ORONO, Maine – The Maine Black Bears men's basketball looks to win its second-game against a Atlantic 10 foe on Sunday, taking on Duquesne at the Palumbo Center. The opening tip in Pittsburgh against the Dukes is slated for noon on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT: The Black Bears bounced back to rout Maine-Machias 98-43 on Monday night at the Cross Insurance Center. On a day where the team raised an estimated 1,000 pairs of socks for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, the Black Bears (2-9) stymied the Clippers (4-7) offensively, holding the UMaine System School to shoot just 31.9 percent (15-for-47) while turning over the ball a total of 26 times. The Black Bears tallied 20 steals as a team, just three takeaways away from a school record.
Terion Moss recorded six steals himself, which was two away from a UMaine record. The offense shot season bests from the floor (.571) and from the charity stripe (.800, 20-for-25) as
Sergio El Darwich led the squad with a perfect shooting performance of 9-for-9 on his field goal attempts, while draining 3-of-3 from the charity-stripe. The native of Lebanon was just three field goal attempts made away to tie the school record for highest field goal percentage in a single game, finishing with a career-high 21 points.
THE SERIES: Maine and Duquesne have met just one time previously, squaring off at the Palumbo Center on Dec. 1, 2012. The Dukes earned a 87-73 win after outscoring the Black Bears 50-36 in the second-half when the score was tied at the half. Justin Edwards tallied a game-high 19 points, Xavier Pollard netted 17 points and Alasdair Fraiser added 14 points in the loss. Jeremiah Jones led four Dukes in double-figures with 15 points. There were eight ties and six lead changes before the Dukes took control for good with 9:30 left to go in the second half.
SCOUTING MAINE: After falling to 0-8 in November, the Black Bears have fought to an even 2-2 in December with home wins over Fordham and Maine-Machias. Maine looks to secure its first road win in the Steel City on Sunday. Over the last five games,
Andrew Fleming leads the team with 16.6 points per game, while
Isaiah White has put in exactly 13.0. points per contest. Fleming has been very efficient from the field over the past five games, making 55.2 percent (32-58) of his attempts from the floor, while shooting a scorching 66.7 percent from long distance (8-11) During that span, Maine has out shot its opponents from the field at a clip of .472 to .411 and has made 72.1 percent of its free throws. The Norway, Maine native also leads the Black Bears during that span in rebounds (7.4), assists (3.0) and blocks (4 total). After amassing an impressive 20 steals against Maine-Machias in its last game, Maine now ranks 91
st in the nation in steals per game (7.5 steals per game).
SCOUTING DUQUESNE: The Dukes picked up their third consecutive win on Thursday, downing Maryland Eastern Shore 72-57 at the Palumbo Center. A perfect 6-0 at home, Duquesne's two losses this season are to ACC's Notre Dame and Pitt. Michael Hughes (13.7), Eric Williams Jr. (13.0) and Sincere Carry (10.2) Hughes is very efficient from the floor, knocking down 70.9 percent of his shots. Other areas the Dukes excel in steals (32
nd in NCAA | 8.7) offensive rebounds per game (43
rd in NCAA | 12.78) and 3-point field goals per game (9.0).
UP NEXT: After taking on the Dukes, the Black Bears are off from game competition until Dec. 22, playing in their final home game of 2018 against Central Connecticut State. The opening tip on Saturday afternoon is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center.
