Men's Basketball 1/9/2018 11:38:00 AM

Maine Returns Home to Face UMBC on Wednesday Night

The Black Bears returns home to the Cross Insurance Center for the first time in 31 days.

ORONO, Maine -- Fresh off a comeback victory over Binghamton on Saturday afternoon, the Maine Black Bears return home to the Cross Insurance Center for the first time in 2018 when Maine (4-13, 1-1 AE) hosts UMBC (10-7, 1-1) on Wednesday night. Maine's America East home opener is slated to tip at 7:00 p.m.

CHALK TALK: Starting Wednesday, head coach Bob Walsh will be holding a Chalk Talk 30 minutes before the tip of all remaining home games. Fans can watch Coach Walsh breakdown the upcoming game on the club level (3rd floor) of the Cross Insurance Center behind the Maine bench. Wednesday's edition of Chalk Talk will start at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Led by Ilker Er's 23 points, the Maine Black Bears outscored Binghamton by 10 in the second half to win 76-73 at the Events Center on Saturday afternoon. Maine overcame a nine-point deficit in the final 11-and-a-half minutes, finishing the game on a 28-19 run to snap a five-game losing skid.

THE SERIES: The Retrievers lead the all-time series against Maine, 17-13. UMBC has won six straight matchups, with Maine last earning a victory in an 83-80 win at the Cross Insurance Center on Feb. 1, 2014. In that matchup, four Black Bears reached double-figures in scoring, with Xavier Pollard and Zarko Valjarevic each totaling 18 points. Maine held a 56-36 at the half, but UMBC stormed back into the game by outscoring the Black Bears 44-27 in the second half.

A LOOK AT UMBC: Winners of six of its last nine games, UMBC enters Wednesday's contest off a 71-56 loss against the defending America East champion Vermont last Saturday. The Catamounts held Jarius Lyles, the America East's leading scorer (20.3 ppg.), to just eight points (2-12 FG) in 38 minutes on the floor. K.J. Maura recorded 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Arkel Lamar added 15 points in the loss to Vermont. The Retrievers won their America East opener against New Hampshire, overcoming a 36-31 halftime deficit to win 71-67. UMBC excels from the 3-point range (See below), and also leads the America East in steals and assists. Maura averages 5.6 assists per game, while Lyles earns 1.8 steals per contest.

LIVIN' BY THE THREE: UMBC and Maine love to shoot from long distance, with the Retrievers (10th nationally) and Black Bears (33rd nationally) leading the America East in 3-point field goal attempts. UMBC leads the nation in 3-point field goals per game, with 12 per contest, while Maine counters with the second best 3-point field defense in the conference (79th nationally). The Black Bears have only allowed opponents to shoot 32.3 percent from beyond the arc this season

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aaron Calixte was named America East Co-Player of the week after averaging 19.5 points, six assists, and 3.5 rebounds in two games this past week. Calixte shot a combined 67 percent (12-18) from the floor against Stony Brook and Binghamton this past week. The Stoughton, Massachusetts native excelled in the second half, dropping 13 of his 21 points in the second half against Stony Brook, while pouring in 15 of his 18 total points in the final 20 minutes against the Bearcats. The award marks Maine's first America East Player of the Week award since Xavier Pollard won the award on February 3, 2014.

FROM THE STRIPE: On the season, Calixte leads the America East and ranks 16th in the country in free throw percentage, knocking down 90.9 percent (60-66) of his shots from the charity stripe. He broke Skip Chappelle's 57-year old record for consecutive free throws made in a season against Columbia on Dec. 30. He continued the steak, knocking down 37-straight over the course of 10 games, which was snapped against Stony Brook on Jan. 3. Over the past 12 games, Aaron has made 45 of his last 47 free throw attempts.

ILKER'S BREAKOUT GAME: Ilker Er put together a career-day on Saturday, registering 23 points in 29 minutes on the floor against the Bearcats. Er shot an efficient 10-for-14 from the floor, with 2-of-5 going in from long distance. The last time a Black Bear scored 10-plus field goals in game came against UMBC last season on Feb. 4, 2017. The native of Istanbul, Turkey registered 20-plus points for the third time in his career, and the second time this season. With Maine down 61-56 with 7:24 remaining, Er put the team on his back, as the senior went on an 8-0 run by himself. The run featured points on a layup and free throw on a 3-point play, a jumper, and a 3-pointer to give Maine a 64-61 lead.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS: Over the course of the first 13 games, Maine only outscored the opposition just twice in the second half. Since, the Black Bears have thrived in the second half, earning more points than the opponent in four consecutive games. Maine has put up at least 42 points in each of the second halves during that span, (UMass, 48-34), (Columbia, 44-37), (Stony Brook, 42-30), and (Binghamton, 49-39). The Black Bears have outscored foes by a combined score of 183-140 during that stretch, which averages to a score of 45.8 to 35.

-UMaine-

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Players Mentioned

#1 Aaron Calixte: Guard; 5' 11"; Junior

#21 Ilker Er: Guard; 6' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#1 Aaron Calixte
: 5' 11"; Junior
: Guard

#21 Ilker Er
: 6' 6"; Junior
: Guard

Players Mentioned

#1 Aaron Calixte

#21 Ilker Er

Players Mentioned

#1 Aaron Calixte

#21 Ilker Er