Orono, ME - The University of Maine men's basketball program is set to take on Bryant University on Saturday, March 15 for the America East Championship.

- 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.

- Last Time Out - 

Maine advanced to their First America East Championship Game since 2004 with a 57-42 victory over Vermont in the America East 

Semifinals. Maine held Vermont to 25.9% shooting from the floor and forced 17 turnovers while only committing 3 of their own. The win was their first in the last 31 games against Vermont, having loss 30-straight to the Catamounts.

- 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. Tynes recently set the America East Single Season Record for most steals in a season with 103.

- 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 14 of the 28 major categories that the NCAA tracks, while also being ranked in the top-100 in all of the NCAA in 10 of the 14 categories. Highlighted by the defense and limiting turnovers, Maine's national and conference rankings sit as follows (National-America East): 4.5 - Turnover Margin (9th-1st), 9.0 - Steals Per Game (27th-1st), 14.8 - Turnovers Forced Per Game (28th-1st), 65.7 - Fewest Points Allowed Per Game (30th-2nd), 1.46- Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (36th-1st), 10.3- Fewest Turnovers Per Game (43rd-1st), 15.2 - Fewest Fouls Per Game (45th-3rd), 35.7% - Three-Point% (79th-2nd),  46.5% - Field Goal% (85th-3rd), 15.0 - Assists Per Game (86th-3rd), 11.6 - Fastbreak Points Per Game (87th-3rd), 5.5 - Scoring Margin (2nd in AE), 73.6% - Free Throw% (2nd in AE) and 60.6% - Winning% (3rd in AE).

- History vs Bryant -

This will be the third matchup of the season between the two sides with Bryant sweeping the season series. All-time, the Bulldogs lead the series 5-2, including a 1-0 record in the postseason as they defeated Maine last season, 84-58 in the America East Quarterfinals.

- What's on the line -

The winner will advance to the NCAA Tournament, both of which would be the first time in America East history for either side. For Maine, a trip to the Tournament would be their first NCAA berth in program history.

-UMaine-

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