Orono, ME – The University of Maine men’s basketball team faces off against Holy Cross on Wednesday, Nov. 29 to wrap up their six-game road trip.
GAME INFORMATION:
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 29
TIME: 7:00 P.M.
SITE: Worcester, MA
2023 RECORDS: Maine 4-4, 0-0 – Holy Cross, 2-5, 0-0
VIDEO: ESPN +
LISTEN: goblackbears.com
LIVE STATS
TWITTER: @maineMBB
GAME NOTES
Last Time Out: The Black Bears are coming off of a loss at Columbia on the final day of their 11-straight days on the road, 75-56.
Peter Filipovity and Kellen Tynes both scored 10 points, while Filipovity had nine rebounds and Tynes had five assists and four steals.
Logan Carey had seven points for the Black Bears, his second-most points on the young season in his freshmen year.
Player Spotlights:
Kellen Tynes: 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.
Tynes has come out to begin the season averaging 2.4 steals per contest, which ranks him nationally at 43rd. His 19 total steals are good for the 11th most steals in the NCAA. Tynes also ranked second in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.06 ratio.
Jaden Clayton: 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.
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 fifth in the America East in assist-to-turnover ratio and his 34 assists are good for 41st in the country in the early part of the season. His 15 steals on the season have him ranked 40th in the country and third in the America East.
Peter Filipovity: 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.
Filipovity has found himself in the starting lineup to begin the 2023-24 season, which he is rewarding the decision by averaging 12.0 points per contest on 57.4% shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest, all while only having committed seven turnovers on the season. In two of his last four outings, he has set a new career-high in points with 19 against Presbyterian and most recently a 23-point outburst against South Florida to lead the Black Bears to the victory. He also tied his career-high in that matchup with 12 rebounds.
Ja’Shonté Wright-McLeish: Wright-McLeish has come out of the gates hot for the Black Bears. He is shooting 52.8% from the field and a team-best 51.4% from behind the arc (18-for-35) across eight games. He just surpassed 100-career three-pointers, becoming just the 20th Black Bear to achieve the feat.
He has made at least one three-pointer in every contest this season, hitting four in back-to-back contests against Merrimack (11/12) and Northwestern St. (11/16) and most most recently against South Florida. His 18-made three-pointers are good for the 58th most makes in the NCAA and he is currently tied for the America East lead in that category.
Program History against Holy Cross: Maine takes on the Holy Cross Crusaders for the 10th time in program history and the first time since the 2016-17 season on Wednesday night. Holy Cross leads the all-time series 7-2 over the Black Bears.
-UMaine-