ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine men's basketball team
looks to end the first half of the America East conference schedule on a high-note, when Maine hosts rival New Hampshire at the Cross Insurance Center on Sunday afternoon. The opening tip in Bangor is set for 1:00 p.m., with the contest being broadcasted on ESPN 3. Bryan Stackpole and Sandy Thomas will be on the call for ESPN 3, while Ron Lisnet and Jim Churchill can be heard on 102.9 FM WCYR, with audio streams available on goblackbears.com and the TuneIn radio app.
LAST TIME OUT: A monster offensive performance from
Andrew Fleming along with a huge second-half scoring spree led the Maine Black Bears past the UMass Lowell River Hawks by a score of 78-59 on Wednesday night at the Tsongas Center. Fleming tied an America East record of 18 field goals made, on just 20 field goals attempted, registering a total of 38 points. The Norway, Maine native's 38 points are the most by a Black Bear since Errick Greene registered 45 points (15-27 FG, 2-6 3PT, 13-14 FT) on Dec. 11, 2001 against Norfolk State. The two games have a time span between of 17 years, one month and 19 days, or 6,259 days. Assistant Coach
Kevin Reed '07 got close to the mark with a 36-point performance against Harvard on Dec. 12, 2003. Fleming tied the America East record for field goals in a game with fellow Black Bear Nate Fox, who set the record on Dec. 31, 1998 against Sacred Heart, where he made 18-of-19 field goal attempts for 37 points. Also tied for the conference field goal record is Jameel Warney of Stony Brook (18 FG vs. Vermont, 3/12/16) and Taylor Coppenrath of Vermont (18 FG vs. Northeastern, 1/7/04). According to ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) Fleming became the first player in the last 20 seasons to shoot 90 percent from the field on at least 20 field goal attempts.
THE SERIES: Meeting for the 191st time on Sunday, Maine leads New Hampshire 119-71 in the all-time Border Battle series. The two squads split its meetings last year, with both schools winning on their home courts. The Black Bear and Wildcats have nearly met at least once (often twice) per season since 1904, with the exceptions from 1910-1920 and between 1929-1935 when Maine didn't field an official basketball team. UNH did not field a team in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons. The only season where both universities sponsored an official team that Maine and New Hampshire didn't meet was in the 1935-36 season. The two rivals, that have campuses separated by 200 miles, have met every season since the 1945-46 season.
SCOUTING MAINE: The Black Bears are coming off one of its best overall efforts of the season against UMass Lowell. Maine put up its most field goals (32), and assists (22) against a Division I opponent this season, while turning the ball over a season-low nine times. The Black Bear defense suffocated the high- power America East leading UML offense, holding the River Hawks 22 points its season-average of 81 points. With Maine leading by three points at 39-36 in the second-half, Maine would hold UMass Lowell scoreless for 9:51 of game-time, going on a 23-0 scoring to take control of the contest at 62-36. On 14 possessions during the run, UML turned the ball over 10 times, while missing four field goals during the scoreless stretch. Maine on the other hand made six of its first seven attempts during the run, finishing 9-of-14 on field goal attempts while making all four from the charity-stripe and turning the ball over once to jump to a 26-point lead. The Black Bears cleaned the glass, winning the boards by a mark of 33-25, while making 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.
SCOUTING UNH: The Wildcats have fallen in four consecutive America East matchups, after defeating UMass Lowell 68-64 on Jan. 9. That victory is New Hampshire's lone Division I win this season, after wins over D3 Rivier and Mount Saint Vincent in the non-conference season. Josh Hopkins is the lone double-figure scorer, averaging an even 10.0 points per game. Jordan Reed tallies 9.8 ppg, while Jayden Martinez adds 8.2 ppg and 5.5 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT: The Black Bears open the second half of America East play on Wednesday, traveling to Burlington to face the first-place Vermont Catamounts. The opening tip at Patrick Gymnasium is slated for 7:00 p.m. Maine returns to Bangor on Feb. 10 for Military Appreciation Day, when the Black Bears host UMBC at 1:00 p.m.
-UMaine-
