ORONO, Maine – The Maine Black Bears return home to the Cross Insurance Center on Tuesday, hosting Atlantic-10 foe Fordham for the first-time in program history. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. against the Rams. For those that cannot attend, the game will be broadcasted on ESPN 3 with Bryan Stackpole (PXP) and Sandy Thomas (Color) on the call.
LAST TIME OUT: Maine and Saint Peter's were evenly matched at halftime and at the end of regulation, but the Peacocks outscored the Black Bears 12-8 in overtime to escape the Yanitelli Center on Saturday afternoon with a 63-59 win.
Andrew Fleming poured in a team-high 14 points, while
Vilgot Larsson (13 pts) and
Ilija Stojiljkovic (12 pts) combined for 25 points, shooting a very efficient 10-for-12 from the floor. Fleming grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Larsson stuffed the stat-sheet with four assists, two blocks and one steal.
THE SERIES: The contest between the Black Bears and Rams will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools, and the first taking place in the Pine Tree State. Fordham has won two of the three matchups, including last season's 67-66 overtime thriller in the Bronx.
Andrew Fleming recorded 16 points (7-12 FG) and grabbed 13 rebounds in a double-double performance at Rose Hill Gym. The Black Bears took the first meeting 76-73 at Rose Hill Gym on Nov. 13, 2009. Four of the five Maine starters registered double-figures in scoring In the 2009-10 season opener, led by Gerald McLemore's 26 points. McLemore converted seven of his 12 3-point attempts, while adding eight boards on the glass. Terrance Mitchell added 21 points, while Sean McNally (12 points) and Junior Bernal (10 points) also tallied at least 10 points. Maine shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field, including an even 50 percent (10-for-20) from 3-point land. Fordham won the 2015-16 edition of the series, by a score of 70-53 at Rose Hill Gym.
SCOUTING MAINE: Maine will play its second home game this season on Tuesday, after beginning the season with seven of its first eight games on the road. The Black Bears put together its most 3-point performance this season, draining 6-of-17 shots from beyond the arc against the Peacocks.
Ilija Stojiljkovic has established season-highs in points each of the last two games, pouring in eight points (4-5 FG) against Princeton at the Cross Center, while tallying 12 points (5-6 FG) against Saint Peter's. Stojiljkovic combined to shoot a very impressive 82 percent against the Tigers and Peacocks. He is also averaging 7.0 boards per game in each of his last two contests.
Andrew Fleming has also shined against the two New Jersey schools, with an average of 16.5 points and six rebounds.
SCOUTING FORDHAM: The Rams enter the matchup with Maine with a 6-1 record, winning each of its last five games, with their lone blemish coming against Houston Baptist on Nov. 10. Undefeated at home (5-0), the trip to Bangor will be Fordham's just third road game of the campaign. Nick Honor leads the team in points (17.7 ppg), while Antwon Portley (10.9 ppg), Jalen Cobb (10.3 ppg) have also reached double-figures in scoring. Honor has knocked down an impressive 47.3 percent of his shot this season, including 62.2 percent of his attempts inside the arc. The Rams excel at long distance shooting and at rejecting shots, ranking 24
th in the nation in both 3-point field goals made per game (10.1), and blocked shots per game (5.4 bpg).
UP NEXT: Maine will take on its second Ivy League opponent of the season on Saturday, venturing to Hanover, N.H. to play Dartmouth. The opening tip at Leede Arena is set for a 2:00 p.m. start. The Black Bears will then return to the Cross Insurance Center on Monday, Dec. 10 against Maine-Machias. For tickets, visit the Cross Insurance Center box office, or head to
TicketMaster.com.
