A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:

The Black Bears are coming off of a slim loss in the conference opener, a 69-66 defeat at NJIT.

Maine was lead offensively by Sam Ihekwoaba, who turned in a career high 18 points and 6 rebounds, earning him America East Rookie of the Week. Ihekwoaba shot 8-14 from the field and also dished out an assist.

Ja'Shonte Wright-Mcleish (13 pts, 8reb) and Byron Ireland (11 pts, 3 reb) were key contributors in the narrow defeat.

The Black Bears find themselves with one of the toughest teams to score on in America East, ranking fifth in the conference allowing 66.7 ppg on the season. Maine also ranks fourth in the conference in steals per game (8.1) which garners a national ranking of 75th.

Sam Ihekwoaba comes in as the player to watch out for, having dropped 18 pts in his conference debut. LeChaun DuHart also is a key player for the Black Bears, currently leading the squad in PPG at 8.8.

A LOOK AT STONY BROOK

The Seawolves come in to their matchup against the Black Bears off of a victory against Farmingdale State on Dec. 29, a 87-57 victory. Tykei Greene (20 pts, 12 reb, 4 a) was the top performer in the contest for Stony Brook. Jahlil Jenkins (15 pts, 3 reb, 5 a) and Jaden Sayles (13 pts, 5 reb, 2a) were key contributors in the winning effort.

Jenkins is heading into the matchup against Maine as the top scorer on his squad, averaging 14.6 PPG. Anthony Roberts finds himself second in scoring at 14.3 PPG and Greene ranks third at 11.0 PPG and first with 7.5 rebounds per game.

The Seawolves find themselves at the top of America East in 3PT field goals made at 115. They also are ranked 7th in the country in average fouls per game (13.2), which ransk them second in conferece. Stony Brook, much like the Black Bears, find themselves near the top in steals per game, 66th in the nation at 8.2 per game, which is second in conference. They rank 43rd in fewest turnovers per game at 11.2, good for fourth in America East.

HISTORY AGAINST STONY BROOK

Maine and Stony Brook are meeting for the 41st time on Saturday, with the Seawolves holding a 25-15 record over the Black Bears. The last time these two conference opponents met was back in the 2019-20 season, where the Seawolves came away with a 54-46 victory. Steph Ingo (9 pts, 12 reb) was among the top performers for the Black Bears on that day. Ja'Shonte Wright McLeish also chipped in 4 pts. Stony Brook was led by Makale Foreman (16 pts) and Mouhamadou Gueye (14 pts, 8 reb) in their win.