UMBC at Tulane, Monday, 11/7  | Watch Live | Live Stats | UMBC Game Notes
 
22-23 TEAM PREVIEW
Fresh off an 18-win season and a second place America East finish in Head Coach Jim Ferry's first year in Baltimore, the UMBC men's basketball program is set to tip off its 55th campaign on Monday evening against the Tulane Green Wave in New Orleans, Louisiana.
 
A dearth of talent is certainly not a concern for Ferry, but integrating eight newcomers early in the season could be a test for the veteran mentor. "It's just a different challenge and I think that blending the team will certainly be our biggest task this season," Ferry admits. "The transfer portal and the ability to play right away will change the landscape of college basketball, however as coaches, you have to adapt to that, and I think we've done that as a staff. We have a lot of experience on the roster, but this group has not had a lot of shared experiences. We'll have to create chemistry every single day in practice and during the early portion of our schedule."
 
Despite the aforementioned challenge, one dynamic that should pay huge dividends is the fact that four of those fresh faces, guard Colton Lawrence (Myerstown, Pa., The Hill School / Bentley), guard Craig Beaudion II (Chicago, Ill., Whitney Young / Cleveland State), forward Jarvis Doles (Baltimore, Md., Hammond / UAlbany), and forward Tra'Von Fagan (Waterloo, Iowa, Cedar Falls / Buffalo) bring maturity and championship pedigree to Baltimore.
 
Lawrence, a graduate student, averaged a team-high 15.7 points for NCAA DII Elite Eight participant Bentley last season and has scored over 1,500 points during his career. At 6-for-3, Lawrence is an explosive scorer and can get his points in a multitude of ways due to his athleticism. The 6-foot-3 Beaudion is a big point guard who helped lead Cleveland State to a Horizon League title in 2021. Ferry loves how Beaudion controls the pace of the game and views him as an extension of the coaching staff on the floor. The versatile 6-foot-7 Fagan played on a Buffalo team that reached the NCAA Second Round in 2019. Fagan can play both inside and out and has a really good feel for the game. At 6-foot-8, Doles is an experienced player who will help on the glass and can score both in the low post and out on the perimeter. He also brings plenty of knowledge from his time at America East rival UAlbany as well as Drexel.
 
"The thing that we focused on during recruiting was not only getting guys with experience, but bringing in players with winning track records," Ferry explains. "We wanted student-athletes that have been coached hard and are accustomed to being held accountable. I think the maturity of this group and the fact that they are such great teammates has helped tremendously. The process of meshing our team has been smoother than I expected."
 
The point guard spot is a critical area on the floor and Ferry believes that he has a great situation with his two lead guards, Beaudion and 6-foot-0 freshman Mason Docks (East Lansing, Mich., Williamston). Docks has dynamic speed and an aggressive nose to score and attack the basket. The tandem could even see some time on the floor together, which Ferry believes will make the Retrievers more dynamic. "I think Mason can learn from Craig's experience and it's fun to watch them challenge each other every day," he exclaims.
 
6-foot-3 senior wing Jacob Boonyasith (Grand Rapids, Mich., Jenison / American) and 6-foot-7 senior forward Yaw Obeng-Mensah (Toronto, Ontario, Emery Collegiate Institute / Santa Fe College) are the two returners who will be counted upon heavily this season. Boonyasith played in all 32 contests last season for the Retrievers and made 16 starts. Ferry thinks the savvy veteran can be an all-conference player because of his ability to score in a variety of ways. A tenacious power forward, Obeng-Mensah turned in a strong initial season, averaging a team-best 5.3 rebounds along with 6.9 ppg.  Ferry believes that he's improved greatly and has expanded his game on both ends of the floor.
 
Another key addition to the rotation will be sophomore transfer Devan Sapp (San Jose, Calif., Archbishop Mitty / City College of San Francisco), who was a First Team California Community College Athletic Association All-League pick after averaging 10.8 ppg. at City College of San Francisco last season. Sapp is a terrific long-distance shooter but also brings great size and is a strong physical presence at 6-foot-4.
 
Four additional players will challenge for minutes in a crowded backcourt. 6-foot-2 junior Matteo Picarelli (Milan, Italy, Inter-Community School of Zurich (Switzerland)) is skilled and brings additional long-range shooting, 6-foot-3 freshman Dion Brown (Great Barrington, Mass., Vermont Academy) is a highly touted athletic wing, and 6-foot-1 sophomore JC Harris (Gaithersburg, Md., Northwest) is an intelligent player who knows the system. 6-foot-3 junior Patrick Jones (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) is a hard-working walk-on who will provide depth.
 
Sophomore wing Tre Edwards (Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton Heights Christian / Akron) and junior Anyang Garang (Adelaide, Australia, NBA Global Academy / Oklahoma) were both members of the program last season after transferring from Akron and Oklahoma respectively. Neither player saw action due to injury, but both have worked hard to get back on the court and are expected to contribute this season. The 6-foot-7 Edwards is an exceptional three-point threat. At 6-foot-9, Garang is another versatile forward who provides length around the rim. 6-foot-6 freshman Regimantas Ciunys (Vilnius, Lithuania, The Harvey (N.Y.) School ) is a tough, athletic wing and adds depth.
 
Although it's early, Ferry has been very pleased with the cohesiveness of his unit. "I think we are a pretty balanced team and have versatility. We are an unselfish group, and the guys enjoy playing for one other. We have multiple guys who can shoot and are a tighter defensive team overall than we were last season. We need to get better, especially on the defensive end, but the more this group plays together, the better we'll get."
 
The Retrievers were picked in the middle of the pack in the preseason America East coaches' poll, but Ferry is not concerned about what others in the conference believe or are doing to prepare for the season. "The league is really good and has gotten better, but we are just so focused on our team right now and don't have the time to think about anything else. We have very good coaches in this league who have taken advantage of the portal. I just expect every night to be a challenge."
 
The non-conference schedule is a reflection of Ferry's strategy to compete against strong teams early in the season. "It's challenging, and that's always been my philosophy," he states. "After Tulane, we'll play difficult road games at UNC Greensboro, Georgetown, and Maryland. "It's about getting better every day and learning about ourselves so that we are ready for conference play. The priority is always about the conference season," he concludes.
 
It all gets started in The Big Easy on Monday night!

SETTING THE STAGE
UMBC begins its 55th season against the Tulane Green Wave on Monday evening.
This is the 37th season of DI hoops for the Black and Gold.
The Retrievers enter the season with ten scholarship players that have never dressed for the program.
Just four current scholarship players have stepped onto the court in a UMBC uniform,
Yaw Obeng-Mensah, JC Harris, Matteo Picarelli and Jacob Boonyasith. Obeng-Mensah and Boonyasith
are both projected to start on Monday evening.
In season openers, UMBC holds a 15-21 mark in DI play.
The Retrievers last road opening day win came at Coppin State in 1999-2000
UMBC's last opening day win was a 134-46 triumph over Valley Forge in 2019.
Tulane finished 14-15 last season and were 10-8 in the America Athletic Conference.
Sophomore guard Jalen Cook was a First Team All-AAC selection and a NABC First-Team All-District pick
after pacing the Green Wave in scoring at 18.0 ppg.
 
SERIES HISTORY
UMBC and Tulane have never met.
UMBC is 8-15 all-time against teams that are currently members of the AAC. There last win came against Navy
in 2013-14, before the Mids joined their new league.
 
WINNING PEDIGREE
Newcomers Colton Lawrence, Craig Beaudion II, and Tra'von Fagan have all played on championship teams
at the collegiate level. Lawrence helped lead Bentley to the NCAA Elite Eight last season while
Beaudion II (Cleveland State) and Fagan (Buffalo) both were members of NCAA Tournament squads.
 
A PROGRAM ON THR RISE
UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 118-74 (.614)
over the past six seasons. UMBC enjoyed three straight 20+ win seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19, while
their 25 victories in 2017-18 was a program high.
UMBC became the first #16 seed to knock off a #1 seed when the Retrievers shocked Virginia, 74-54,
in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
 
COACH FERRY
Jim Ferry is entering his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach and his second at UMBC.
Ferry led the Retrievers to an 18-14 mark in his initial season last year as well as an appearance in the
America East Finals.
Prior to his arrival in Baltimore, Ferry served in 2020-21 as the interim head coach at Penn State. He led the
Nittany Lions to an 11-14 overall mark and a 7-12 Big Ten record that included wins over NCAA Tournament
teams No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 15 Virginia Tech , Rutgers, and Maryland (twice).
Ferry spent 10 seasons as head coach at LIU Brooklyn, guiding the program to unprecedented levels of
success. He led the Blackbirds to the Northeast Conference regular-season titles and tournament
championships
in 2011 and 2012, including their first NCAA Championship appearance in 14 years.
 
LET'S LOOK AT SOME NUMBERS FROM 2021-22      
UMBC led the America East in free throw percentage last season with a .784 clip.
The squad finished 11th in the country in the category.
Offensively, the Retrievers averaged 73.7 ppg a season ago, which ranked second in the AE.
UMBC led the AE in long-distance shooting with a 37.8 percent rate, which was good for 17th in the nation.
The Retrievers ranked third in the league in assists-turnover ratio (1.13)
Current Retriever Yaw Obeng-Mensah finished 11th in the league in rebounding at 5.3 per game.
Keondre Kennedy finished 7th in the league in scoring (14.8 ppg.) and was sixth in field goal percentage (.496).
L.J. Owens, an America East All-Conference Third Team pick last season, was second in the league in 3-PT
field goal percentage (.429).
Darnell Rodgers led the league in free throw percentage at .907. and was third in assists per game (3.6)
 
MILESTONE WATCH
1,000 career points - Colton Lawrence (856)
600 career points - Jacob Boonyasith (565)
600 career points - Jarvis Doles (561)
400 career rebounds - Colton Lawrence (338)
400 career field goals - Colton Lawrence (318)
300 career rebounds - Jarvis Doles (285)
250 career field goals - Jacob Boonyasith (202)
200 career rebounds - Yaw Obeng-Mensah (170)
200 career field goals - Jarvis Doles (190)
200 career field goals - Craig Beaudion II (172)
200 career assists - Craig Beaudion II (178)
150 career 3pt-fg - Colton Lawrence (129)
150 career 3pt-fg - Jacob Boonyasith (113)
100 career assists - Colton Lawrence (77)
100 career free throws - Colton Lawrence (91)
100 career games - Jacob Boonyasith (99)
100 career steals - Craig Beaudion II (73)
75 career 3pt-fg - Jarvis Doles (74)
50 career steals - Jacob Boonyasith (44)
 
UP NEXT
UMBC will play their home opener at The Peake against Penn State York on Thursday, November 10.
The Retrievers have won six straight home openers.
UMBC has won both contests against Penn State York, last defeating the Nittany Lions just a season ago, 85-47,
in their home opener.
Penn State York begins a four-game home stand for UMBC, which also includes Princeton (11/14),
Lafayette (11/18), and Central Connecticut State (11/20).