GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN 3
BALTIMORE-- UMBC men's basketball returns to action this weekend against Hartford in a battle of top three America East teams. The Retrievers are coming off 68-66 and 69-54 wins at New Hampshire last weekend to improve to 9-2, 5-1 AE on the year, their best DI start and the best start in program history since 1981-82. Junior R.J. Eytle-Rock (London, England) had a monster game on Sunday with 27 points, 19 coming in the second-half including the go-ahead bucket with under a minute to go.
Hartford Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (9-2, 5-1 AE) vs. Hartford Hawks (8-5, 5-3 AE)
Where: UMBC Event Center - Baltimore, Md.
When: Saturday-Sunday, January 16-17 - Both games start at 1 p.m.
How to Watch: Both games on ESPN 3 - Live stats at UMBCRetrievers.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, #RetrieverNation, #AEHoops
Scouting the Retrievers:
-The Retrievers are coming into the weekend at 9-2, 5-1 AE on the year after a sweep of UNH last weekend. UMBC has won nine of their last 10 and are sporting a 3-1 home record in 2020-21. R.J. Eytle-Rock helped the Retrievers to a win on Sunday, hitting the go-ahead bucket with under a minute to go, two of his season-high 27 points in the contest.
-Eytle-Rock is one of six Retrievers averaging 9.0 ppg or better at 12.8 ppg. He is shooting 50 percent from the floor in just under 30 minutes per game. Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) leads the team and is top five in the America East in scoring at 15.2 ppg while grabbing a team-best 8.1 rpg. L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary), Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC), Daniel Akin (London, England), and Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) are all over 9.0 ppg to help pace the Retrievers.
-UMBC is averaging 71.5 ppg giving up just 64.7 ppg to opponents. The Retrievers have been a big second-half team, outscoring opponents 432-364 (+68) in the second half of games this year.
Scouting the Hawks:
-Hartford comes to Charm City at 8-5, 5-3 AE after earning a split at UMass Lowell last weekend. The Hawks dropped the first meeting 71-62 before earning a 75.58 win in the finale on Sunday.
-Austin Williams leads a quartet of Hawks in double figures at 12.1 ppg shooting 53 percent from the floor. Moses Flowers and Miroslav Stafl are just behind him at 11.6 and 11.1 ppg respectively with Stafl leading the team with 6.0 rpg. Traci Carter is the other Hawk in double figures at 10.6 ppg.
All-Time Series:
-The Hawks and Retrievers have met 38 times prior to this weekend with the series deadlocked at 19-19. The Retrievers have won the last three matchups, including a season sweep last year. Dating back to 2017-18, UMBC has won six of eight matchups including a pair of America East Tournament semifinal contests.
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 92 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.
Horvath Chasing 1K:
-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 110 points away from reaching the milestone, and will be the 24th Retriever all-time to hit the mark.
Up Next:
-The Retrievers will hit the road to take on UMass Lowell next weekend. Both games will tip-off at noon on Watch ESPN.
