GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | VIDEO (WATCH ESPN)
BALTIMORE-- UMBC men's basketball continues their road swing at Stony Brook on Sunday and Monday on Long Island. The Retrievers are currently in a tie for first place with Vermont after a split with NJIT last weekend. The Highlanders completed a second-half comeback to win game one before UMBC used a strong second half to take game two and move to 11-4, 7-3 AE.
Stony Brook Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (11-4, 7-3 AE) at Stony Brook Seawolves (8-8, 6-4 AE)
Where: Island FCU Arena - Stony Brook, N.Y.
When: Sunday-Monday, February 7-8 - Both games starting at 1 p.m.
How to Watch: Sunday will be streamed on ESPN 3 with Monday on ESPN +, live stats available at StonyBrookAthletics.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, #RetrieverNation, #AEHoops
Scouting the Retrievers:
-The Retrievers will make the quick turnaround and head to Long Island for a weekend set against Stony Brook on Sunday and Monday. UMBC is coming off a split at NJIT on Sunday and Tuesday after snow pushed game two back a day to sit at 11-4, 7-3 AE on the year. Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC) led the way on Tuesday with a team-high 17 points in a 75-71 win.
-Senior Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) leads the Retrievers in scoring at 14.3 ppg and is also the team leader at 8.5 rpg. The senior is just 62 points away from hitting 1,000 points and is currently top 20 in career rebounds. R.J. Eytle-Rock (London, England) is the only other Retriever in double figures at 13.1 ppg.
Scouting the Seawolves:
-Stony Brook comes into the weekend at 8-8, 6-4 AE on the year, currently fighting for a top-four seed. Last weekend, the Seawolves split with Hartford falling in game one 59-57 before taking game two 63-49 on Sunday.
-Juan Felix Rodriguez leads a trio of Seawolves in double figures at 11.9 ppg playing in nearly 32.2 mpg. He has dished out 54 assists with 16 steals. Frankie Policelli and Jaden Sayles are the other two in double figures at 11.3 and 11.2 ppg. Tykei Greene and Mouhamadou Gueye lead the team on the glass at 6.5 rpg.
All-Time Series:
-The Retrievers and Seawolves have met 37 times heading into the weekend with Stony Brook leading the series 25-12. Last year the two split the season series with each team winning on their home court. However, since the 2016-17 season, the series has been split 4-4.
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 94 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 62 points away from reaching the milestone, and will be the 24th Retriever all-time to hit the mark.
-Horvath is also currently in the top 20 in career rebounds (536) and is approaching the top ten in career games played.
Facts and Figures:
-R.J. Eytle-Rock is currently on a seven-game double-digit scoring streak that dates back to the second game against Binghamton on December 28. Over that span, Eytle-Rock is averaging 16.0 ppg with a 27 point performance against New Hampshire.
-Since the 2016-17 season, UMBC has made three or fewer three-pointers 12 times in a game with four of those games coming this season, in which the Retrievers won all four.
-UMBC has the best field goal defense in the America East, holding opponents to 39.3 percent from the floor. Brandon Horvath is in the top five in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage with Darnell Rogers ranking fourth in steals.
-Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) is seventh in the nation in free throw percentage at 93.3 percent while the team is 21st nationally in field goal defense and 53rd in scoring defense.
Up Next:
-The Retrievers will await their next opponent having a bye next weekend., The conference has gone to a system of announcing games two weeks out. The next opponent will be announced by the conference on Sunday.
