ORONO, Maine – The UMaine men's basketball team hosts former conference-foe Boston University in the Black Bears' home-opener on Wednesday afternoon in a Thanksgiving-eve matinee at the Cross Insurance Center. The opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m. in Bangor. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Black Bears will meet the Terriers for the 103^rd time on Wednesday, in one of Maine's oldest rivalries. The Terriers hold the edge in the series by a 61-40 count, with the teams first playing in the 1902-1903 season.
 
A LOOK AT BU: The Terriers enter Wednesday's matchup with an 0-3 record, falling to UConn 85-66 this past Sunday. BU fell to Northeastern in the season opener (65-59) and dropped their second game to UAlbany (88-74) with both games taking place at Case Gym. As a team, the Terriers are shooting 41 percent on field goals, while converting 32.4 percent of 3-point plays. As a whole, BU is struggling from the charity-stripe, only sinking 26 of 48 (54.2 percent) attempts this season. Senior Nick Havener does it all for the Terriers, leading the team in scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (5.7 rpg), and blocks (2.3 bpg). In his last game against the Huskies, the Sarasota, Fla. native recorded a double-double performance with 16 points (7-11 FG), 10 rebounds, while adding three assists and just one turnover in 25 minutes played. He's very efficient with the field, shooting 19-28 from the field (67.9 percent). Cedric Hankerson, a fellow Sunshine state product, is also averaging double-figures in scoring (12.7 ppg) for the Terriers, dropping 20 points against UConn, while shooting an efficient 5-11 from distance.

LAST TIME OUT: In the Springfield Bracket's consolation game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, the Maine Black Bears put together their best overall performance to date, but ultimately fell to Sacred Heart 69-68 in overtime, on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. Ilker Er and Ilija Stojiljkovic recorded their first career double-doubles in the loss. The Black Bears (0-4) and Pioneers (1-3) opened Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament play on Sunday, and did not disappoint, battling the entire contest. The two teams changed leads a total of 26 times, along with 10 tied scores. Maine and Sacred Heart both scored an even 35 points in the first half, and 24 in the second half, but the Pioneers earned 10 points to the Black Bears' nine in the overtime period to earn the win. Neither team established a lead of more than six points during the full 45 minutes of game play.
 
ILKER THE INCREDIBLE: Against Sacred Heart this past Sunday at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, Ilker Er registered a team-high 20 points, tying his career-high in scoring, while also bringing down a career-high 10 rebounds. Er's career-day resulted in his first career double-double as a Black Bear, and he landed a spot on the Springfield Bracket All-Tournament Team for his performance.
 
CALIXTE'S RESURGENCE: Aaron Calixte has reestablished himself as a reliable scoring threat for the Black Bears this season, after missing the majority of the 2016-17 season due to injury. This past weekend at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, Calixte averaged 15.5 points per game, putting up 13 against South Alabama, while recording a season-high 18 points against Sacred Heart on Sunday. The redshirt-junior shot 46 percent at Mohegan Sun Arena (13-28) for a total of 31 points.
 
EFFICENT Ilija: Through four games, Ilija Stojiljkovic is shooting an outstanding 82.4 percent from the field (14-17), which includes a perfect 12-12 of field goal attempts from inside the three-point line.  Stojiljkovic recorded his first career-double in Maine's last game against Sacred Heart by tallying 10 points and eight boards. Ilija is averaging 8.8 points per game, while averaging team-highs in rebounds (7.0 rpg), steals (4), and blocks (2).

HOME OPENERS: Bob Walsh has a career head coaching record of 9-3 in home openers, going a perfect 3-0 in home openers during his tenure as head coach of the Black Bears. He holds home-opening wins wins over UMPI (2016, 96-45), Longwood (2015, 92-82), and Wagner (2014, 82-81 OT) at Maine. At Rhode Island College, Walsh guided the Anchormen to a 6-3 record in home openers during his nine seasons as head coach. Maine has not lost a regular season home-opening game in the last four seasons, last falling in a home-opener on November 17, 2012, when the Black Bears dropped a 70-68 matchup to the Brown Bears at Alfond Arena.
 
UP NEXT:  Following the home opener against the Terriers, Maine starts a three-game road trip beginning with a trip to Connecticut to face Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon. Tip-Off is set for 2:00 p.m. at TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden.

-UMaine-