ORONO, Maine – After a six-game road trip with contests in four different time zones, Maine opens its home slate at the Cross Insurance Center on Wednesday night against Princeton. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. against the Ivy League Tigers. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN+ with Bryan Stackpole (pxp) and Sandy Thomas (color) on the call.
LAST TIME OUT: Holding a seven point lead at the half, the University of Maine men's basketball team could not fight off a strong second half offensively by Quinnipiac, falling to the Bobcats 58-50 on Sunday afternoon at the People's United Center. The Black Bears (0-6) led 26-19 after 20 minutes, but the Bobcats (2-2) outscored Maine 39-24 in the second half to claim the victory.
Isaiah White led Maine with 19 points (8-9 FG), while
Vincent Eze added 10 points, sinking 5-of-7 field goal attempts.
Sergio El Darwich and
Vilgot Larsson both contributed seven, while
Andrew Fleming totaled five points. Maine led in rebounds by a mark of 38-32, with Larsson grabbing nine boards and Fleming taking seven caroms off the glass. The Black Bears controlled the paint offensively as well, outscoring the Bobcats 24-14 in the paint.
THE SERIES: The Black Bears are 2-0 all-time against Princeton, squaring off in a home-and-home series in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Both games were very competitive, taking a 58-55 overtime win at Princeton in 08-09, and 52-50 in 09-10 at Alfond Arena.
SCOUTING MAINE: Maine seeks its first victory of the season against Princeton, after two-consecutive hard fought losses against North Texas (74-63 OT) and against Quinnipiac (58-50).
Isaiah White leads the offense, ranking 11
th in the America East in scoring (15.2 ppg).
Andrew Fleming has totaled 10.7 ppg through six games, while
Sergio El Darwich,
Vilgot Larsson and
Terion Moss all average 8-plus points. Larsson and Fleming lead the charge off the glass, with 6.5 and 4.8 rebounds per game, respectively.
SCOUTING PRINCETON: The Tigers (2-2) ended a two game skid on Saturday, defeating Monmouth, 60-57. Devin Cannady registered a game-high 21 points in the victory, knocking down five triples. Princeton began the season with a decisive 85-51 triumph against Division III DeSales, but dropped two-straight against Lehigh (72-57) and Farleigh Dickinson (77-66) before the Monmouth win. Cannady missed the first two games of the season, but has registered 21 points in the last two games to lead the Tigers. He has knocked down an impressive .563 percent of his 3-pointers., while sinking .556 of his field goal attempts overall. Myles Stephens and has added 17.5 ppg to supplement, while bringing down a team- high 7.0 rpg.
ROAD TRIP: Maine hung tough in its rigorous six-game road trip to begin the season, as the Black Bears' six opponents have combined for a 27-9 record as of Nov. 26. Maine's last four opponents in San Francisco (6-0), N.C. State (6-0), North Texas (8-0) and Quinnipiac (2-2) have combined for a 22-2 overall record in 2018-19.
UP NEXT: The Black Bears will play its fourth and final game of the Wolfpack Classic on Saturday, traveling to Saint Peter's for a 3:00 p.m. tip. Maine returns home on Dec. 4, hosting Atlantic 10 foe Fordham at 7:00 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center. For single game tickets, visit ticketmaster.com or the Cross Insurance Center box office. For season ticket packages and more. information, call the UMaine Athletics ticket office at (207) 581-BEAR.
-UMaine-
