GAME INFORMATION:
DATE: Dec. 3, 2024
TIME: 6:00 PM
SITE: Orono, ME - Skip Chappelle Court -The Pit
2023-24 RECORDS: Maine 5-4, UMA 1-6
VIDEO: ESPN+
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
GAME NOTES

The Black Bears will join forces with Marden's Surplus and Salvage for a sock drive. Fans are asked to bring socks to the game and distribute them in bins located in the lobby area. Socks collected will go to support local organizations in need.

Note: Concessions services at Memorial Gymnasium is now cashless and will remain cashless throughout the 2024-25 season.

- Last time out - 

The University of Maine men's basketball program competed at the Cathedral Classic hosted by Penn on Nov. 29-Dec. 1, during which they went 2-1 as they defeated Elon and Navy while losing to Penn. Kellen Tynes and Quion Burns were named to the All-Tournament Team as Maine was the lone program to have two members selected to the Team.

The Black Bears defeated Elon in the opening game of the Invitational, 69-56 as Burns and Tynes combined for 30 points. Killian Gribben had his best showing as a Black Bear as he had 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. Tynes also dished out a career-high 13 assists in the victory.

Following a 77-64 defeat by Penn, Maine bounced back in the finale of the Invitational with a 71-66 victory over Navy. Tynes and Burns were the star of the show once again as they combined for 40 points, 6 steals and 2 blocks in the second-half comeback victory. Burns scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as his 21 points were his most as a Black Bear and one-shy of his career high.

- Two-Time Defensive Player of the Year - 

Kellen Tynes is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the America East, an award he was won in back-to-back seasons at the University of Maine. He is the only player in program history to win the award, which in turn has led to him being named a Left Driesell Award Finalist in back-to-back seasons. He led all of the NCAA in steals in 2022-23 with 98. He has 168 steals across his first two seasons with Maine.

To go along with his two DPOY Awards, Tynes has been the second leading scorer for the Black Bears across his two seasons at Maine. He averaged 14.3 PPG in 2022-23 and 12.6 PPG last season, resulting in back-to-back America East All-Conference Third Team selections. Tynes recently scored his 1000th career point as part of a 12-point outing against Holy Cross.

-Wings Making Impacts-

Quion Burns and AJ Lopez and making the most of their first season as starters for the Black Bears as they are both ranked in the Top-15 in the America East in scoring. Burns leads the Black Bears with 13.7 PPG while Lopez averages the second-most points with 13.2 PPG.

Burns has scored in double-digits in five-straight games for the Black Bears, including a season-high 21 last time out.

Lopez has scored in double-digits in seven of nine games on the season for Maine and has also made two or more three-pointers in six of the nine games for Maine.

-Bench Production Ramping Up-

The Black Bears have seen a steady climb in their bench production over there past few games, lead in a major way by Killian Gribben and Christopher Mantis.

The two are combining for 12.7 PPG, but both have registered their season-highs in scoring in the last four games with Mantis scoring 17 against Holy Cross on Nov. 24 and Gribben scoring 12 against Elon on Nov. 29.

- Fourth in America East Preseason Poll -

Maine was selected fourth in the America East preseason poll following a 7-9 Conference record last season, which put them in a three-way tie for fourth place. Maine ultimately was the sixth seed in the conference tournament due to tiebreakers.

The fourth place in the preseason poll for the Black Bears is their highest since the 2010-11 season. Maine is looking to host their first ever playoff game since the America East went to a higher-seed hosting format in 2015 and their first postseason victory since the 2004 Black Bears.

- 33 and Counting -

Since taking over at the helm of the Black Bears in the summer of 2022, Chris Markwood has developed the Black Bears into a Top-60 defensive program, which is leading to more victories per season than Maine has seen in over a decade. His 28 wins across his opening two season are the most wins in a two-year span since the 2009-11 Black Bears that won 34 games.