Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team is set to begin the 2023 conference schedule on Thursday, Jan. 5 with a road matchup against the River Hawks of UMass Lowell.

HISTORY:

This will be the 17th meeting between these two programs all-time. The River Hawks hold the all-time record against Maine at a 12-4 record over the Black Bears. Last season, the River Hawks took both of the matchups on the season.

ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS:

Maine is concluded the non-conference portion of their scheduled with a 6-7 record, losing their final non-conference game of the season against Harvard their last time out, 74-73 in overtime.

Gedi Juozapaitis turned in a great performance for the Black Bears in the loss, scoring 19 points, including a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime and another three-pointer with a few seconds remaining in overtime to give the Black Bears a chance to take the lead in the final seconds of the contest.

Kellen Tynes and Peter Filipovity kept up their solid play on the season as they both reached double-digits in scoring in the losing effort. Filipovity turned in a career best day on the boards, grabbing 12 against Harvard to go with his 11 points for his third double-double of the season.

Kellen Tynes has his hands all over the top of the NCAA leader board on the defensive end of the floor as he continues to be second in the country in steals per game with 3.08 per contest. He also ranks third in total steals in the NCAA with 40 steals on the season.

The Black Bears rank near the top of the America East in some major categories entering conference play. They rank first in steals per game (9.7), second in field goal% (46.9) and second in turnover margin (1.5).

ABOUT THE RIVER HAWKS:

The River Hawks are off to their best start in program history since becoming a Division I program as they sit at a 13-2 record, including a win in their conference opening matchup back on Saturday, a 67-64 victory over NJIT.

Mikey Watkins led the way in scoring for the River Hawks in the win as he scored 15 points on a nearly perfect shooting percentage of six of seven from the field.

Ayinde Hikim (12) and Max Brooks (10) rounded out the top-three scorers on the night for the River Hawks.

Abdoul Karim Coulibaly has been getting it done on the offensive end of the floor in the early going for the River Hawks as he leads the team in scoring with 13.0 per contest. Everette Hammond (12.1) and Ayinde Hikim (10.1) round out the top-three scorers for Lowell on the season.

-UMaine-