Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team returns to Orono as they host UMPI in their home opener on Wednesday night at The Pit.

GAME INFORMATION:
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 8
TIME: 6:00 P.M.
SITE: Orono, ME | The Pit
2023 RECORDS: Maine 0-1, 0-0 America East - UMPI 0-0
VIDEO: ESPN +
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS: goblackbears.com
TICKETS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
MAINE GAME NOTES
UMPI GAME NOTES

Last Time Out: The Black Bears are looking to bounce back from an opening night loss at the hands of the Charlotte 49er's as they fell, 69-52.

Maine shot just 33.3% from the field, 25% from three-point range and 52.6% from the free throw line on the night.

A staple of Coach Markwood's system, the Black Bears forced 15 turnovers on opening night, while just having 8 turnovers of their own.

Maine opened up their bench on opening night as 10 different Black Bears saw the floor and all of them attempted a shot on the night. Nine different Black Bears made their way into the scoring column.

Player Spotlights:

AJ Lopez: Lopez made his Black Bear debut against Charlotte back on Monday night and he made his presence felt right out of the gates. Coming off of the bench, he scored a team-high 13 points on 4 of 10 from the field, including a 3 of 5 mark from behind the three-point line.

Kellen Tynes: One season ago, Kellen Tynes (Jr. – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) became the first Black Bear in program history to be named a Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and his numbers were above anyone else in the entire NCAA. Tynes led the country with 98 steals (excluding the NCAA Tournament) and his average of 3.27 steals per game also led the country and were the most in the NCAA in three years.

Adding on 0.5 blocks per game, Tynes asserted himself as the best defensive player in the America East and as perennial National Semifinalist for the Defensive Player of the Year.

His stellar defensive play was paired with some solid offensive numbers, which including 14.3 PGG, 4.6 RPG and 3.8 APG, earning Tynes third-team All-Conference honors in 2022-23.

Tynes had a very uncharacteristic outing to begin the season at Charlotte where he was 2 for 11 from the field.

Jaden Clayton: As a freshman in 2022-23, Clayton established himself as a reliable passer as the point guard for the new look Black Bears. Clayton ranked third in the America East with 3.9 assists per game, which was the third most in the conference and his 118 total assists were also the third most in the conference.

Clayton earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team in the America East as he also ranked second in the America East in total steals with 54, trailing only his teammate, Kellen Tynes. Clayton scored 6.9 points per contest last season on only 38.8% from the field, numbers he is looking to improve upon when he takes the floor as the starting point guard on opening night for the Black Bears.

On opening night, Clayton picked up where he left off a season ago in his efficient playmaking, dishing out five assists on no turnovers. He also had a pair of steals.

Peter Filipovity: A finalist for the America East Sixth Man of the Year, Filipovity took a big leap forward is in his first under Coach Markwood and his staff. His average points nearly doubled as he went from averaging 4.8 points in 2021-22 to 9.2 points per game in 2022-23. His rebounding numbers also increased by more than double as he averaged 5.7 last season, compared to 2.7 the season before.

Filipovity provided the Black Bears with a much-needed spark off the bench a season ago as he supplied five double-doubles in that roll, including a career-best 17-point outing against Columbia on Nov. 18.

Filipovity found himself in the starting lineup on opening night at Charlotte, where he scored seven points, had four rebounds and had a block and steal across 23 minutes of action.

Wright-McLeish looks to become 20th Black Bear in Program History to hit 100-three points: A key-piece of the Black Bears over the past four seasons, Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish will be looking to become just the 20th Black Bear in school history to make 100-career three pointers. A season ago, he knocked down a career-best 40 three-pointers, shooting 31.3% from behind the arc. For his career, he sits at 89 made three-pointers following a one-three pointer outing against Charlotte in the season opener.

Program History against UMPI: Maine is 6-0 all-time against UMPI with their last matchup coming in 2018-19.

-UMaine-