ORONO, Maine – Following the regular season finale against New Hampshire, the University of Maine men's basketball looks to upset No. 1 seed Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium on Saturday night in Burlington in the quarterfinal round of the America East Playoffs. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+, and can also be heard on WGUY 96.1 FM.
LAST TIME OUT: With the Black Bears holding a 45-39 lead with 8:12 left in the second half, rival New Hampshire closed to the game on a 21-8 sprint to earn a 60-53 victory on in the regular season finale on Tuesday night at Lundholm Gymnasium.
Sergio El Darwich led the Black Bears (5-26, 3-13) in scoring with 12 points on the evening, adding five rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of work.
Ilija Stojiljkovic poured in 10 points and brought down a game-high seven boards.
Miks Antoms put up nine points and six caroms, while
Isaiah White scored eight points for Maine.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE CATAMOUNTS: Maine could not respond to a red-hot first half shooting performance from Vermont, falling to the Catamounts 86-63 on Feb. 6. at Patrick Gymnasium.
White led the Black Bears with 21 points, knocking down 8-of-14 from the floor, while picking up four rebounds, distributing three assists and earning three steals in 34 minutes played. Fleming registered 16 points and four rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes played.
El Darwich also reached double-figures in scoring, totaling 11 points and three assists. In 16 minutes played,
Vincent Eze tallied six points and six rebounds to lead the Black Bears on the boards. The Catamounts (18-5, 8-1 AE) shot a red-hot 72.0 percent (18-25 FG) over the first 20 minutes, draining 11-of-15 from long distance, while the Black Bears (5-19, 3-6 AE) countered to shoot 50 percent (12-24 FG), while sinking 3-of-5 from 3-point land in the opening frame.
THE SERIES: Meeting for the 143
rd time, Vermont leads the all-time series at 72-70. The Black Bears look 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 for the first time in 1949-50, and have met at least once per season since. Saturday's game marks the
AE ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: On Friday, the America East Conference announced that
Andrew Fleming and
Ilija Stojiljkovic received conference postseason honors for their efforts on the court and in the classroom. Fleming earned America East All-Conference Second Team honors, while Stojiljkovic landed on the conference's All-Academic Team. Fleming led the Black Bears this season in scoring, rebounding and assists this season, pouring in 13.8 points per game, while grabbing 7.0 rebounds per contest and distributing 3.1 assists per game. He posted four double-doubles on the season, recording double-figures in 22 of 28 games he appeared in. Stojiljkovic paced Maine's best semester academically since at least 1988, holding a team-high 3.75 GPA as a management major with a concentration in information systems.
MAINE IN THE AE/NAC PLAYOFFS: The Black Bears have struggled in recent memory in the America East playoffs, falling in 13 consecutive postseason contests. Maine last won a playoff game on March 5, 2005, with the Black Bears defeating Boston University, 47-45. The No. 6 seeded Black Bears led by Mark Flavin and Joe Campbell's 11 points took down the No. 3 seed Terriers in front of 3,062 spectators at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. The Black Bears have never won the America East Championship (or the North Atlantic Championship), but advanced to the championship game on four occasions in 2004 (Vermont 72, Maine 53), 2002 (Boston University 66, Maine 40), 1994 (Drexel 86, Maine 78), and 1991 (Northeastern 57, Maine 46).
BLACK BEAR/CATAMOUNT POSTSEASON: Since 1990, Maine and Vermont have met in the America East/North Atlantic Conference playoffs eight times, including the each of the last three seasons. Vermont has earned wins in five of the seven games, taking victories in the last five meetings, including a 75-60 victory last season at Patrick Gymnasium. The Black Bears and Catamounts squared off in the America East title game in 2003-04, with Vermont prevailing with a 72-53 win to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The last time Maine defeated Vermont in the playoffs was in 1995-96, when the No. 3 seed Black Bears took down the No. 6 seed Catamounts at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware in the NAC Quarterfinals. In 1994, Maine earned a 77-55 win over Vermont as a No. 2 seed in the NAC Quarterfinals.
UP NEXT: If the Black Bears earn a victory over Vermont, they will play the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament. If No. 2 Stony Brook defeats No. 7 Binghamton, then Maine will head to Long Island on Tuesday. Other possible teams Maine could face in the semifinals include No. 3 UMBC, No. 4 Hartford or No. 5 UMass Lowell.
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