GAME NOTES | VIDEO (ESPN 3)
BALTIMORE-- UMBC men's basketball takes a four-game win streak to New York as they open America East play against UAlbany on Saturday and Saturday. The Retrievers most recently overcame a slow first-half to defeat Coppin State, 66-49 on Sunday afternoon. The Retrievers got a double-double from Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
UAlbany Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (4-1, 0-0 AE) at UAlbany Great Danes (0-0, 0-0 AE)
Where: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
When: Saturday-Sunday, December 19-20 - Saturday- 4 p.m., Sunday- 2 p.m.
How to Watch: Both games streamed on ESPN 3, live stats at UAlbanySports.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, #RetrieverNation, #AEHoops
Scouting the Retrievers:
-UMBC heads to the Capital Region on a four-game win streak after defeating Coppin State 66-49 on Sunday in West Baltimore. The Retrievers got a big contribution from Brandon Horvath with 18 points and 14 rebounds, also getting 12 points each from Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) and L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary). UMBC shot just 27 percent in the first half but shot a scorching 49 percent in the second to pull away with the win.
-All five Retriever starters are averaging double figures led by Horvath at 13.2 ppg. He is also the team leader at 8.6 rpg. Just behind him are Daniel Akin (London, England) at 11.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg. R.J. Eytle-Rock (London, England), Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC), and Owens are averaging 11.4, 11.4, and 10.4 ppg respectively.
-UMBC is averaging 75.2 ppg, giving up 65.2 ppg for a +10 ppg margin. The Retrievers are outrebounding teams by 4.2 rpg averaging a total of 39.4 per game.
Scouting the Great Danes:
-UAlbany will be playing in their first games of the season after having their non-conference schedule canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the program. The last time the Great Danes hit the hardwood was against Stony Brook in the America East Quarterfinals on March 7 where they fell 76-73 on Long Island. UAlbany finished the season at 14-18, 7-9 AE last year.
-The Great Danes return three of their top five scorers from a year ago, led by junior Cameron Healy. Healy averaged 16.7 ppg shooting 35.6 percent from three with 134 assists. Classmate Antonio Rizzuto averaged 7.7 ppg shooting a team-best 35.8 percent from deep. Sophomore Trey Hutcheson returns for his second season after scoring 6.7 ppg playing in all 32 games as a freshman.
All-Time Series:
-The Retrievers and Great Danes have played 38 times prior to the weekend set with the Great Danes leading 27-11. Last year the two split the season series with each team winning on the road. UMBC snapped an 11-game road losing streak in the series last year with a 69-50 win. It was the first time the Retrievers won in Albany since 2009.
-UMBC has had the upper hand of late in the series, winning four of the last six with the only two losses coming in the last two years.
Akin Honored:
-Senior forward Daniel Akin was named America East Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. Akin averaged a near double-double, helping the Retrievers to a 3-0 week and improve to 4-1 as they enter conference play on Saturday.
-The London native averaged 14.3 ppg and 8.0 rpg with 1.3 bpg. Akin shot 82 percent from the floor including a career-high 19 points against George Washington. He followed that up with 16 points against Delaware and capped his week with eight points and 10 rebounds in a win against Coppin State on Sunday.
Odom Climbing the Ranks:
-Head coach Ryan Odom is back for his fifth season at the helm of the Retrievers. Odom led the Dawgs to their third-straight America East Semifinal appearance, finishing fourth in the league at 8-8. He will be looking for his fourth 20-win season in five years and is the third-winningest coach in program history with 87 wins.
-He is now behind Tom Sullivan in second (106 wins) and Billy Jones (145 wins) in first. Sullivan hit his mark in nine seasons and Jones was on the sidelines for 12 years.
Facts & Figures:
-Senior Brandon Horvath played in his 100th career contest against Coppin State on December 13. He is also fast approaching 1,000 career points, just 196 points away from reaching the milestone, and will be the 24th Retriever all-time to hit the mark.
-As a team, the Retrievers are second in the America East in scoring at 75.2 ppg and are first in scoring margin at +10.0 and scoring defense at 65.2 ppg.
Up Next:
-The Retrievers will return to the UMBC Event Center following the Christmas holiday for an America East series against Binghamton on Sunday and Monday, December 27-28. Both games will tip-off at 1 p.m. on ESPN 3 or ESPN+.
