ORONO, Maine – Returning home for the first time in 2019, the University of Maine men's basketball teams seeks its first win of the conference season on Wednesday night when the Black Bears battle Vermont at the Cross Insurance Center. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 7:00 p.m. The contest will be broadcasted on ESPN 3, with Bryan Stackpole and Sandy Thomas on the call. The duo of Jim Churchill and Ron Lisnet can be heard on the radio waves on 102.9 FM WCYR and goblackbears.com.
    

Maine Black Bears (2-14, 0-1 AE) vs. Vermont Catamounts (11-4, 1-0 AE)
Date & Time	Wednesday, Jan. 9 | 7:00 p.m.
Venue	Cross Insurance Center (Bangor, Maine)
Tickets	Ticketmaster
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	102.9 WCYR FM | GoBlackBears.com
Live Stats	UMaine Live Stats Portal
Game Notes	UMaine (PDF) | Vermont (PDF)
Twitter	@BlackBearsMBB | #BlackBearNation | #AEHoops

LAST TIME OUT: Despite a very strong first half, the University of Maine men's basketball team could not hold on to a 12-point halftime lead, falling to UMBC, 61-52, at the UMBC Events Center in the America East Conference opener on Saturday. Andrew Fleming led all scorers with 18 points (7-13 FG), in a double-double performance (10 reb.). He dished a game-high five assists, while also earning a steal in 38 minutes played. The Retrievers held the Black Bears scoreless the final 5:44 of the second half, finishing the game on an 8-0 sprint to claim a 61-52 victory in the America East opener.
 
THE SERIES: Meeting for the 141st time with the series tied at 70-70, the Black Bears seek to end a 14-game winning streak in the series by Vermont on Wednesday night. In Maine's last win over Vermont on Jan. 22, 2013, Alasdair Frasier came two assists away from a triple double (20-10-8), while Justin Edwards scored a game-high 22 points in a 71-68 win over the Catamounts at Alfond Arena. The two squads met got the first time in 1949-50, and have met at least once per season since.
 
SCOUTING MAINE: After nearly knocking off the defending AE Tournament Champs in the conference opener, the Black Bears look to upset the America East preseason favorites in Vermont. In its last two games against UMBC and Brown, Maine owned the glass, outrebounding Brown and UMBC by a combined 73-45 margin. The squad has won the rebound column in five of their last six contests, with Rutgers being the lone exception. In four games this season at the Cross Insurance Center, Andrew Fleming has impressed, averaging 19.3 points per game, while shooting .612 (30-49 FG) from the field and .636 (7-11) from long range. Fleming is grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game in Bangor, while dishing 3.8 assists per game. Isaiah White (16.0 ppg) and Sergio El Darwich (14.0 ppg) also average double-figures, with El Darwich shooting at a red-hot .710 clip in four games.
 
SCOUTING VERMONT: The Catamounts have strung together a pair of wins over Dartmouth (73-59) and UAlbany (80-51) after falling to Lipscomb 91-66 in their final game of 2018. Prior to the Lipscomb contest, Vermont won six consecutive against non-conference opponents. Vermont excels at not giving away possessions, ranking 14^th nationally in turnovers per game (10.7), while winning the charity-stripe by making 74.1 percent of its free throws. Anthony Lamb, the America East Preseason Player of the Year, has lived up to the hype. He leads the conference in points per game (21.5) and blocks per game (2.1), while ranking third in rebounds per game (7.3) and fifth in field goal percentage (50.4%). Stef Smith (13.5) and Ernie Duncan (13.3 ppg) also average double-figures in points.
 
UP NEXT: Maine is back on the road this weekend, when the Black Bears venture to the capital of the Empire State on Saturday against the UAlbany Great Danes. The opening tip at SEFCU Arena is slated for 3:00 p.m.

-UMaine-