ORONO, Maine -- Fresh off a thrilling 69-68 victory over rival New Hampshire on Wednesday, the Maine Black Bears (5-17, 2-5 AE) travel to UMBC (14-8, 5-2 AE) on Saturday to take on the Retrievers at RAC Arena. The opening tip is set for 1:00 p.m. in Baltimore.
LAST TIME OUT: With Maine down 68-66 to New Hampshire with 21 seconds to go in the second half,
Aaron Calixte pulled up and drained a deep contested 3-pointer. The sensational shot turned out to be the game winner, lifting the Black Bears to a 69-68 victory over UNH on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Center. Along with hitting the game winning 3-pointer, Calixte tied a career-high with 24 points (9-for-20 FG), grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists in 39 minutes of work.
Vernon Lowndes Jr. (6-for-8, 3-of-3 3-pt.), and
Andrew Fleming each registered 15 points on the day.
Isaiah White tallied eight points, and brought down a career-high 13 rebounds.
Ilija Stojiljkovic bagged eight boards, while
Celio Araujo distributed a game-high five assists. There were 17 lead changes in total, and neither team led by more than eight at any given point.
THE SERIES: UMBC has won seven consecutive contests against Maine, leading the all-time series by a count of 18-13. The Black Bears last defeated the Retrievers on Feb. 1, 2014 at the Cross Insurance Center.
A LOOK AT UMBC: Since playing Maine on Jan. 10, the Retrievers have went 3-1 in the last four games, with the lone setback coming against UAlbany on Jan. 21. Long distance is still a strength for UMBC, with the Retrievers ranked third nationally in total 3-pointers made (250), sixth in 3-point field goals per game (11.4), and 24
th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.9). In the America East standings, UMBC ranks second with a 5-2 record, and are a perfect 10-0 at RAC Arena this season. Jarius Lyles is averaging 19.7 points per game in the conference season, and is also tied for seventh in rebounds per contest (6.0 rpg). At the point, K.J. Maura leads the conference in steals (2.1 per game), fifth in assists (3.6 per game) and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.452).
THE LAST MEETING: With the score tied at 61-61 with two and a half minutes left in the second half, UMBC ensued on a 7-0 run and would not give up the lead, as the Retrievers defeated Maine, 72-67, on Jan. 10 at the Cross Insurance Center.
Aaron Calixte set a new career-high in points against the Retrievers, connecting on 9-of-12 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range for 24 points.
SHUTTING DOWN STRENGTHS Maine became the first America East team to out-rebound UNH this season, as the Wildcats have had less rebounds than their opponents in just 5 games before Wednesday's contest. New Hampshire entered the game ranked seventh nationally in rebounding margin (8.8 rebounds per game). The charity-stripe is also a strength for the Wildcats, ranking ninth nationally in free throw percentage entering the game. Maine made all 12 of its free throw attempts, compared to just 60 percent by UNH (9-of-15). UMBC's biggest strength is its accuracy from 3-point land, and Maine held UMBC to shoot one of its worst 3-point shooting games this season in the Jan. 10 matchup at the Cross Insurance Center. In that contest, the Retrievers shot just 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from long distance, which is its third worst percentage in a game this season behind UAlbany on Jan. 21 (2-for-20, 10%) and Maryland (7-for-38, 18.4%).
CALXITE IN CONFERENCE: With the start of 2018 and the America East Conference season,
Aaron Calixte has played very impressive on the offensive end, ranking in the top-10 in several categories. After seven conference games, the redshirt junior ranks second in scoring (20.4 ppg), second in field goal percentage (.591), third in assists, third in minutes played (35.6 minutes per game) sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.405), and is tied for seventh in free throw percentage (.800).
NEARING 1K: With 24 points against UNH on Saturday, Calixte now stands at 948 points entering the UMBC game on Saturday. He looks to become the 30
th Black Bear to reach the 1,000 point club, and the first since Gerald McLemore accomplished the feat in 2011.
FROM THE STRIPE: Maine's 12 made free throws on 12 attempts was a season-best performance against UNH last Wednesday. The Black Bears have now made 100 percent of its attempts in three games this season (12-12 vs. UNH - 1/24/18, 10-10 vs. Dartmouth - 12/8/17, 2-2 vs. Saint Joseph's - 12/17/17). The Maine school record for best free throw percentage is tied for 18-18. Maine set the record on Jan. 11, 2002 against Vermont, and matched the performance against High Point on Nov. 19, 2005.
OFFENSIVE HELP: Along with Calixte's 24 points against New Hampshire,
Vernon Lowndes Jr. and
Andrew Fleming each recorded 15 points against the Wildcats. The 15-point performances from Lowndes Jr. and Fleming were the second-highest point totals for the duo this season. For Lowndes Jr. the 15 points were the most points in a game this season since his signature 20-point game against Quinnipiac on Nov. 26. He shot 7-for-7 from the field in that contest, including a record breaking 5-for-5 from 3-point land against the Bobcats. Fleming's season-high of 16 points came against Fordham on Dec. 2.
UP NEXT: Maine heads home after the quick trip to Baltimore to host UMass Lowell on Jan. 31 in the first meeting between the Black Bears and River Hawks this season. The Wednesday night tip is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center.
-UMaine-
