2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Maine during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Black Bears, led by fourth-year head coach Bob Walsh, played their home games at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine as members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 6–26, 3–13 in America East play to finish in eighth place. They lost to Vermont in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament.

2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball
ConferenceAmerica East Conference
Record6–26 (3–13 America East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Bob Simon
  • Tylee Schlegel
  • Antone Gray
Home arenaCross Insurance Center
Seasons
2017–18 America East Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Vermont 15 1   .938 27 8   .771
UMBC 12 4   .750 25 11   .694
Hartford 11 5   .688 19 14   .576
Albany 10 6   .625 22 10   .688
Stony Brook 7 9   .438 13 19   .406
New Hampshire 6 10   .375 10 21   .323
UMass Lowell 6 10   .375 12 18   .400
Maine 3 13   .188 6 26   .188
Binghamton 2 14   .125 11 20   .355
2018 America East tournament winner

On March 5, the school parted ways with head coach Bob Walsh and within hours hired Richard Barron, who was previously head coach Maine's women's basketball team from 2011 to 2017.[1]

Previous season

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The Black Bears finished the 2016–17 season 7–25, 3–13 in America East play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Vermont.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Austin Howard 2 G 6'1" 177 Junior Lexington, KY Graduate transferred to College of Charleston
Ryan Bernstein 3 G 6'0" 183 Sophomore Bronx, NY Walk-on; transferred to Kent State
Marko Pirovic 4 F 6'7" 210 Senior Bolton, ON Graduated
Wesley Myers 10 G 6'2" 186 RS Junior Brooklyn, NY Graduate transferred to South Carolina
C. J. Ward 12 G 5'11" 170 Junior Plymouth, MA Walk-on; didn't return
JaQuan McKennon 23 G 5'10" 190 Sophomore Queens, NY Transferred
Troy Reid-Knight 31 G 6'0" 217 Senior Vaughan, ON Graduated
Garet Beal 55 G/F 6'6" 237 Senior Beals, ME Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Isaiah White 14 G 6'6" 180 RS Sophomore Ellicott City, MD Junior college transferree from Harford Community College

2017 incoming recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Miks Antoms
PF
Riga, Latvia Lee Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Apr 7, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

Preseason

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In a poll of the conference's nine head coaches (who were not allowed to pick their own team) at the America East media day, the Black Bears were picked to finish last in America East play.[2]

Roster

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2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
}
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Andrew Fleming 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) So Oxford Hills HS South Paris, ME
G 1 Aaron Calixte 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS Jr Stoughton HS/Lee Academy Stoughton, MA
G 2 Celio Araujo 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr The Master's School
Sheridan College
Governador Valadares, Brazil
G 3 Trae Bryant 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr John T. Hoggard HS
UNC Asheville/Cape Fear CC
Wilmington, NC
G 4 Dusan Majstorovic 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lee Academy
La Salle
Bolton, ON
G 5 Danny Evans 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) So Allerton HS/Phillips Academy Leeds, England
F 11 Ilija Stojiljkovic 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Jr Pravno-Poslovna skola Nis/Lee Academy Niš, Serbia
G 12 Lewis Wang (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Lee Academy Taipei, Taiwan
F 13 Miks Antoms 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Archbishop Carroll HS/Lee Academy Riga, Latvia
G 14 Isaiah White 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Centennial HS
UNC Asheville/Hartford CC
Ellicott City, MD
G 15 Vernon Lowndes Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Stratford HS
USC Salkehatchie
Charleston, SC
G 21 Duncan Douglas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Coronado HS
Western Texas CC/Santa Monica CC
Lubbock, TX
G 22 Garvey Melmed (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Sr Old Town HS Greenbush, ME
G 31 Rob Birstonas (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Tilton School/Thornlea Secondary Whitby, ON
G 32 Dennis Ashley (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 169 lb (77 kg) RS So St. Monica Los Angeles, CA
G 33 Ilker Er 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Sr Arlington Country Day/San Jacinto JC Istanbul, Turkey
F/C 50 Vincent Eze 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS So Notre Dame HS Bethlehem, CT
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 18, 2017

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2017*
3:00 pm
Husson W 84–63 
Cross Insurance Center (2,481)
Bangor, ME
Nov 5, 2017*
2:00 pm
Saint Joseph's (ME) W 66–54 
Memorial Gym (631)
Orono, ME
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:30 pm, ACCN Extra
at Boston College
Hall of Fame Tip Off
L 65–85  0–1
Conte Forum (4,522)
Chestnut Hill, MA
Nov 14, 2017*
8:00 pm, FSSW+
at Texas Tech
Hall of Fame Tip Off
L 44–83  0–2
United Supermarkets Arena (6,317)
Lubbock, TX
Nov 18, 2017*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. South Alabama
Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket semifinals
L 46–68  0–3
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 19, 2017*
12:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Sacred Heart
Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket third place game
L 68–69 OT 0–4
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 22, 2017*
2:00 pm
Boston University L 69–78  0–5
Cross Insurance Center (874)
Bangor, ME
Nov 26, 2017*
2:00 pm
at Quinnipiac W 78–72  1–5
TD Bank Sports Center (1,103)
Hamden, CT
Nov 28, 2017*
8:45 pm, FS1
at Georgetown L 55–76  1–6
Capital One Arena (4,029)
Washington, D.C.
Dec 2, 2017*
2:00 pm
at Fordham L 66–67 OT 1–7
Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,421)
The Bronx, NY
Dec 5, 2017*
7:30 pm
Maine–Presque Isle W 75–55  2–7
Cross Insurance Center (1,964)
Bangor, ME
Dec 8, 2017*
7:00 pm
Dartmouth L 66–73  2–8
Cross Insurance Center (539)
Bangor, ME
Dec 10, 2017*
2:00 pm
Maine–Machias W 104–51  3–8
Cross Insurance Center (602)
Bangor, ME
Dec 17, 2017*
4:30 pm
at Saint Joseph's L 59–72  3–9
Hagan Arena (3,551)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 20, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Central Connecticut L 57–84  3–10
William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,379)
New Britain, CT
Dec 22, 2017*
4:00 pm
at Massachusetts L 63–74  3–11
William D. Mullins Memorial Center (1,481)
Amherst, MA
Dec 30, 2017*
2:00 pm
at Columbia L 71–83  3–12
Levien Gymnasium (1,376)
New York City, NY
America East regular season
Jan 3, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Stony Brook L 70–71  3–13
(0–1)
Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,262)
Stony Brook, NY
Jan 6, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Binghamton W 76–73  4–13
(1–1)
Binghamton University Events Center (2,295)
Vestal, NY
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
UMBC L 67–72  4–14
(1–2)
Cross Insurance Center (906)
Bangor, ME
Jan 13, 2018
12:00 pm, ESPN3
Albany L 66–84  4–15
(1–3)
Cross Insurance Center (842)
Bangor, ME
Jan 15, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Vermont L 62–83  4–16
(1–4)
Patrick Gym (2,405)
Burlington, VT
Jan 18, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Hartford L 68–86  4–17
(1–5)
Cross Insurance Center (903)
Bangor, ME
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
New Hampshire W 69–68  5–17
(2–5)
Cross Insurance Center (1,103)
Bangor, ME
Jan 27, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at UMBC L 74–86  5–18
(2–6)
Retriever Activities Center (808)
Catonsville, MD
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
UMass Lowell L 64–88  5–19
(2–7)
Cross Insurance Center (1,506)
Bangor, ME
Feb 3, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Binghamton W 81–79 OT 6–19
(3–7)
Cross Insurance Center (1,045)
Bangor, ME
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at New Hampshire L 56–71  6–20
(3–8)
Lundholm Gym (522)
Durham, NH
Feb 11, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Stony Brook L 61–64  6–21
(3–9)
Cross Insurance Center (1,153)
Bangor, ME
Feb 15, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Hartford L 63–67  6–22
(3–10)
Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (2,633)
Hartford, CT
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at UMass Lowell L 76–88  6–23
(3–11)
Tsongas Center (2,214)
Lowell, MA
Feb 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Albany L 79–89  6–24
(3–12)
SEFCU Arena (2,496)
Albany, NY
Feb 27, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Vermont L 62–74  6–25
(3–13)
Cross Insurance Center (907)
Bangor, ME
America East tournament
Mar 3, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
(8) at (1) Vermont
Quarterfinals
L 60–75  6–26
Patrick Gym (3,266)
Burlington, VT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[3][4]

References

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