Orono, ME – The University of Maine men's basketball team is set to take on the River Hawks on UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Jan. 25. That game is part of the Coaches vs Cancer series held by the NCAA.

University of Maine (7-12, 1-5 AE) vs UMass Lowell (17-4, 5-2 AE)
Date & Time	Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 7:00 P.M.
Location	Bangor, ME | Cross Insurance Center
Watch International Stream	Web Stream: ESPN + AE TV
Listen	Black Bear Sports Network | 92.9 The Ticket
Live Stats	goblackbears.com
Game Notes	Maine
Twitter	@MaineMBB

 

ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS:

Maine comes into their matchup against UMass Lowell at a 7-12 record on the 2022-23 season, including a 1-5 record in America East Conference action.

The Black Bears defense cracked into the top-10 in the NCAA after another week being one of the best teams in the America East and in the country in forcing turnovers by way of the steal. Maine leads the America East in steals per game at 9.8 per contest, which is good for a national ranking of eight. That ranking is up nine spots (17^th) from a week ago. 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 leads the NCAA in total steals and steals per game. He comes into the matchup against UMass Lowell with 58 total steals and averaging 3.05 steals per game. Both of those numbers put Tynes on pace to set the Black Bears single-season record for both categories.

Tynes is putting up his incredible defensive numbers all while posting the most minutes per game in the America East, averaging 34:48 time on the floor per game. That time ranks him 69^th in the country for time played per game.

Gedi Juozapaitis has continued to be one of the best sharpshooters in the country. He comes into the matchup against UMass Lowell ranked 15^th in the country in three-point shooting at 43.8% and he also leads all European born NCAA DI players in three-point shooting. His national ranking is up seven spots from Sunday's game, where he was ranked 22^nd in three-point shooting.

Maine retook the number one ranked team in the America East in turnover margin at 1.7 per game, which brought their national ranking up over 20 spots from a week ago to have them at 87^th in the country. As a result of that positive turnover margin, the Black Bears also rank third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.18, which is good for 83rd in the country.
 
PREVIEW ON THE RIVER HAWKS:
 
UMass Lowell is in the midst of their best start since becoming a DI program as they most recently tied their program record of 17 wins in a victory over Bryant, 98-79.

The River Hawks were led offensively on the night by a huge double-double by Abdoul Karim Coulibaly. He dropped 18 points on 80% shooting to go along with 15 rebounds.

UMass Lowell had four others join Coulibaly with double-digit scoring performances.

They shot 50% from the field, forced 17 turnovers and dominated the glass as they out-rebounded the bulldogs, 47-26.
 
HISTORY:

This will be the 18^th meeting between these two programs all-time and second of the 2022-23 season. The River Hawks took the first matchup against the Black Bears back on Jan. 5, increasing their all-time lead in the series to 13-4.
 
LAST MATCHUP AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS:
 
The River Hawks narrowly defeated the Black Bears in the first matchup between these two sides on the season, winning 72-70 over the Black Bears back on Jan. 5.

The Black Bears forced 15 turnovers on the night, led by Peter Filipovity who has a career-best five steals in the loss.
Maine shot 43.9% from the field on the night, including 50.0% from three-point range and 76.5% from the free throw line.
Gedi Juozapaitis led the Black Bears in scoring with 18 points on the night.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR MAINE:

The last time out for the Black Bears had them picking up a decisive win over the Bearcats of Binghamton on Sunday, Jan. 22, 78-57.

Gedi Juozapaitis led the Black Bears in scoring on the night as he dropped 21 points, including five three-pointers in the win.

Kellen Tynes filled up the stat sheet as he had 14 points, seven assists and six steals for Maine.

The Black Bears shot 47.6% from the field and 47.1% from three-point range in the win.

Maine dominated the turnover margin on the night as they committed just nine turnovers while forcing 19 turnovers from the Bearcats.
 
 
BACK ON TOP FOR JUOZAPAITIS
 
Gedi Juozapaitis has retaken his spot atop the America East conference in scoring for conference only games. He is averaging 20.2 points per game through six conference matchups, shooting 43.6% from the field and 46.0% from three-point range.
 
Following his recent performance against Binghamton, Juozapaitis increased his lead for the most three-pointers made in conference games with 23 made three-pointers. He is shooting the fourth-best percentage from three-point range (46.0%), among qualified leaders.
 
Juozapaitis is putting up his numbers at a very efficient rate in conference only games. He currently ranks 16^th in field goal% and third in free throw% at 43.6% and 94.1%, respectively.
 
WRIGHT-MCLEISH CLOSING IN ON 100
 
Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish has been a consistent scorer for the Black Bears over his tenure with the team. He has averaged 5.6 points per game over his collegiate career and he is looking to top the 100-made three-pointers at some point during his career. He has made 27 three-pointers this season, giving him 75 for his career.
 
 
TYNES STEAL STREAK LOOKS TO REACH 20
 
Kellen Tynes has been the most dominate defender in the country as a member of the Black Bears. He has registered 58 steals and 10 blocks for the Black Bear His steals number is good for the best in the country and leads the America East by 25. Tynes will be looking to keep his steal streak going as he has registered at least one steal in every game thus far for the Black Bears.
 
 

Tale of the Tape

Maine (7-12, 0-4 AE)	Category	UMass Lowell(17-4, 5-2)
69.9	Points Per Game	78.9
70.1	Opponent Points Per Game	66.2
-0.2	Scoring Margin	12.7
45.7	Field Goal Percentage	49.0
35.5	3-Point Field Goal Percentage	37.6
73.9	Free Throw Percentage	70.6
31.6	Rebounds Per Game	40.6
-2.7	Rebound Margin	9.6
14.5	Assists Per Game	15.2
12.3	Turnovers Per Game	15.0
14.0	Turnovers Forced Per Game	14.1
9.8	Steals Per Game	7.3
2.2	Blocks Per Game	5.1

 
-UMaine-