Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team continues their four-game road trip with a stop at FIU on Thursday Night.

GAME INFORMATION:
DATE: Thursday, Dec. 21
TIME: 7:00 P.M.
SITE: Miami, FL
2023 RECORDS: Maine 8-5, 0-0 - FIU 4-9, 0-0
VIDEO: ESPN +
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
GAME NOTES

Last Time Out: Maine had their four-game win streak snapped at UCF on Monday night by a final score of  51-74.

The Black Bears were outscored 41-18 in the first half before turning it around in the second half to draw even at 33-33 in the second half of play.

Logan Carey led all Black Bears with nine points, his second most scored in a single game in his first collegiate season. Peter Filipovity (8) and Quion Burns (7) rounded out the top-three scorers for the Black Bears in the down shooting night.

Maine enters their matchup against FIU allowing the 33rd fewest points per game in the NCAA at 64.0 per game, which also leads the America East.

Maine ranks in the Top-100 in a number of key categories, including: Steals per game (48th - First in America East), turnover margin (68th - First in America East), fewest turnovers per game (71st) and three-point defense (92nd)

Player Spotlights:

Kellen Tynes: Tynes has come out to begin the season averaging a team high in points (13.5 - 9th in AE) and steals (1.9 - 3rd in AE) per contest, which ranks him nationally at 46th in steals per game. His 25 total steals are good for the 36th most steals in the NCAA.

Tynes ranks fifth in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 1.69 ratio.

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, 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 third in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.83 and his 55 assists are good for the 58th most in the country and second most in the America East. His 22 steals on the season have him ranked 71st in the country and fourth in the America East. Clayton recent had a stretch in which he scored 15 points in back-to-back outings against Holy Cross and Brown, his most points scored in a two-game span in his collegiate career.

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 13.2 (10th in AE), all while shooting at a 57.8% (5th in AE) mark from the field. His 6.9 rebounds per game also leads the Black Bears and are the fourth-most rebounds per game in the America East. His three double-doubles on the season is good for the 64nd most in the NCAA on the season and the third-most in the America East.

Over his past nine games, he has set a new career-high of 23 points with an outburst against South Florida to lead the Black Bears to the victory. He also tied his career-high in rebounds with 12 rebounds, a mark he just hit again in the victory over Holy Cross. He has recorded three double-doubles during his current stretch of solid play, which has him averaging 15.4 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game over the past six contests.

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.

Program History against FIU: This will be only the second meeting all-time between these two programs. FIU won the only meeting back in the 1991-92 season.

-UMaine-