turned into that go-to player on either end, as he's averaged 2.2 steals per game and leads the team with 12.5 points per contest this season.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?
The Black Bears have proven through the first portion of the season that it isn't a selfish basketball team. The team is currently ranked 104th in the country in assists per game, tallying 14.1 per contest. That mark is currently first amongst its America East peers. The Black Bears were tops in assists last season too as the Black Bears are near its 2013-14 mark of 14.4 per game.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
Ever since returning from an early season injury, sophomore Garet Beal has looked more comfortable playing for the 2014-15 edition of the Black Bears. In his first season Beal averaged a modest 4.5 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game and 0.9 assists per contest. So far in his sophomore season, the Beal's Island native has nearly doubled those averages in the early going. Following a 14 point performance on Tuesday, which was his second-highest point production in his career, Beal now is averaging 8.8 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists. If Beal continues to improve he will play a big part in this team's success.
STEALING A MILESTONE
Shaun Lawton has made a career out of registering steals during his Maine career. Lawton recently eclipsed a major milestone, as he has gone over the 100 career steal mark. Lawton currently has 102 career steals and eclipsed the 100-steal plateau with a theft against Wagner. Lawton who just began his junior season, is averaging 2.2 steals per game and is ranked 49th in the nation in that respect. In his freshman year he tallied 28 steals and had a career-high 56 his sophomore year. A full junior year could place him in the top-10. 29 more steals would tie him for 10th in Black Bear history with Jeff Sturgeon (1980–84) who has 130 for his career. Marty Higgins holds the career record for career steals with 197 and had the highest per-game steal average in Maine history tallying 3.0 per contest in the 1991-92 season.
OVERTIME SUCCESS
The Black Bears recorded one of the most exciting wins in recent history last Tuesday when Zarko Valjarevic drained a buzzer-beater in overtime to lift Maine past Wagner 82-81. Since the 2011-12 season, the Black Bears have been pretty clutch in the extra frame as Maine has gone 4-1 in the last four seasons. Last season Maine upset Middle Tennessee in OT, 89-85 in the first game of the Dr. Pepper Classic. Then in 2011 the Black Bears defeated UMBC 77-76 at the RAC and tallied a big win over Rhode Island 76-74. Maine only loss in OT in the last four years came against Eastern Illinois, dropping the contest 85-80.
PIROVIC DOUBLES OVER
Second year forward Marko Pirovic is making great use of his playing time this season as he's started six-straight games and has averaged close to double-figures through those six games. Against Northern Illinois the Bolton, Ontario native did something that hadn't been done by a Black Bear returner since Feb. 15, 2014. Pirovic scored 10 points and notched 10 rebounds for the first Black Bears double-double since Ethan Mackey's 12 point/12 rebound performance against Albany. In that four-game stretch that he's started he's currently averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Maine Black Bears defensively recorded its best defensive game all season long and in some categories its best day in quite some time. The Black Bears limited the Northern Illinois Huskies to 30.8 percent from the field, which is the lowest the shooting percentage that Maine has allowed (whole game) since its win over Fisher last year. In that contest the Black Bears held the Fisher to 30.4 percent from the floor. What's even more impressive was how well the Black Bears defended in the first half of last game as the squad limited the Huskies to just five field goals in the first frame. That 17.9 shooting percentage is the lowest it's held any team in either half since Jan. 18, 2010. The squad limited UNH to the same total in the first half, as the Wildcats shot 5-of-28 for a 17.9 shooting percentage.
