Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team begins their two-game road trip with a stop at UMBC on Saturday, Jan. 14.
 

University of Maine (6-10, 0-3 AE) at UMBC (11-6, 2-1 AE)
Date & Time	Saturday, Jan. 14 | 1:00 P.M.
Location	Baltimore, MD | Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
Watch International Stream	Web Stream: ESPN + AE TV
Listen	Black Bear Sports Network
Live Stats	umbcretrievers.com
Game Notes	Maine
Twitter	@MaineMBB

 

ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS:

Maine sits at an 6-10 on the 2022-23 season, including an 0-3 start in America East Conference action.

The Black Bears are not only one of the strongest defensive teams in the America East, but in the country. Maine leads the America East in steals per game at 9.6 per contest, which is good for a national ranking of 18^th. Leading the way in that category for the Black Bears is Sophomore Point Guard, Kellen Tynes.

Tynes is one of the best defenders in the country as he ranks third in the nation in total steals and steals per game, coming into Saturday's game with 47 steals at a 2.94 steal per game clip. Tynes is putting up his incredible defensive numbers all while posting the most minutes per game in the America East, averaging 34:52 time on the floor per game. That time ranks him 66nd in the country for time played per game.

Gedi Juozapaitis has been the best three-point shooter in the America East at the midway point of the season, making him one of the best shooters in the country in that regard. He comes into the matchup against UMBC ranked 30^th in the country in three-point shooting at 43.5% and he also leads all European born NCAA DI players in three-point shooting.

Maine is the number two ranked team in the America East in turnover margin at 1.6 per game, which ranks them just outside the top 100 in the nation in that category. As a result of that positive turnover margin, the Black Bears also rank second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.18, which is good for 83^rd in the country.
 
PREVIEW ON THE RETRIEVERS:

UMBC sits at an 11-6 start on the season, including a 2-1 start in the America East Conference.

In their last matchup back on Sunday, Jan. 8 they took down the Bryant Bulldogs, 81-73. Lawrence Colton led the way for his squad as he scored 19 points in the winning performance.

The Retrievers find themselves in a tie for third place in the America East at a 2-1 record in conference play. They rank at the top of the conference in a number of major statistical categories, most notable leading the America East in turnover margin (1.5 – 16^th nationally), bench points per game (28.41 – 26^th nationally), free throw percentage (76.0 – 27^th nationally), three-pointers per game (9.4 – 27^th nationally) and fewest turnovers per game (10.2 – 11^th nationally).

HISTORY:

This will be the 38^th meeting all-time between these two programs. The Retrievers lead the all-time series 24-13. UMBC swept the season series last season over the Black Bears.

LAST MATCHUP AGAINST UMBC:

The last two these two teams met was in the 2021-22 season where UMBC defeated the Black Bears, 93-79.

Peter Filipovity put up a solid stat line against the Retrievers a season ago. He dropped 16 points on six of nine shooting, to go along with five rebounds and three steals.

Kristians Feierbergs had 11 points in the last matchup for the Black Bears.

The Black Bears shot 48.4% from the field in that contest while shooting 35.7% from three-point range. Maine won the rebound battle on that afternoon matchup, 33-32.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR MAINE:

Maine is coming off of a loss against UNH back on Wednesday, Jan. 11.

The Black Bears shot 38.2% from the field on the night and 31.6% from three-point range. Maine had a solid night at the free throw line, upping their season average in that category as they shot 76.9% from the line.

Gedi Juozapaitis led Maine in scoring on Wednesday as he dropped 19 points on six of 14 shooting. He hit a pair of three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists on the night.

Kellen Tynes had 13 points on the night, making him and Juozapaitis the only Black Bears in double-digits scoring wise on the night.

Kristians Feierbergs had a season-best day on the glass against the Wildcats. He grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds for Maine, three of which came on the offensive. Feierbergs ended with six points, three assists and a career-high three steals in the contest.
 
TYNES GOES FOR 10-STRAIGHT:
 
Kellen Tynes will be looking for his 10^th straight double-digit scoring performance on Saturday against UMBC. Tynes has only been held to single-digit scoring performance twice all-season. He was held to eight points in the season opener at Nebraska and to eight points in an off-night shooting at Fordham back in November.
 
Tynes has gotten off to a solid start in America East action as he is currently averaging 16.3 points (6^th best), 6.3 rebounds (10^th best in AE), 3.3 assists (11^th best) and 2.3 steals (2^nd best) per game in America East play.
 
JUOZAPAITIS LIGHTING UP AMERICA EAST OPPONENTS:
 
Gedi Juozapaitis has been the hottest scorer in the America East to begin conference play. He is averaging 21 points per game through the Black Bears three-opening conference matchups.
 
He has hit the third-most three-pointers in conference games, trailing the conference leader by two. Juozapaitis has played one less game than the current America East leader in three-pointers made over the first two weeks on conference play.
 
Juozapaitis is putting up his numbers at a very efficient rate in conference only games. He currently ranks 11^th in field goal% and third in three-point% at 48.4% and 47.6%, respectively.
 
CLAYTON RANKS TOP-TEN IN ASSISTS:
 
Jaden Clayton has continued to showcase his ability to create shots for his teammates. He currently ranks second in the America East in assists per game with 4.3 over the Black Bears 16 games this season.
 
His high-level passing ability has carried into the start of the America East conference schedule as he finds himself in a tie for fifth place in assists per game at 4.0.
 

Tale of the Tape

Maine (6-10, 0-3 AE)	Category	UMBC (11-6, 2-1)
70.5	Points Per Game	76.9
70.3	Opponent Points Per Game	73.9
0.2	Scoring Margin	3.0
46.0	Field Goal Percentage	35.6
34.1	3-Point Field Goal Percentage	35.6
72.4	Free Throw Percentage	76.0
32.3	Rebounds Per Game	35.1
-2.1	Rebound Margin	0.6
14.7	Assists Per Game	15.2
12.4	Turnovers Per Game	10.2
14.0	Turnovers Forced Per Game	12.1
9.6	Steals Per Game	5.6
2.3	Blocks Per Game	2.4

-UMaine-