ORONO, Maine -- The UMaine men's basketball team opens the America East slate with a trip to Long Island to play Stony Brook on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
LAST TIME OUT: In Maine's final game of 2017, the Black Bears finished the contest on a 19-2 run, but fell to Columbia 83-71 at Levien Gymnasium.
Aaron Calixte poured in a game-high 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-6 3PT), including 13 points in the second half alone to lead the Black Bears.
THE SERIES: Stony Brook leads the all-time series 22-14, earning wins in each of the last 14 meetings. Last season Maine nearly knocked off Stony Brook on Long Island, falling 67-66 at ICFU Arena. The Black Bears last defeated the Seawolves on Jan. 22, 2011 in a 70-59 victory at Alfond Arena. Maine started the game on fire, taking an early 25-6 lead halfway through the first half. In the second half, Stony Brook chipped away at the lead, but could not complete the comeback. Four Black Bears reached double-figures in scoring, led by 17 points from Troy Barnies.
A LOOK AT STONY BROOK: The Seawolves enter Wednesday's conference opener with a 5-9 record, falling to Norfolk State in their final non-conference test on Dec. 30. Stony Brook has played a challenging non-conference slate, which ranks the second most difficult in the America East. The Seawolves last win came against Big 10 foe Rutgers in a 75-73 on Dec. 22. Along with the win against the Scarlett Knights, Stony Brook has played formidable opponents in Maryland (L, 75-61), UConn (L, 72-64), current No. 1 Michigan State (L, 93-71), and Providence (L, 62-60). Maine and Stony Brook have played a common opponent in Columbia, with the Seawolves downing the Lions 76-66 on Dec. 7, while Maine fell to Columbia 83-71 on Dec. 30. Akwasi Yeboah is the leading scorer and rebounder for Stony Brook, averaging a shy over 15 points and 5 boards per game. Yeboah is shooting 49.6 percent from the field (65-131) and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (24-56). Jason Cornish also averages double-figures (11.6 ppg) in scoring for the Seawolves, and leads Stony brook in assists with 2.8 per contest.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Aaron Calixte etched his name in the Black Bear record book after sinking his 33
rd and 34
th consecutive free throw attempts on the season against Columbia on Dec. 30. The 57-year old school record was set in the 1960-61 season by Black Bear great Skip Chappelle. Calixte's streak has spanned the past 10 games, starting in the second half against Quinnipiac on Nov. 26. The redshirt junior is now shooting 93 percent (49-53) on the season from the charity-stripe, which ranks the best in the America East and the 13
th best in the nation.
AE OPENERS: Maine has won four of their last seven America East openers, but have fallen in its last three. From the 2010-11 season to the 2013-14 season, Maine won four consecutive conference openers, defeating Boston University (2010-11 - 65-52, 2012-13 - 63-58) and Binghamton (2011-12 - 76-61, and 2013-14 - 82-66)
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: The Black Bears will play their third game in the state of New York this season against the Seawolves on Wednesday night. In the two previous games played in New York against Fordham (Dec. 2) and Columbia (Dec. 30), Maine combined to outscore the Rams and Lions 76-71 in the first half, and are outrebounding the opposition by 42.5 to 38.0 average margin.
Aaron Calixte (19.5 ppg) is averaging nearly 20 points per contest.
Andrew Fleming (12.5 ppg) and
Ilker Er (11.5 ppg) also average double-figures in scoring in two games in New York.
UP NEXT: The Black Bears will play their sixth and final game of their season-long road trip on Saturday afternoon against Binghamton. The matchup between the Black Bears and Bearcats is set to tip at 1:00 p.m. at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.
-UMaine-
