ORONO, Maine – With hopes of winning its third-straight contest, the University of Maine men's basketball team will face a tough test in Vermont on Wednesday night in Burlington. The matchup with the Catamounts will be broadcasted on ESPN+, and is available locally through the radio waves at 96.1 FM WGUY. Audio streams are available online at goblackbears.com and the TuneIn radio app.
LAST TIME OUT: A career-high 23 points from
Vilgot Larsson, along with 18 points from
Sergio El Darwich led the Maine Black Bears past rival New Hampshire by a score of 62-53 on Sunday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center. The win was Maine's second-consecutive victory in conference play, after taking down UMass Lowell 78-59 on Wednesday. The victory was Maine's fifth on the season and came on head coach
Richard Barron's 50
th birthday. Larsson went 8-for-13 from the field including 4-of-7 from 3-point land, establishing a new career-high of 17 points by the time the halftime horn sounded. He added six points in the second half, and grabbed six boards in total. His previous career-high of 15 points came against North Texas earlier this season on Nov. 20. El Darwich got back on track offensively by recording 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor to notch his 13
th game this season reaching double-figures. Maine natives
Andrew Fleming and
Terion Moss led the Black Bears (5-18, 3-5 AE) with a game-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (5), respectively.
THE SERIES: Meeting for the 142
nd time, Vermont leads the all-time series at 71-70. The Black Bears seek to snap a 15-game losing streak to the Catamounts. 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.
LAST TIME VS. VERMONT: The University of Maine men's basketball team could not battle back from a 17-point halftime deficit, falling to Vermont 73-49 at the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 9.
Sergio El Darwich poured in a game-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The junior has now reached double-figures in scoring five-consecutive games.
Isaiah White also reached double-figures, totaling 10 points and five rebounds while turning the ball over just twice in 31 minutes played.
Andrew Fleming stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
SCOUTING MAINE: Maine looks to string together three wins in a row for the first time since February of 2013, when the Black Bears downed Albany (2/9, 66-52), Hartford (2/13, 66-64) and Binghamton (2/16, 64-60). The Black Bears have dominated the paint in their win streak, outscoring UMass Lowell and New Hampshire by a combined 78-28 over its last two games.
Andrew Fleming was named the America East Player of the Week on Monday; Maine's first outright conference Player of the Week honor since Xavier Pollard won the award on Feb. 3, 2014. Fleming averaged 21.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game during the week, which included a historic 38-point performance which tied the America East record of 18 field goals made.
SCOUTING VERMONT: The Catamounts have won two straight since falling to UMBC in their lone conference blemish on Jan. 23. America East Preseason Player of the Year Anthony Lamb returned to the lineup in their last game against UMass Lowell, pouring in 29 points, after missing the UMBC and Stony Brook contests with an injury. Lamb was held to just 11 points when the Black Bears faced him last month, his third-lowest scoring total of the season. He leads the conference with 21.0 points per game, ranks second on rebounds per game (7.8 rpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.475). Ernie Duncan (14.4 ppg) and Stef Smith (12.7 ppg) also average double-figures in scoring.
UP NEXT: The Black Bears face UMBC in Bangor on Sunday afternoon. Maine looks to avenge a 62-51 loss, a game where they lead by 13 points in the second half. The opening tip is set for 1:00 p.m. for Military Appreciation Day, presented by Dead River Company.
