Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball program continues their postseason run on Tuesday, March 11 with a trip to Vermont for the America East Semifinals, presented by Jersey Mike's.
 

- Regular Season Review - 

The Black Bears concluded the regular season with an 18-13 record, an 10-6 conference record and the 3-seed in the America East Playoffs, all of which were the highest marks in the program since the 2009-10 season. The Black Bears were the fifth-ranked offense, the second ranked defense and had the third-best scoring margin in the America East.

- 20 Years in the Making - 

The University of Maine basketball program picked up their first postseason win since 2005 on Saturday, March 8 as they defeated UMass Lowell, 72-64. Kellen Tynes paced the Black Bears with 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, all of which were team-high's on the night. AJ Lopez (16), Jaden Clayton (16) and Quion Burns (11) all scored in double-digits on the night. Maine forced 14 turnovers while only having committed 8 of their own. The Black Bears rejected 7 shots on the night, 6 of which were in the second half.

- Tynes Matches history - 

Kellen Tynes solidified himself among the greatest defenders in the history of the America East as he earned his third-straight America East Defense Player of the Year award, becoming only the second player to do so (Marcus Blakely - UVM 2007-10). Tynes recorded 97 steals during the regular season, the second-most in all of the NCAA and the most in a single regular season in his career. For his career, Tynes has 301 steals, making him the all-time NCAA leader in steals for a canadian-born player. To pair with his DPOY award, Tynes earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team as he posted career-highs nearly across the board. He set new career-highs in the regular season in assists (143), assists per game (4.6), blocks (21), three-pointers (23), three-point% (33.9%) and free throw% (75.3%). He also averaged the second-most points per game of his career at 12.7 per game.

- Lopez Earns Accolade - 

AJ Lopez earned his spot on the America East All-Conference Second Team as he ranked in the top-10 in every scoring category in the America East in conference games. He ranked 10th in points per game (15.8), eighth in total points (253), 10th in field goal% (50.3%) and first in free throw% (91.1%). He set new career-highs in every statistically category besides blocks that is tracked by the NCAA, most impressively a six-point jump in his scoring average per game from a season ago (8.6-14.6) and an 8% jump in his three-point% (34.2%-42.2%). His 91% shooting from the free-throw line was the seventh-highest mark in all of the NCAA.

- NCAA Leaderboards - 

Maine sits in the top-three in the America East in 15 of the 28 major categories that the NCAA tracks, while also being ranked in the top-100 in all of the NCAA in 12 of the 15 categories. Highlighted by the defense and limiting turnovers, Maine's national and conference rankings sit as follows (National-America East): 4.2 - Turnover Margin (12th-1st), 8.9 - Steals Per Game (27th-1st), 14.7 - Turnovers Forced Per Game (30th-1st), 66.5 - Fewest Points Allowed Per Game (39th-2nd), 1.44 - Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (43rd-1st), 15.2 - Fewest Fouls Per Game (45th-3rd), 10.5 - Fewest Turnovers Per Game (60th-1st), 36.1% - Three-Point% (69th-2nd),  46.8% - Field Goal% (73rd-3rd), 15.2 - Assists Per Game (80th-2nd), 74.7% - Free Throw% (86th-2nd), 11.6 - Fastbreak Points Per Game (87th-3rd),   

5.2 - Scoring Margin (3rd in AE), 0.528 - Effective Field Goal% (3rd in AE) and 59.4% - Winning% (3rd in AE).

- History vs Vermont -

This will be the third matchup of the season between these two historic rivals and the 154th meeting all-time, with the Catamounts leading the series 83-70. This will be the 8th meeting in the America East Playoffs for these two programs, with Vermont holding a 1-7 record all-time.

- What's on the line -

The winner will advance to the America East Title Game to face off against either #1 Bryant or #4 UAlbany. For the Black Bears, this would mark their first appearance in the America East Title Game since 2004, a 72-53 defeat against Vermont in Burlington.

Along with a trip to the America East Title Game, a win for the Black Bears would snap a 30-game losing streak against the Catamounts that goes back to the 2013 season

-UMaine-
 
Developing Champions with Integrity
Integrity | Accountability | Toughness | Excellence
.