ORONO, Maine -- For one last time in 2018, the Maine Black Bears will play hosts at the Cross Insurance Center, taking on Central Connecticut State on Ugly Holiday Sweater Day on Saturday afternoon. The Black Bears and Blue Devils will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. in Bangor.
UGLY HOLIDAY SWEATER DAY: Returning to the Cross Insurance Center one last time before the holiday season and new year, the University of Maine men's basketball team will host an Ugly Holiday Sweater Day on Saturday, Dec. 22 against Central Connecticut State. The opening tip against the Blue Devils is set for 1:00 p.m. in Bangor. The holiday-themed game will feature Christmas music, along with a contest for the ugliest sweater. Fans that wear ugly sweaters will have an opportunity to win a Dunkin Donuts prize pack along with a gift card to Harvest Moon Deli. The winners of the prizes will be announced at halftime.
LAST TIME OUT: The Black Bears (2-10) could not comeback from an early first-half deficit, falling to Duquesne 72-46 at the Palumbo Center last Sunday.
Isaiah White recorded game-high 17 points in the loss. Along with White,
Vilgot Larsson (10 pts, 5-7 FG),
Vincent Eze (9 pts, 3-6 FG, 3-3 FT) and
Andrew Fleming (7 pts) were also factors offensively. The Black Bears led the Dukes in the rebound column by a count of 35-34, with Fleming (8 reb.) and
Ilija Stojiljkovic (7 reb.) cleaning the glass. The Black Bears (2-10) fell behind early against the Dukes (8-2), as Maine struggled offensively in the first half. With Duquesne holding a 15-5 advantage, the Dukes embarked on a 18-4 sprint over the next 5:20 of game time to extend their lead to 33-9 over the Black Bears with 3:32 left in the first half. Maine responded with a Larsson tip in, but Duquesne would score the next seven points. White slammed in a dunk and connected on a triple in Maine's final two possessions of the first half, but Duquesne would take a 40-16 lead into the locker room.
THE SERIES: Maine owns the series count by 10-5, but Central Connecticut State has won the last two meetings in 2017-18 (84-57) and 2016-17 (82-61). The Black Bears last defeated the Blue Devils on Nov. 29 2015, as
Kevin Little registered a game-high 19 points. Maine outshot CCSU 48% to 37%, with
Ilija Stojiljkovic pulling down 11 rebounds in the win. CCSU won the first meeting in 1951-52 (76-41), but Maine earned its first win in the series in the second game in 1974-75 with a 78-70 win in the Pit. The Black Bears won seven consecutive meetings when CCSU moved up to Division I in 1986-87 to 2015-16.
SCOUTING MAINE: The Black Bears seek its first three-game winning streak at home since 2012-13 against Central Connecticut State, after defeating Fordham and Maine-Machias earlier this month. The Black Bears defeated Florida Gulf Coast (12/22/12 | 84-78), Boston University (1/2/13 | 63-58) and UMBC (1/5/13 | 81-66) during their last streak.
Isaiah White (14.4 ppg) and
Andrew Fleming (12.8 ppg) continue to lead the squad offensively, with White reaching double-figures in scoring in each of his last four games, while Fleming is averaging a team-high 15 ppg and 7.5 rpg over his last five contests. At the Cross Center this season, Fleming is averaging an impressive 19.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 3.7 assists while shooting at a .676 clip from the field with a .778 mark from long distance.
SCOUTING CCSU: The Blue Devils, coached by former first round NBA draft pick Donyell Marshall, hold a 5-6 record on the season. Falling in four of its last six contests, Central Connecticut State looks to defeat its third America East foe this season in Maine, after taking down Hartford 75-68 in the season opener on Nov. 6 and downing UMass Lowell 86-74 in New Britain on Nov. 13. Two of CCSU's wins have come against non-DI teams, owning victories over D3 Pine Manor (88-59) and USCAA Penn State Wilkes-Barre (79-58). Tyler Kohl leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 18.1 points per game, while Ian Krishnan (13.7 ppg), Joe Hugley (11.7 ppg), and Jamir Coleman (10.3 ppg) all average double-figures on offense. Kohl dropped a game-high 18 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists against Maine a season ago. The Blue Devils are excellent free throw shooters as a unit, ranking 27
th of 351 Division I teams in free throw percentage (76.1).
UP NEXT: Maine will have off for the holidays until Dec. 29, when the Black Bears will head to New Jersey to play Rutgers on Dec. 29 for its last game until the New Year. Maine will then head to Brown on Jan. 2 and UMBC on Jan. 5 before returning to the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 9 against Vermont. For tickets, visit the Cross Insurance Center box office, or head to ticketmaster.com.
-UMaine-
