The University of Maine men’s basketball team will enter Thursday night’s America East game at UMass Lowell seeking a fifth-straight victory.
If the Black Bears beat the River Hawks, it will be the program’s first five-game winning streak since the 2010-11 team won seven in a row.
The Black Bears’ 4-1 start in league play is its best since the 2010-11 team went 9-1 in its first 10 league contests.
UMaine, 12-8 overall, is facing UMass Lowell, 13-6 overall and 2-2 in the league, at 6 p.m. Thursday.
One of the catalysts for the Black Bears has been senior guard A.J. Lopez.
In five conference games, Lopez has averaged 20.6 points per game, which is second best in league play behind the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Bryce Johnson at 23 points per game.
But Lopez leads the conference in field goal shooting percentage (60.7 percent), 3-point shooting percentage (57.1) and made 3-pointers per game (3.2).
In all games, conference and non-conference, he is fifth in the league in scoring at 15.2 points per game. His 303 points are second-most and his 89.8 percent free throw shooting percentage is second-best.
His 44.9 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc is third best in America East and 13th in the country among players from 355 Division I schools.
He has scored in double figures 16 times in 20 games.
“He is having a great year,” said UMaine head coach Chris Markwood. “He has been really efficient. He has always been a good shooter who can score at all three levels [driving the lane, mid-range jump shots and 3-pointers].”
Markwood said Lopez is more familiar with the system after transferring from the University of New Hampshire following the 2022-23 season.
“He has gotten really comfortable in our system so I’ve asked him to do more,” pointed out Markwood. “We have to be creative and find different ways to get him the ball.”
“Things have come together. I’m not done, obviously, but I have more of a feel for the game right now,” said Lopez. “I’ve just got to keep doing the same things on a consistent level.”
Lopez had gotten off to a good start in his UMaine career last season, averaging 12.2 points per game through his first six games before sustaining a shoulder injury that sidelined him for a month.
That slowed his development although Markwood noted that he had some strong games at the end of the campaign.
He finished the season averaging 8.6 points per game and shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from long distance. Lopez said when he returned from the shoulder injury, he had lost 8 pounds and didn’t feel as strong.
“America East is a really physical league a lot of times. I was also still learning the system,” he said. “I had to know where to pick my spots and how to get to them a little better to help me score more points.”
Now, for the first time in his career, opposing teams are focusing on stopping him.
“A couple teams have faceguarded me. But coach Markwood is doing a great job finding ways to loosen up the coverage on me so I can get an open look or an easy drive to the lane,” said Lopez. “He is giving me more options and my teammates are finding me.”
Markwood said Lopez is the type of player who is capable of creating his own shot and Lopez said he has learned how to get to spots where he can shoot high-percentage shots.
“And he’s going to keep getting better,” said Markwood who also called him a “great kid.”
Lopez said he has been a 40-plus percent shooter from the floor since high school and he credited his father, Anthony Lopez Sr., for his influence on his career.
His father played basketball at Barry University in Florida.
“When I was younger, I put in a lot of work with my dad,” said the 6-foot-5 Queens, New York, native. “We worked on the fundamentals of basketball. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve polished them more.”
“He has definitely been a big part of my basketball life,” added the 23-year-old Lopez.
Playing street basketball in Queens and New York City with and against future NBA players was beneficial, he said.
“I have been around a lot of high-level basketball players even when I was a kid,” said Lopez.
Four of those players include Utah Jazz guard Justin Wright-Foreman, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and the Champagnie twins, Julian (San Antonio) and Justin (Washington).
“I still talk to those guys. They give me tips,” said Lopez.
In addition to his offense, he has focused on improving his defense and Markwood said Lopez has become a better defender.
“The coaching staff holds me accountable for my defense and they push me every day. I appreciate that because I want to be a two-way guard,” said Lopez. “And by focusing more on the defensive end opens up more things for me, offensively.”
Lopez was a redshirt his first season at New Hampshire and appeared in only 10 of UNH’s 30 games his sophomore year, so he transferred to UMaine where he felt he would get more of an opportunity to play.
And he knew Markwood and UMaine assistant Jordon Bronner.
Markwood had recruited him when he was an assistant at Northeastern and Bronner was an assistant coach at New Hampshire who also recruited him before joining Markwood at UMaine.
“I knew I would have a support system at Maine,” said Lopez.
He is enjoying his experience at UMaine and said he has been fortunate to be on a team with two top-notch guards in Kellen Tynes and Jaden Clayton, who can get the ball to the open shooter.
“They can find a needle in a haystack. I love playing with those guys,” said Lopez.
Lopez said he knows UMaine has never made the NCAA Tournament and feels this team has the potential to do so.
“I want to go to the NCAA Tournament at least once in my college career,” said Lopez, who has another year of eligibility.
