The University of Maine men’s basketball team will entertain neighbor Husson University from Bangor for an exhibition game on Sunday on the Skip Chappelle Court in the Memorial Gym in Orono.
Tip off is at 4:30 p.m. and there is no admission fee. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.
The teams played an exhibition game a year ago at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, with UMaine triumphing 89-47.
Both teams are inundated with newcomers as they prepare for their season openers.
UMaine will begin its season at Providence College at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, and Husson will host Clark University at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.
UMaine is coming off an 8-24 season, 6-10 in America East. The Black Bears were ousted in the America East quarterfinals by third seed the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 60-58.
UMaine has been picked to finish eighth in the nine-team America East conference this season.
Husson was 16-10 a year ago, 15-3 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Eagles were upset by the University of Maine at Presque Isle, 78-74, in overtime in the NAC semifinals.
“It’s a great opportunity for our fans to play in front of fans with the lights on and see if we can really test ourselves in terms of where we’re at and what we’ve been working on up until this point,” said UMaine head coach Chris Markwood. “We’ve got a long ways to go. We’ve been going since July and we want to test ourselves against somebody else.”
UMaine’s top five scorers off last year’s team are gone, but the Black Bears do return sophomore forward and All-America East Rookie Team selection Ace Flagg from Newport and junior guard Caleb Crawford, who was second on the team assists and third in steals.
The Black Bears will regain the services of 6-foot-10 forward Killian Gribben and redshirt sophomore point guard Darius Lopes, who both underwent season-ending foot surgery.
Gribben appeared in one game after leading the team in blocked shots two years ago with 34. He also averaged 5.3 points and 3 rebounds in 2024-25.
Lopes was pencilled in to be the starting point guard a year ago after being a redshirt his first year according to Markwood.
Flagg averaged 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds but had 14 points and 8 rebounds, both team-highs, in the playoff loss to NJIT.
“I’m definitely excited about the potential of our roster,” said Markwood, who is in his fifth season at the helm and led the 2024-25 team to a 20-14 record, which matched the most single-season wins in 25 years, and a berth in the America East title game for the first time in 21 years.
“It has been an awesome group to coach. They work really hard and they love being in the gym,” Markwood added.
Markwood said senior guard and Holy Cross transfer DeAndre Williams and Drexel transfer Villiam Garcia Adsten, a senior guard-forward, are among the newcomers who could be immediately impactful.
“DeAndre is a proven player at our level. Villiam is a really unique player who is a 6-foot-9 wing and can play all over the floor. He has played in a lot of big games,” Markwood said.
Williams averaged 6.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 94 games at Holy Cross. Adsten averaged 3.5 points and 3.8 rebounds at Drexel a year ago.
Two other transfers, Ohio University’s Ayden Evans and Oliver Faubert from St. Mary’s, will provide an inside presence at 6-foot-10 and 6-9, respectively. Faubert is currently nursing an injury.
Two freshmen who could earn significant minutes are guard Hudson Franz and forward Wesley Waddles, according to Markwood.
Returning forward Yanis Bamba showed promise a year ago and could figure more prominently.
Husson has lost its top two scorers but third-leading scorer Andre McCauley (14.7 points) and number five point-producer Christian Smith (11.6) are back. Smith’s 3.2 assists per game led the team and McCauley averaged 2.9.
McCauley also averaged 3.8 rebounds and Smith grabbed 2.4. Both are guards.