Minutemen Host Maine Friday In Final Game Before Break

University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 12	Massachusetts (5-6) vs. Maine (3-8)
Date \| Time	Friday, December 20, 2019 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Mullins Center
Watch	NESN \| NESNgo \| ESPN+ (outside New England)
Listen	WEEI (105.5 FM) \| WCRN (830 AM) \| Tune-In App
Live Statistics	SIDEARM Live Stats
Game Notes	Massachusetts Notes \| 2019-20 Prospectus
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassBasketball
Instagram	UMass Basketball
Facebook	UMass Basketball
UMass Home Tickets	Get Your 2019-20 Tickets Now! \| 2019-20 Promotional Calendar

AMHERST, Mass. – The UMass men's basketball team will look to go into the holiday break on a high note on Friday night when the Minutemen return to the Mullins Center to take on Maine on NESN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m.

Friday's promotions
UMass men's basketball will be celebrating the holiday season in the Mullins Center! Make your own holiday card and snowflakes on the concourse. Bring your caroling voice as there will be plenty of wintery tunes throughout the game! The first fans through the door will receive a pair of UMass texting gloves to help stay warm in the cold months!

The series with Maine
The Minutemen and Black Bears are meeting for the second time in the last three seasons, and 60th time in series history. UMass leads, 42-17, in a series that dates back to 1908-09, and a 3-1 edge in the last four meetings.

Last time against Maine, Carl Pierre dropped 25 points while connecting on 7-of-9 from deep as Massachusetts defeated Maine 74-63 on Dec. 22, 2017 at the Mullins Center. C.J. Anderson was one assist away from tying the Mullins Center record as the senior finished with a career-high 12 assists and a team-high seven rebounds on the night.

Chart topper
Last week against Yale, junior Carl Pierre tied the school record with a career-high eight three pointers. It marked the 11th time in team history, and made Pierre the eighth player in program history to hit eight threes in a game:

Milestone watch
Pierre's big night against Yale also inched him closer to another feat. The Boston native currently sits at 933 career points, and is closing in on becoming the 52nd player in team history to reach 1000 career points.

3J Weeks
Freshman T.J. Weeks is 15th in the NCAA, and third among rookies, in three-point shooting percentage (32-of-66; 48.5%), and his 32 made three-pointers are tied for 41st in the country and tied for third among freshmen.

As a team, UMass is shooting better than 36% beyond the arc (95-of-263), and its 95 made threes are fourth in the Atlantic 10.

Lending a helping hand
Rookie Sean East II is sixth in the nation among freshmen, and t-52nd overall, in total assists with 55 through 11 games, including a season-high nine against Yale on Dec. 11.

Veteran leadership
UMass' four upperclassmen (Carl Pierre, Keon Clergeot, Djery Baptiste, Davonte Higginbottom) are tied with Central Connecticut, Lipscomb and Long Beach State for the third fewest juniors and seniors on an NCAA roster.

Utah (two) and Florida (three) are the only schools in the country with fewer upperclassmen than the Minutemen.

Youth movement
It's a new look roster for the Minutemen in 2019-20 with nine newcomers, including seven freshmen. The seven rookies are the most for UMass since the 2007-08 season.

All seven freshmen (John Buggs III, Sean East II, C.J. Jackson, Kolton Mitchell, Tre Mitchell, Preston Santos, T.J. Weeks) have made their collegiate debuts, with Tre Mitchell and East II starting all 11 games.

The rookies have combined for 57% (440-of-773) of the Minutemen's scoring so far this season.

Weeks and East II started the season with back-to-back Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week accolades, marking the first time since the 2003-04 that UMass collected consecutive conference rookie of the week honors.

Familiar faces
A trio of UMass freshmen (Tre Mitchell, Preston Santos, TJ Weeks), all played together in prep school at Woodstock Academy. In 2018-19, they led the team to a 38-2 record with a No. 2 national ranking for a team coached by new assistant coach Tony Bergeron.

Best start since 2013
UMass started the year 5-0 on the young season, the best start for the program since the 2013-14 season. Before the loss to No. 7/6 Virginia on Nov. 23, the Minutemen were one of 53 remaining unbeaten teams in the NCAA, and one of 22 with a record of 5-0 or better.

It was the 15th time in school history that UMass has started 5-0, and made Matt McCall the eighth head coach in program history to lead a team to a 5-0 start.

Protecting the ball
UMass turned the ball over just seven times against Northeastern on Nov. 12, the fewest for the Minutemen since Feb. 24, 2018 at George Mason.

On the flip side, the Minutemen are averaging 7.2 steals per game, including a season-high 13 against CCSU, the third time this season and fourth time in the Matt McCall era that a UMass team had at least 10 steals in a game.

Yale outlasts UMass in OT, 83-80
UMass used a 23-6 run to close the first half to erase a 12-point deficit and take a five-point lead into halftime, but it was a late Yale run in the final minute of regulation that helped the Bulldogs force overtime and pick up the victory down the stretch on Dec. 11 at the Mullins Center, 83-80.

The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run over the final three minutes to send the game to overtime, with five of those coming from Azar Swain, who finished with a team-high 24 points. Swain went on to get a pair of baskets two minutes into extra time, and the Bulldogs hit free throws late to maintain the late lead.

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

C.J. Anderson

Djery Baptiste

John Buggs III

Keon Clergeot

Sean East II

C.J. Jackson

Kolton Mitchell

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

Preston Santos

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics