America East Championship

Men’s Basketball

MAINE vs. STONY BROOK

Time, site: Friday, 7 p.m.; Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.

Records: Maine 7-22, Stony Brook 6-22

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 13-5, Stony Brook 56-51 on 2/23/08

Key players: Maine – 6-5 G Mark Socoby (14.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 spg), 6-4 G Kaimondre Owes (12.7 ppg, 2.3 apg), 6-5 G Junior Bernal (10.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.5 spg), 6-9 C Brian Andre (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .554 FG pct.), 6-6 F Phil Tchekane Bofia (6.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg), 6-7 F Sean McNally (5.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg); Stony Brook – 6-4 G Ricky Lucas (14.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .426 3-pt. FG pct.), 5-11 G Mitchell Beauford (9.7 ppg), 5-11 G Michael Tyree (7.3 ppg), 6-6 F Demetrius Young (6.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .641 FG pct.), 6-9 Emanuel Neto (6.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg)

Outlook: The Black Bears hope today’s AE play-in game is a new beginning. UMaine, which has lost six straight, has been knocked out in the quarterfinals the past two years and has limited playoff experience. The Bears will match their overall size against a Stony Brook ballclub that features considerable quickness at the guard spots. The Seawolves won both regular-season meetings. UMaine will focus defensively on taking away SBU’s dribble-penetration while staying out of foul trouble. The Bears need to rebound aggressively, keeping SBU off the offensive boards, and try to limit the costly turnovers that have plagued them all season. The Seawolves rank last in scoring (60.9 ppg) in AE games, but have held league opponents to 66.5 ppg, so UMaine must work for good shots and shoot well early to develop confidence.