GAME NOTES | ESPN 3 | LIVE STATS
BALTIMORE-- UMBC men's basketball looks to extend their six-game win streak against Binghamton this weekend. The Retrievers are coming off a pair of wins at UAlbany last weekend to open America East play and improve to 6-1, 2-0 AE on the year. The Retrievers are off to their best start to a season since 2016-17 when they started the year 7-1.
Binghamton Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (6-1, 2-0 AE) vs. Binghamton Bearcats (0-5, 0-2 AE)
Where: UMBC Event Center - Baltimore, Md.
When: Sunday-Monday, December 27-28 - 1:00 p.m. start both days
How to Watch: Both games streamed on ESPN 3 and ESPN app, live stats at UMBCRetrievers.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, #RetrieverNation, #AEHoops
Scouting the Retrievers:
-UMBC brings a six-game win streak into the weekend series with the Bearcats sitting at 6-1, 2-0 AE after a sweep of UAlbany last weekend. The Retrievers are 2-0 at home this year, playing their first home games since the beginning of the month. Last time out, Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) led the charge with a career-high 27 points on 10-14 shooting in a 65-60 win against the Great Danes.
-Horvath leads four in double figures at 15.9 ppg and is leading the team on the boards with 8.4 rpg. He is shooting 60.8 percent from the field with 17 assists. Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC) is just behind him at 11.3 ppg with a team best 21 assists. R.J. Eytle-Rock (London, England) and Daniel Akin (London, England) are also in double figures at 10.9 and 10.6 ppg. Akin is collecting 8.1 rpg.
Scouting the Bearcats:
-Binghamton is 0-5, 0-2 AE on the year after dropping a pair of tough contests against Stony Brook last weekend. The Bearcats took the Seawolves to overtime on Sunday but ended up losing 80-70. George Tinsley led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds.
-Brenton Mills leads the charge averaging 14.4 ppg with 14 assists and four steals. Thomas Bruce and Tinsley are just behind Mills averaging 9.7 and 9.4 ppg. Tinsley leads the team on the boards averaging 7.0 rpg.
All-Time Series:
-Binghamton and UMBC have met 35 times prior to this weekend with the Retrievers holding a slim 18-17 lead in the series. Last year, the Bearcats swept the season series by a combined margin of just six points.
-Prior to last year, the Retrievers won the last seven meetings dating back to the 2015-16 season.
Going Back-to-Back:
-Brandon Horvath was named America East Player of the Week on Dec. 22 after helping the Retrievers to a conference-opening sweep of UAlbany. Senior forward Daniel Akin was named America East Player of the Week, the conference announced on Dec. 14. Akin averaged a near double-double, helping the Retrievers to a 3-0 week and improve to 4-1 as they entered conference play on Saturday.
-It is the first time two Retrievers won the award in back-to-back weeks since 2007 when Ray Barbosa and Cavell Johnson won the award the first two weeks of the season.
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 89 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.
Spasojevic Hits 100 Mark:
-Senior forward Dimitrije Spasojevic (Vrsac, Serbia) played in his 100th career game against UAlbany on Sunday, Dec. 20. He has played in 39 games for the Retrievers having played in 61 contests at his prior stop at East Carolina.
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 151 points away from reaching the milestone, and will be the 24th Retriever all-time to hit the mark.
-As a team, the Retrievers are third in the America East in scoring at 72.3 ppg and are second in scoring margin at +8.0. The Retrievers have the best field goal percentage (46.2) and the best field goal defense (38.1) with Horvath sitting in third in scoring (15.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (8.4 rpg).
Up Next:
-The Retrievers will hit the road for a pair of America East contests at Stony Brook after the New Year. UMBC and Stony Brook will battle on Long Island Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 2-3 on Watch ESPN.
