ORONO, Maine – Following a thrilling double-overtime victory for its first win of the season, the University of Maine men's basketball team looks to win its first contest on the road this season against Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon. The 22nd meeting all-time between the Black Bears (1-8) and Big Green (4-5) will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. in Hanover, N.H.
LAST TIME OUT: A career game from
Andrew Fleming and an improved shooting performance in all aspects proved to be enough, as the Maine Black Bears picked up its first victory of the
Richard Barron era, in a double-overtime thriller against Fordham on Tuesday night at the Cross Insurance Center. The Black Bears (1-8) outscored the Rams (6-2) 12-5 in the second overtime to take home its first victory, 75-68. The victory marked Maine's first win over an Atlantic-10 squad since the Black Bears downed UMass 68-56 on Dec. 8, 2010 at the Mullins Center.
THE SERIES: First meeting on January 8 1975, Maine and Dartmouth will meet up for the 22nd time on Saturday, with the Big Green winning 11 games and the Black Bears taking 10. The Big Green holds a 1466-1416 advantage in the all-time score, as 10 of the 21 meetings have been decided by six points or less. Last season, Maine mounted a comeback after a 25-10 run to take a lead late, but Dartmouth escaped the Cross Insurance Center with a 73-66 win. After a loss to Princeton earlier this season, the Black Bears are 25-32 all-time against Ivy League foes.
SCOUTING MAINE: Maine looks to build off the Fordham win in Hanover on Saturday. After Fleming's career-day, he now leads the team in points per game (14.0), rebounding (6.4 rpg), assists (3.1 apg), blocks (1.0 bpg) and minutes (39.2 per game). The performance was his and Maine's first double-double nearly a year to the date when the Norway, Maine native tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds in an 67-66 overtime loss in the Bronx to Fordham on 12/2/17. The Black Bears have held a better shooting percentage over its opponents the last four games, shooting a combined 44.4 percent, while holding the opposition to shoot just 40.1 percent. Things that can be attributed to the higher field goal percentage is Maine's assist numbers, which ranks second-best (14.1 apg) in the America East and 149
th of 353 teams in Division I.
SCOUING DARTMOUTH: The Big Green enters Saturday's contest with a 4-5 overall record, holding wins over Newbury College (114-39, DIII) Loyola-Maryland (82-80), Elms College (100-54, DIII) and Albany (91-77). The win over Albany was one of two games the Big Green played in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the Belfast Classic. Dartmouth (64-59) and Maine (58-50) have both lost to Quinnipiac this season as the lone mutual opponent. An impressive five Dartmouth players average double-figures in scoring, led by Chris Knight's 15.6 points per game. Brendan Barry (12.1 ppg), Adrease Jackson (11.0), James Foye (10.2 ppg) and Ian Sistare (10.1) also average 10+ points per contest. The Big Green thrive from long-distance, ranking seventh nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (42.9 percent) and 15
th in the country in 3-point field goal attempts. Only three other teams in the country have made more triples this season than Dartmouth.
UP NEXT: The Black Bears will a have a quick turnaround, hosting Maine-Machias on Monday night at the Cross Insurance Center. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. The Black Bears will be holding a sock drive at all entrances of the Cross Center prior to the game. For more information,
click here.
-UMaine-
