ORONO, Maine -- The Black Bears continue their season long six-game road trip on Wednesday, taking on Central Connecticut State at Detrick Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Blue Devils is set for 7:00 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
THE SERIES: The Black Bears and Blue Devils will meet for the 15th time on Wednesday, with Maine owning the series by a count of 10-4. While Maine has dominated the series, Central Connecticut State won last year's meeting by a score of 82-61 at the Cross Insurance Center on Nov. 30, 2016.
LAST TIME OUT: Trailing by just seven points with six minutes to go, the Maine Black Bears men's basketball team fought hard, but ultimately could not complete the comeback, falling to Saint Joseph's 72-59 at Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon. Isaiah White registered a game-high 21 points, including 14 in the first half alone to lead Maine in scoring.
A LOOK AT CCSU: The Blue Devils enter Sunday's contest with a 5-6 record, but have suffered losses in their last three games to DePaul (85-57) on Dec. 6, Northern Illinois (61-55) on Dec. 9, and Boston College (84-65) in their last game on Dec. 17. Prior to the three game skid, Central Connecticut State reeled off five consecutive wins after starting the season at 0-3. Three Blue Devils average double-figures in scoring, led by their do-it-all forward Tyler Kohl. Kohl, a junior from Allentown, Pa. leads the Blue Devils in points (14.3 ppg) rebounds (7.9 rpg), assists (4.2 per game), steals (1.4 per game), along with shooting 81 percent from the charity stripe. With 7.9 boards per game, Kohl ranks 50
th nationally in the category.
WHITE HOT: In his first start since getting injured in the season opener at Boston College, Isaiah White went on fire from the field after missing his first jumper, nailing three consecutive 3-pointers and a layup to record Maine's first 11 points against Saint Joseph's on Sunday. The redshirt sophomore drained his next 3-point attempt later in the first half, as the he registered a total of 14 points in the first 12 minutes in the first half. White finished with a season and game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, along with a tallying a block and a steal against the Hawks.
THE CONSTITUTION STATE: The Black Bears are very familiar with playing in Connecticut, with Wednesday's game marking the fourth time in 13 total games this season that Maine is playing in the Constitution State. Maine played two games in neutral-site action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville against South Alabama (L, 68-48) on Nov. 18 and Sacred Heart (L, 69-68 OT) on Nov. 19. On Nov. 26, the Black Bears earned their first road win of the season, taking down Quinnipiac 78-72 on Nov. 26 in Hamden. In three games so far this season,
Aaron Calixte is averaging a team-high 16.3 points in the state, while
Ilker Er (12.3) and Vernon Lowndes Jr. (10.0) are both averaging double-figures in scoring in the state. Lowndes Jr. put together a record-breaking performance in Maine's victory over Quinnipiac going 7-for-7 from the floor and school record 5-for-5 from 3-point range. In comparison, the Black Bears have played four games in the state of Maine through 12 games this season.
RECORD WATCH: Aaron Calixte continued his impressive stretch of consecutive free throws made, extending his streak to 26 straight after drilling both of his attempts last Sunday. The redshirt junior needs just seven more to break Skip Chappelle's record of 32 consecutive in the 1960-61 season. Calixte last missed a free throw on his first attempt against Quinnipiac on Nov. 26.
UP NEXT: After the matchup with the Blue Devils, Maine heads north to Amherst, Mass. to play former Yankee conference foe UMass on Friday. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
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