Kellen Tynes of the University of Maine lays up a shot between NJIT’s Miles Coleman, center, and other defenders during a game on Jan. 8. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Playing basketball for his country this week is a thrill, Kellen Tynes said. Taking what he learns and experiences suiting up for Team Canada and applying it on the court for the University of Maine next season is the goal.

“It’s been a dream of mine to represent my country,” said Tynes, a 6-foot-3 junior guard and native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. “I’m learning every day. It’s been good for me, because I’m learning on the fly. We do defensive rotations differently than at Maine, so it’s good for me to learn a new system.”

Tynes is in Toronto, playing for Canada in Globl Jam, an international under-23 showcase tournament. On Wednesday, Canada took an 88-62 win over BAL Select, a team comprising players from African countries. Thursday night, Canada fell to the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team. 93-69.

Tynes and Team Canada take on Germany at 8 p.m. Saturday. A win sends Canada to the gold medal game at 8 p.m. Sunday, a rematch against Kentucky. With a loss, Canada plays BAL Select in the bronze medal game at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Named the America East Defensive Player of the Year last season, his first with the Black Bears, Tynes made the national team after he was encouraged to attend an open tryout by UMaine head coach Chris Markwood. From there, Tynes was asked to play for Canada in a scrimmage against Jordan, after which the roster was trimmed from 18 players to the 12 selected to compete at Globl Jam.

Although he has no inside knowledge about the tryout process, Markwood said he’s not surprised Tynes was selected for the national team.

“I just think Kell was being Kell,” Markwood said. “I think he’s a very competitive basketball player who can influence the game on both sides of the ball.”

In the tournament opener against BAL Select, Tynes went 0 for 4 from the field, with a rebound and two assists. In the loss to Kentucky, Tynes found his shooting touch, going 3 for 6 from the floor and finishing with seven points, grabbing five rebounds while dishing out four assists with a steal. The play has been more physical than Tynes is accustomed to in NCAA games, he said.

“It took me the first quarter (of the first game) to get used to it. The refs don’t call as much,” Tynes said.

Last season was Tynes’ first at Maine after he transferred from Montana State. Tynes was immediately an impact player, helping the Black Bears improve from six wins in 2021-22 to 13 wins last winter, including an early season 69-64 win at Boston College, Maine first win over a Power Five conference team in a dozen years.

Tynes led all of NCAA Division I with 3.27 steals per game and total steals, 98, last season, becoming the first Maine player to earn America East Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors. Tynes also started in all 30 games, averaging 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Tynes is one of the players expected to lead the Black Bears to the next step as Markwood, a South Portland native who was hired to coach his alma mater last year, rebuilds the program.

“We need his leadership. We need his toughness,” Markwood said of Tynes. “He had a great first season with our program last year… I think playing with the national team is really going to help with his confidence.”

As improved as the Black Bears were last season, the season ended with a thud, an 85-54 loss to UMass Lowell in the first round of the conference tournament. That score is posted throughout the Black Bears locker room, a reminder that improvement doesn’t matter if it’s not continuous. Tynes plans to join the Black Bears for summer workouts Monday, as soon as Globl Jam is complete.

“There’s a lot of things you can only learn by playing the game,” Tynes said. “I was in a role I hadn’t been in in my previous college years. Now we know we have our core guys back. We have all the pieces. It’s about coming together and learning to play with each other.”