- Last Time Out - 

The University of Maine men's basketball program used a big second-half to pick up their third America East victory of the season over the NJIT Highlanders on Thursday, Jan. 16, 57-44. Maine outscored NJIT 34-18 in the second half as AJ Lopez finished with a game-high 18 points. Kellen Tynes had 12 points, 8 assists and 4 steals while Killian Gribben tied his season-high with 8 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive rebounds.

- Two-Time Defensive Player of the Year... and More - 

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.

Tynes is currently second in the NCAA with 65 steals on the season. His efforts have the Black Bears ranked as the 55th ranked defense (66.3  points allowed per game) in the country and 31st (15.6) in turnovers forced per game. Tynes also ranks in the top-20 in the America East in scoring as he is averaging 12.8 PPG, which ranks second on the Black Bears.

- 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-25 in the America East in scoring. Lopez leads the Black Bears with 14.7 PPG while Burns averages the third-most points with 11.2 PPG.

Lopez  is averaging 19.8 PPG in four conference games which is the second-highest mark in the conference. Lopez is also leading the America East in 3PT% in conference-only games as he is shooting 56.5% from behind-the-arc.

- Sixth Man Energy -

Christopher Mantis concludes the non-conference portion of the Black Bears schedule as a true contender for the Sixth Man of the Year in the America East. He has seen his production ramp up over the month of December as he averaged 11.1 PPG on 54.5/53.1/100 shooting splits for Maine. He has scored in double-digits seven times on the season and having done so in four of his last six contests. Mantis tied his Black Bear career-high as he scored 17 points against UAlbany on Jan. 11. He made five three-pointers in the 87-66 victory.

- 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.

- 39 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. He has the Black Bears off to their best conference start in over 15 years as they sit at 3-1 in America East action and three-games over .500 at an 11-8 record overall.

- History vs UMBC -

This will be the 42nd meeting all-time between these two America East rivals with UMBC holding the all-time lead at 26-15.

Last season, the two sides split the season series as they both picked up a win at their home courts. UMBC won the first matchup, 70-65, before the Black Bears bounced back in Orono as they won 62-56. In 2023, the Black Bears picked up their largest conference victory under Coach Markwood as they defeated UMBC, 84-49, a 35-point margin of victory.