UMaine capsules

Men’s basketball

MAINE vs. BINGHAMTON

Time, site: Saturday, noon; Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 5-11 (0-4 America East); Binghamton 8-8 (1-3)

Series, last meeting: Binghamton leads 7-5; Binghamton 71-62 on 3/3/06

Key players: Maine – 6-1 G Jon Sheets (11.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.1 apg), 6-3 G Kevin Reed (12.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg), 6-5 G Junior Bernal (10.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.4 apg), 6-4 F Chris Bruff (9.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), 6-9 C Brian Andre (5.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg); Binghamton – 6-0 G Richard Forbes (13.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg), 6-4 G Steve Proctor (12.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg), 6-1 G Troy Hailey (9.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg), 6-8 F Lazar Trifunovic (9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg), 6-0 G Mike Gordon (9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.9 apg)

Outlook: The Black Bears are still seeking their first America East win despite leading for stretches in each of their four previous conference games. Maine lost its sixth straight game Thursday at Albany 82-73. Binghamton beat the Great Danes 83-72 on Jan. 6. Maine has outscored its opponents by an average of 19 points in the first half of games but has been outscored by 36 points in the second half. The Bears will look to contain Proctor, who has hit 26 of his 65 (40 percent) 3-point attempts. Maine will have a team height advantage with 6-6 Philippe Tchekane Bofia and 6-10 Olli Ahvenniemi coming off the bench. Binghamton leads America East in scoring offense (69.6 ppg) but has given up the most points in the conference (71.5 ppg).

Women’s basketball

MAINE vs. VERMONT

Time, site: Sunday, 1 p.m.; Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington, Vt.

Records: Maine 8-6 (2-1 America East), Vermont 13-3 (2-0)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 46-21; Vermont 68-65 on 2/15/06

Key players: Maine – 6-1 F Bracey Barker (15.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .551 FG pct., .919 FT pct.), 5-8 G Ashley Underwood (13.2 ppg), 6-2 F Katie Whittier (9.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg), 6-1 F Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa (7.6 ppg), 5-7 G Abby Greene (4.1 ppg, 2.8 apg); UVM – 6-0 G Courtnay Pilypaitis (13.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg, .403 3-pt. pct.), 5-10 G May Kotsopoulos (10.6 ppg), 5-9 G Amy Rosenkrantz (9.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg), 5-9 G Brittney Cross (9.1 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 spg), 6-4 F Andrea Cihal (5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

Outlook: The Bears look to get back on track against the early surprise team in America East this season. UMaine stumbled in Wednesday’s 54-49 loss at Binghamton while Vermont, winner of four straight, knocked off two-time defending league champion Hartford 66-64 in overtime. The Catamounts, the AE’s top scoring team at 68.6 ppg, are led by freshmen Pilypaitis and Kotsopoulos and have six underclassmen among their top seven producers. This matchup is a classic contrast in styles between a frontcourt-based UMaine squad and a guard-dominated UVM contingent. The Cats thrive on defense, averaging a league-best 11.8 steals to help force opponents into 23.1 turnovers per outing. The Bears continue to lead AE in FG pct. (.426), FT pct. (.758), and 3-pt. pct. (.360). UVM also tops the league in assists (16.1) but trails in FT pct. (.631).