Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball team wraps up non-conference action with a matchup against Minnesota on Friday Night.

GAME INFORMATION:
DATE: Friday, Dec. 29
TIME: 7:00 P.M.
SITE: Minneapolis, MN
2023 RECORDS: Maine 8-6, 0-0 - Minnesota 9-3, 1-1
VIDEO: ESPN +
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
GAME NOTES

Last Time Out: Maine was defeated by FIU in their last contest back on Dec. 21, 82-74.

The Black Bears took a one-point lead into halftime of that contest before being outscored in the second half, 47-38.

Peter Filipovity led the night in scoring for the Black Bears, who were without Kellen Tynes for the first time all season. Filipovity had 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and no turnovers.

Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish (13 pts, 5 stls), AJ Lopez (13 pts) and Jaden Clayton (10 pts, 9 asts, 3 rebs) rounded out the top performers on the night for the Black Bears.

Maine enters their matchup against Minnesota allowing the 57th fewest points per game in the NCAA at 65.3 per game, which ranks second in the America East.

Maine ranks in the Top-100 in a number of key categories, inlcuding: Steals per game (42nd - First in America East), turnover margin (55th - First in America East), fewest turnovers per game (75th) and turnovers forced per game (94th - First in America East).

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 81st in steals per game. His 25 total steals are good for the 50th most steals in the NCAA, a stat he is tied with teammate Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish in. Tynes is coming off of his first DNP of the season as he suffered an injury in the second half at UCF.

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 fourth in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.88 and his 64 assists are good for the 43rd most in the country and third most in the America East. His 23 steals on the season have him ranked 84th in the country and fifth 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. He is coming off of a season-high in assists with nine at FIU.

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 13.4 (11th in AE), all while shooting at a 56.6% (7th 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 73rd most in the NCAA on the season and the fourth-most in the America East.

Over his past eight 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 15.5 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game over the past eight 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 Minnesota: This will be only the second meeting all-time between these two programs. Maine won their lone meeting back in the 1999-00 season.

-UMaine-