Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team returns to Orono on Sunday, Dec. 3 to take on Brown.

GAME INFORMATION: Toy Drive to Support Maine Children's Home
DATE: Sunday, Dec. 3
TIME: 12:00 P.M.
SITE: Orono, ME - Memorial Gym
2023 RECORDS: Maine 5-4, 0-0 - Brown 2-6, 0-0
VIDEO: ESPN +
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS
TICKETS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
GAME NOTES
 

Last Time Out: The Black Bears are coming off of a victory against Holy Cross back on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 72-57. The Black Bears didn't trail at any point in the contest, marking their second time in their past three games that they have accomplished that feat.

Kellen Tynes dropped a career-high in scoring in the victory for the Black Bears. He scored 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting, 3-for-4 from three-point range and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. He scored 20 of his 26 in a dominate first half.

Jaden Clayton is coming off of one of his best performances as a Black Bear as he finished the win with 15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and three steals. He also committed just one turnover on a night where the Black Bears only had 10 total turnovers.

Player Spotlights

Kellen Tynes: Tynes has come out to begin the season averaging a team high in points (14.3) and steals (2.1) per contest, which ranks him nationally at 87th in steals per game. His 19 total steals are good for the 17th most steals in the NCAA. Tynes also ranks second in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 1.81 ratio.

One season ago, Tynes (Jr. – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) became the first Black Bear in program history to be named a Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a National Semifinalist for 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.

Jaden Clayton: Clayton has emerged as one of the most reliable point guards in the America East in the early part of the season as he is fifth in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio 1.70 and his 36 assists are good for the 36th most in the country in the early part of the season. His 18 steals on the season have him ranked 22nd in the country and second in the America East, trailing only Tynes.

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.

Peter Filipovity:  Filipovity continues to reward Coach Markwood and his staff on their decision to insert him into the starting lineup by averaging the second most points per contest on the team at 12.3, all while shooting at a 56.6% mark from the field. His 6.3 rebounds per game also leads the Black Bears and are the ninth-most rebounds per game in the America East.

Over his past five games, he set a then career-high in points with 19 against Presbyterian and then topped it with his new career-high of 23 with an outburst against South Florida to lead the Black Bears to the victory. He also tied his career-high in that matchup with 12 rebounds, a mark he just hit again in the victory over Holy Cross. He has recorded two double-doubles during his current stretch of solid play, which has him averaging 16 points per game and 11 rebounds per game in his last three games.

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.

Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish: Wright-McLeish has come out of the gates hot for the Black Bears. He is shooting 47.5% from the field and a team-best 46.3% from behind the arc (19-for-41) across nine games. He has surpassed 100-career three-pointers, becoming just the 20th Black Bear to achieve the feat.

He has made at least one three-pointer in every contest this season, hitting four in back-to-back contests against Merrimack (11/12) and Northwestern St. (11/16) and another four against South Florida. His 19-made three-pointers are good for the third most in the America East.

Program History against Brown: Maine takes on Brown for the 18th time in program history and the first time since the 2018-19. Brown holds a narrow lead in the all-time series at 10-7.

-UMaine-