BALTIMORE– UMBC men's basketball returns to the hardwood against NJIT on Wednesday night after returning from a long layoff against UMass Lowell. The Retrievers held a lead with five minutes to go, but the River Hawks hit a bucket at the buzzer to defeat the Retrievers. 

NJIT Game Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (5-7, 0-1 AE) at NJIT Highlander (8-5, 3-0 AE)
Where: NJIT Wellness and Events Center - Newark, N.J.
When: Wednesday, January 12 - 7:00 P.M.
How to Watch: Live stream on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, live stats at NJITHighlanders.com
Social Media: @UMBC_MBB, @UMBCAthletics, #RetrieverNation, #AEHoops

Scouting the Retrievers:

• UMBC returned to action after a nearly month layoff due to Covid protocols against UMass Lowell on Saturday. The Retrievers held a lead for a majority of the game, but a River Hawk bucket at the buzzer gave UMBC their fifth straight loss to fall to 5-7, 0-1 AE on the year.
• Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) leads the Retriever offense averaging 14.7 ppg and shooting 48.2 percent from the floor after scoring 20 against UMass Lowell.
• Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC) and L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary) are also averaging double figures at 12.0 and 10.3 ppg respectively. Owens leads the team from three-point land, shooting a blistering 47.2 percent.
• Yaw Obeng-Mensah (Toronto, Ontario) leads the team on the glass, pulling down 5.8 rpg after grabbing a career-high 12 last time out.

Scouting the Highlanders:

• NJIT comes into the Wednesday night matchup leading the America East with a 3-0 record in league play. Most recently, the Highlanders defeated Binghamton, 67-56 on the road. NJIT held the Bearcats to just 39 percent shooting in the win.
• Dylan O'Hearn leads the Highlanders scoring at a 16.9 ppg clip in 36.8 mpg. O'Hearn is shooting 40.2 percent from the floor and 38.3 percent from three.
• Miles Coleman is just behind him at 16.8 ppg and is the only other Highlander averaging double figures. Coleman is the team leader in rebounds at 6.5 rpg.

All-Time Series:

• This will be just the fifth meeting all-time between the two schools with the Highlanders holding a 3-1 advantage. The two met for the first time since 2015 last year in Newark where the Retrievers and Highlanders split the two-game series.
• This will be the fourth straight game in the series to be played in Newark, with the last three being decided by a combined 10 points.

Milestone Watch:

• Several Retrievers are approaching career milestones in 2021-22. L.J. Owens is approaching the 1,000 point mark, needing just 178 points to achieve the mark. He is also just 5 games away from 100 career games played.
• Darnell Rogers needs 56 points to reach 500 career points.
• Newcomer Ray Salnave needs just 164 points to reach 1,500 career points after scoring 1,266 during his time at Monmouth and DePaul.

Up Next:

• The Retrievers will return home for a Saturday tilt with rival Vermont at The Peake.
• Tip-off with the Catamounts is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.