It didn’t take long for Kellen Tynes to make men’s basketball history on Thursday night.
Tynes, a graduate student guard for the University of Maine Black Bears, needed just one steal to set a new all-time UMaine career record heading into Thursday’s matchup against the New Jersey Institute of Technology. And he only needed about two minutes to move to the top of that list.
Two minutes and 21 seconds into the first half, Tynes poked the ball away from NJIT guard Ari Fulton while defending underneath the basket. UMaine teammate Quion Burns picked up the ball and took it the other way for a fast break. Tynes added a second steal later in the first half.
Tynes now stands alone as Maine’s all-time steals leader with 245 as of halftime Thursday night. He started the night tied with Marty Higgins at 243, who had his own impressive defensive run in the late 1980s and early 90s.
Tynes notably has reached the feat in only three years at UMaine after transferring from Montana State. That means Tynes broke the steals record at a much faster pace than his predecessors, needing about 30 fewer games to reach and then eclipse the mark.
In his three years at UMaine, Tynes has made a habit of making school history. He became the first ever member of the Umaine men’s team to be named America East Defensive Player of the year in the 2022-23 season, an honor he won again last season.
Tynes also started Thursday leading the nation in total steals for the season. His 75 steals heading in Tuesday night’s game put him just ahead of UC San Diego guard Hayden Gray.
This story will be updated.
