Men’s College Basketball
MAINE vs. VERMONT
Time, site: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Patrick Gym, Burlington, Vermont
Records: UMaine 6-16 (2-6 America East), Vermont 17-6 (7-1)
Series: Vermont 74-70, Vermont 59-57 on 1/22/2020
Key players, Maine: 6-7 F Andrew Fleming (14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists per game), 6-4 G Sergio El Darwich (14.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 steals per game), 6-8 F Nedeljko Prijovic (8.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), 6-8 F Vilgot Larsson (6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg); Vermont: 6-6 F Anthony Lamb (17.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 blocks per game), 6-2 G Stef Smith (14.3 ppg, .433 3-point percentage), 6-8 F Ryan Davis (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg), 6-2 G Ben Shungu (7.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
Game notes: UMaine begins the second half of its America East schedule from the top. Vermont has won seven straight league games to build a one-game lead in the standings over Stony Brook and Hartford. Lamb was named AE Player of the Week for the second time this season and ninth time in his career after scoring 33 points against UAlbany on Saturday. Davis and Shungu were pivotal players for Vermont in its earlier win over UMaine this winter. Davis came off the bench with a career-high 22 points and Shungu drove the lane to score the winning basket on a goaltending call with four seconds left. UMaine has averaged just 53 ppg in its last three outings — all losses — and now faces a UVM team with America East’s stingiest defense (59.2 ppg). El Darwich returned to action Saturday after missing three straight games with a broken finger and scored a team-high 15 points during a 55-49 loss to Hartford at The Pit in Orono. UMaine continues its stretch of three straight road games Saturday (2 p.m.) at Binghamton.
