MAINE vs. DELAWARE STATE

Time, site: 2 p.m. Saturday, Memorial Hall, Dover, Del.

Records: Maine 6-3 (1-2 America East), Delaware State 2-6

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 2-0, Maine won 69-61 on Nov. 20, 1999

Key players: Maine – 6-2 G Huggy Dye (18.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg), 6-10 F Julian Dunkley (16.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg), 6-6 F Carvell Ammons (12.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg), 6-3 G Errick Greene (7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), 6-2 G Derrick Jackson (5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg); Delaware State – 6-5 F Andre Mathews (14.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg), 6-4 G/F Carrington Hightower (10.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg), 6-2 G Marty Bailey (10.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg), 5-5 G Miles Davis (4.1 ppg, 5.75 apg), 6-9 C Brandon Calvert (5.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

Outlook: The Black Bears’ final pre-Christmas game is convenient in that it gives many UMaine players an easier trip home: four are from the New Jersey-Philadelphia area. Still, the Bears can’t afford to start celebrating the holiday early or they’ll be ripe for an upset. The Hornets have already knocked off Towson, which defeated UMaine on Dec. 7. Ammons has been playing well lately and must continue to assert himself down low. He has shot .629 from the floor in three conference games and sometimes the best way to stop him is to foul as soon as the slippery forward gets the ball: He’s shooting only .526 from the line. Look for Maine to exploit the mismatch caused when the tiny Davis is on defense: Dye, Jackson and Greene are all bigger, stronger guards and whichever player Davis tries to guard will likely lure him down low.