TIPPING OFF: After being off from game action this past weekend, the Maine Black Bears (6-22, 3-10 AE) continue its road trip on Wednesday, travelling to UMass Lowell (10-16, 4-9 AE). The opening tip at the Tsongas Center is set for 7:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Holding a 61-58 lead with 2:51 left in the second half, the Maine Black Bears could not fend off a late Hartford run, falling to the Hawks 67-63 at Chase Arena on Feb. 15.
Aaron Calixte tied a career-high with 24 points in the outing, while
Andrew Fleming matched a season-high with 16 points to lead the Black Bears.
THE SERIES: UMass Lowell holds a 8-3 advantage in the all-time series, with the River Hawks besting the Black Bears earlier this season. In Maine's last win over the River Hawks on Jan. 11, 2017,
Wes Myers drained a last second jumper to lift the Black Bears to a 73-71 win. He totaled 31 points in the win. UMass Lowell was led by Tyler Livingston (24 pts., 10 reb.) and Jahad Thomas (17 pts., 11 reb.), who both registered double-doubles.
LAST MEETING: Redshirt junior
Aaron Calixte recorded a game-high 20 points, but the Maine Black Bears fell to the UMass Lowell River Hawks 88-64 on Jan. 31 at the Cross Insurance Center. The River Hawks boasted a balanced offense, with six UML players reaching double-figures in scoring. Jahad Thomas led the group with 19 points. He also registered 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals in a double-double performance.
A LOOK AT UMASS: LOWELL: Since the Black Bears and River Hawks first squared off on Jan. 31, UMass Lowell has gone 1-3, ending a three-game skid by defeating Binghamton 74-69 on Sunday. The River Haws are ahead in the America East standings by just one game, sitting in seventh place. Jahad Thomas is an enforcer on both the offensive and defensive ends for the River Hawks, ranking second in the America East scoring (20.2 ppg), fourth in rebounds (7.9 rpg), third in field goal percentage (.518), second in assists (4.1 per game), third in steals (1.8 per game), and first in minutes played.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Over his last six games, Calixte has made 31 of his last 32 (including a streak of 25 consecutive) free throw attempts, increasing his season free throw percentage to 90.2 percent. The percentage leads the America East, and ranks 15th in all of Division I basketball. In comparison, he converts shots from the charity stripe at a higher clip than the most efficient shooter in four of the five 'power conferences'. The conference leaders that Calixte ranks ahead of include the ACC (Joel Berry II, North Carolina, 89.6%) Big 10 (Miles Bridges, Michigan State, 89.5%), Big 12 (Manu Lecomte, Baylor, 87.3 percent), and the Pac-12 (Justin Bibbins, Utah, 87.7 percent). Earlier this season, Calixte broke the UMaine school-record for consecutive free throws made in a season against Columbia on Dec. 30, sinking his 33rd and 34thstraight attempts in the second half. The 57-year old school record was set in the 1960-61 season by Black Bear great Skip Chappelle. Calixte's streak spanned 11 total games, ending at 37 consecutive made against Stony Brook on Jan. 3.
DOUBLE-FIGURE FLEMING: As the conference season is reaching its end,
Andrew Fleming has been playing his best stretch of basketball this season. The sophomore scored 10-plus points in five of his last six contests. In two of his last four games, he netted 16 points, which matches his season-high. In 13 America games this season, Fleming is averaging 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
BLOCK PARTY: Despite, missing eight games due to injury,
Isaiah White has totaled a team-high 24 blocks on the season in 20 games this season. Over his last five games alone, White has registered, 11 blocks, including three swats apiece against UMass Lowell and New Hampshire. The redshirt sophomore has excelled in other categories as well, ranking second on the team in points per game (10.3), is tied for second in steals (23), and is the team's third leading rebounder (4.6 rpg).
DEFEND AND REBOUND: While field goal percentage has not been strength this season for the Black Bears as a team, Maine ranks as one of the best teams in the conference in field goal percentage defense and rebounding. The Black Bear defense has held opponents to shoot just 43.6 percent on the season, which ranks second best in the America East and 167th nationally. In each of the last three games, Maine has held its opponents to shoot under 40 percent from the field (at UNH .359, vs. Stony Brook .367, and at Hartford .350). Off the glass, Maine has totaled 1,002 rebounds on the season, which is the third best in the conference and 120th among 351 teams in the country.
SO CLOSE: Thursday's 67-63 loss to Hartford marked the sixth time this season that the Black Bears lost a game by five points or less. Four of the six4 losses came in America East play, including both meetings against Stony Brook (Jan. 3, 71-70), along with a home contest against UMBC (72-67) on Jan. 10. The other two games came in one-point overtime losses to Sacred Heart (69-68) and Fordham (67-66)
UP NEXT: Following the matchup with the River Hawks, Maine returns to action on Saturday night for its final road game of the regular season against UAlbany.
