ORONO, Maine – The Maine Black Bears men's basketball team opens December and ends their road trip against the Fordham Rams on Saturday afternoon in the Big Apple. The game is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. at Rose Hill Gymnasium in The Bronx; the oldest on-campus venue currently used in Division I college basketball.  
LAST TIME OUT: The UMaine men's basketball team fought hard against BIG EAST foe Georgetown, but ultimately fell to the Hoyas, 76-55 on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. Aaron Calixte led the Black Bears offensively with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Calixte collected five rebounds, a steal, and only turned the ball over twice in 33 minutes played. Four of his six field goals came on layups, as the redshirt junior often converted contested drives to the hoop into points. He has tallied at least 17 points in each of his last four games, and reached double-figures in scoring in six of seven games this season.
 
THE SERIES: Saturday's matchup against the Rams will mark the third meeting all-time between the two programs, as both Maine and Fordham each hold a win. The Black Bears took the first meeting 76-73 at Rose Hill Gym on Nov. 13, 2009. Four of the five Maine starters registered double-figures in scoring In the 2009-10 season opener, led by Gerald McLemore's 26 points. McLemore converted seven of his 12 3-point attempts, while adding eight boards on the glass. Terrance Mitchell added 21 points, while Sean McNally (12 points) and Junior Bernal (10 points) also tallied at least 10 points. Maine shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field, including an even 50 percent (10-for-20) from 3-point land.
 
A LOOK AT FORDHAM: The Rams enter Saturday's contest against Maine with a 2-4 record, holding wins against LIU Brooklyn (81-68) and Manhattan College (70-57). Fordham fell in its last matchup to Eastern Tennessee State on Wednesday, 82-77 at Rose Hill Gym. Will Tavares scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field in 38 minutes against the Buccaneers. Tavares is the leading scorer for the Rams, with 17.5 points contest. The Rams' stout defense ranks third best in the nation in steals, averaging an impressive 12 takeaways per contest. 
 
CAPTIVATING CALIXTE: Over his last four games, Aaron Calixte has impressed, averaging a team-high 18.8 points per game. He has scored at least 17 points in every game, and ranks second best on the team in that span in rebounds (5.0) and assists (2.75). He has made exactly half the shots he attempted from the field (24-for-48). Calixte has also excelled from the charity-stripe in the last four games, sinking 20 free throws on 24 attempts (83 percent). In an NBA arena against Georgetown, the redshirt junior impressed with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Of the six field goals, four came on contested layups, as Calixte often slashed past the Hoya defenders toward the net. He has led the Black Bears in scoring in three of seven games this season.
 
VERSATILE VERNON: Following Vernon Lowndes Jr.'s record-breaking breakout game against Quinnipiac this past Sunday, Lowndes Jr. impressed in several other ways against Georgetown on Tuesday afternoon. While Lowndes Jr., tallied six points, with two points coming off an impressive up-and-under drive from the corner. He tallied two points following a steal by throwing down a dunk that got the Maine bench on its feet. Lowndes Jr. recorded three rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and an assist, while only turning the ball over twice in 29 minutes against the BIG EAST foe. ­

HELD THE HOYAS: In its­­ last game, Maine held the Hoyas below their average of 85 points per game, and were out-rebounded by just one (36-35). Georgetown held a rebound-margin of plus-14.5 entering the game. Maine also held Georgetown significantly below their 47.1 percent 3-point field goal percentage (22.8 percent, 4-for-18), as the Hoyas were ranked fourth in the country in the category before today's game. Maine held advantages in blocks (5-4), offensive rebounds (14-13), and bench points (32-19).

WALSH HITS THE CENTURY MARK: Bob Walsh will coach his 100^th game as the head coach of the Black Bears on Saturday against Fordham.
 
ROAD TRIPPIN': The Black Bears bussed approximately 368 miles from Orono to Hamden, Conn. this past weekend, before heading to our nation's capital (approx. 311 miles) following the 78-72 win over Quinnipiac. The team flew back to Bangor following the trip to Georgetown on Wednesday, and embarked to Fordham on Friday on an approximately 437-mile bus ride to New York City. In total, Maine will have traveled over 1,500 miles by bus when they return home from the Big Apple.
 
UP NEXT: Maine returns to the Cross Insurance Center to play UMaine system school, University of Maine at Presque Isle next Tuesday in game two of the double-header. The matchup between the Black Bears and Owls will follow game one between UMaine women's basketball and Maine Maritime Academy, which tips off at 5:00 p.m. For tickets, please visit the Cross Insurance Center box office, buy online at TicketMaster.com ­or purchase by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
 
For more information on the Meet the Black Bears event in between the women's and men's games, click here.
 
-UMaine-