UMBC (4-4, 0-0 America East) at Coppin State (0-7, 0-0 MEAC) | Thursday, Nov. 30, 7:00 p.m. (Physical Education Complex Arena) | Watch | Live State | Game Notes

SETTING THE STAGE

• UMBC began their 56th season at Louisville on Nov. 6. This is the 38th season of DI hoops for the Black and Gold.
• In season openers, UMBC now holds a 15-23 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.
• UMBC had won seven straight home openers until falling to Marist.
• UMBC went 1-1 in Virginia as they bested Hampton on Monday night after falling to William & Mary.
• Graduate student forward Khydarius Smith needs just five points to reach 700 for his career.
• SO guard Dion Brown was named the America East Player of the Week (Nov. 13) for the first time in his career.

SERIES HISTORY

• UMBC is 15-27 all-time verus Coppin State.
• The Dawgs have won five straight against the Eagles.
• The Retrievers cruised to a 109-82 victory last season at The Peake. UMBC burried 21-of-40 treys in the contest..
• Coppin's last victory against UMBC was a 91-71 decision on their home court during the 2013-14 campaign.

A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• Coppin has gotten off to a difficult start as they are being outscored by an average of 21.3 ppg. over their first seven contests.
• The Eagles highest scoring output this year has been 62 points (at LaSalle, 11/26).
• Head Coach Larry Stewart '06 is in his first season at his alma mater. He is one of two Eagles to play in the NBA.
• The Eagles are shooting just 23 percent (28-of-122) from 3-point territory.  Justin Winston is averaging a team-high 9.4 ppg. and Toto Fagbenie is grabbing a team-best 3.7 rebounds per game.

WHO'S HOT

• Graduate student forward Khydarius Smith is second in the America East with a .618 shooting rate (43rd in country) and is 9th in scoring (14.3 ppg.).
• The USC Upstate transfer erupted for a career high 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the win versus Sacred Heart. He hit 7-of-9 clutch free throws, also a career best against the Pioneers. 
• Smith made his first start as a Retriever versus Loyola Maryland. 
• Junior guard Devan Sapp has had the touch from long-range during the early going this season. Sapp, who made just 8-of-29 (.276) treys in his initial season in Baltimore last year, is 17-for-36 (.472 percent) from distance. 
• Sapp is second in the America East in 3-pt field goal percentage and is 7th in 3s per game with 2.1.
• Junior guard Marcus Banks Jr. has made 13 consecutive free throws and is 19-of-20 over his last five games. He's 97th in the country at 88.5 percent overall.

BROWN'S BIG SECOND-HALF PERFORMANCES

• Brown has enjoyed some terrific second half performances thus far this season.
• Most recently, UMBC's leading scorer and rebounder, poured in 15 of his team-high 17 points in the win at Hampton on Monday night.
• Brown scored 16 of his 18 points in the final stanza at William & Mary.
• He also scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the season-opener at Louisville.

COOL UNDER PRESSURE

• The Retrievers have been much better from the foul line during crunch time this season.
• UMBC, who is shooting just .647 from the charity stripe as a team this year, are a combined 37-47(.787) over the final four minutes of play.
• Banks is 14-of-15 (.933) to lead the squad. 

MAD MAX

• Graduate student Max Lorca-Lloyd, who will have two seasons of eligibilty at UMBC, is 3rd in the America East with 15 blocks (1.9 per game) and is 55th in the country
• Lorca-Lloyd came off the bench for the first time versus Loyola Maryland and swatted a career high four shots.
• Lorca-Lloyd was 5th in the Ivy last season in blocks per game at UPenn, averaging 1.2 bpg.

REESE A PLEASANT SURPRISE

• Freshman guard Ashton Reese has been a huge surprise in the early season and has forced his way into Coach Ferry's rotation.
• The 6'5' sharpshooter converted a clutch, conventional 3-pt play in the win versus Sacred Heart and also added a trifecta in the game.
• The Scottsdale, Arizona native played a then career high 20 minutes in the victory against Loyola. He made 3-of-5 shots and went 2-for-4 from behind the arc.
• Reese is 5-of-9 (56 percent) from downtown this season

BENCH MOB

• The Retrievers' bench is averaging 28.4 ppg. UMBC ranks 61st in the nation in the category.

BIG SECOND HALF LIFTS DAWGS TO COMEBACK WIN AT HAMPTON

• UMBC sophomore Dion Brown scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as the visiting Retrievers rallied for an 80-76 victory over the Hampton Pirates on Monday evening at the Convocation Center.
• Brown hit 6-of-10 shots in the second half after going just 1-for-5 in the first stanza. The guard also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and added two steals. Junior guard Marcus Banks Jr. also enjoyed a huge second half as he scored all 14 of his points in the period. Junior forward Marlon Short (7 rebounds) added 13 points, his Retrievers' high, on 6-of-8 shooting and junior guard Bryce Johnson was also in double-figures with 10 points.
• UMBC (4-4) trailed by as many as seven points in the first half and went to the locker room down 32-26 after shooting just 30.6 percent overall in the opening stanza.
• The visitors evened the game at the 14:51 mark, 38-38, as they went on a 12-6 run to open the second half. Brown scored eight points during the key stretch for the Retrievers.
• The game was still even at 48-48 midway through the stanza after Banks completed a fast break with a triple.
• The Retrievers took their first lead of the contest at 55-54 after Brown completed a conventional three-point play with 7:39 left. Junior guard Devan Sapp followed with a fast break bucket and then Brown capitalized off a turnover to make it 59-54 with 6:43 remaining.
• Hampton (2-5) responded with seven consecutive points to reclaim a 61-59 edge at the 5:32 mark.
• The game went back-and-forth and was tied for the final time at 70-70 with 1:51 left after a driving layup by Hampton's Tedrick Wilcox.
• Banks gave UMBC the lead for good at 72-70 after two free throws with 1:35 remaining.
• Leading 74-71 with forty-two ticks left, UMBC drew an offensive foul on Wilcox and then made six consecutive free throws to ice the game down the stretch.
• The Retrievers, who made just 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) treys, converted 27-of-64 field goal attempts for a 42.2 percent rate. They also went 20-for-27 (74 percent) from the charity stripe. The Dawgs turned things around in the second half as they made 16-of-28 shots for a 57.1 percent clip.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

• UMBC is one of just six DI programs that did not return a single player who started one game for their current team last season. The others are Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northwestern State and Utah State.

A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 136-88 (.614) over the past seven seasons. UMBC enjoyed three straight 20+ win seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19. 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.
• Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (formerly the UMBC Event Center) officially opened on Feb. 3, 2018, as the UMBC men's basketball team hosted the Vermont Catamounts before a capacity crowd of 4,753. Both the men's and women's basketball teams played their February and March games in the new facility, which included three post-season victories.
• The on-campus facility can accommodate nearly 6,000 patrons for commencements, concerts, featured speakers, and other events. It includes spectator facilities, such as concessions, catering, hospitality, restrooms, security and guest services.

COACH FERRY

• Jim Ferry is in his 23rd season as a collegiate head coach and his third at UMBC.
• Ferry has led the Retrievers to consecutive 18-14 records as well as an appearance in the America East Finals in 2021-22. The Retrievers finished fourth in the league a season ago.
• 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.

MILESTONE WATCH  

• 700 career points -  Marlon Short (683)
• 700 career points - Khydarius Smith (695)
• 600 career points - Bryce Johnson (528)
• 300 career points -Marcus Banks, Jr. (336)
• 400 career rebounds - Marlon Short (339)
• 350 career rebounds - Khydarius Smith (350)
• 300 career field goals - Marlon Short (280)  
• 300 career field goals -Khydarius Smith (305)
• 200 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (182)
• 100 career assists - Marlon Short (96)
• 100 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (95) 
• 100 career free throws - Marlon Short (101)
• 75 career blocks - Khydarius Smith (77)
• 75 career blocks - Max Lorca-Lloyd- (61)

FORMER RETRIEVERS IN THE PRO'S

•  #1. Daniel Akin (6'9''-F-1998, played in 2017-21, plays pro in France) could not help one of league's weakest teams SIG Strasbourg (3-1) in their last game. Despite his good performance SIG Strasbourg lost 72-87 on the road to the leading Pinar Karsiyaka. Akin recorded 11 points in 24 minutes. It was SIG Strasbourg's first loss after three consecutive victories. There are only two games left until the end of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. This year Akin averages 5.3ppg and 3.9rpg in seven games he played so far.
•    #2. Szymon Wojcik (6'10''-F-1999, played in 2020-22, plays in Poland) led Grupa Sierleccy-Czarni Slupsk to a victory against the fifth-ranked Wilki Morskie (6-4) 86-82 in the Polish OBL on Sunday night. He recorded 13 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Grupa Sierleccy-Czarni Slupsk (4-5) is placed tenth in the OBL. But this is still an early stage of the season and everything may happen. It's Wojcik's first year with the team. This season Wojcik averages 8.3ppg and 4.1rpg.
• #3. Keondre Kennedy (6'6''-G/F, played in 2019-22, currently in Italy) contributed to an easy victory against the sixth-ranked Juvi Cremona (6-5) 96-80 in the Italian Serie A2 (second division) in Sunday night's game. He scored 15 points in 23 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only Kennedy's first season in pro basketball. Reale Mutua Basket Torino (1-6) is placed 11th in Group Green. Kennedy has relatively good stats this year 14.1ppg, 4.0rpg and 3.4apg in 11 games.
• #4. Brandon Horvath (6'10''-F/C-1999, played in 2017-21, plays pro in Belgium) contributed to an easy victory against the ninth-ranked Leuven Bears (3-8) 79-64 in the BNXT League last Sunday. Horvath scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Brussels Basketball (6-4) is placed fourth in the BNXT League. It was his team's first victory after three consecutive loses. Horvath has relatively good stats this season 10.4ppg and 5.7rpg.
•   #5. KJ Jackson (6'2''-G-1998, played in 2018-20, plays in France) was not able to help Aix-Maurienne Savoie Basket in their game against Pau-Lacq-Orthez (5-3) in the French ProB (second division). Jackson scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 32 minutes. Aix-Maurienne Savoie Basket was badly defeated93-73 on the opponent's court by the lower-ranked (#8) Pau-Lacq-Orthez. But the season just started, so everything may happen. It's Jackson's first year with the team. He has relatively good stats this season 14.0ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.6apg and 2.0spg in seven games.
• #6. Jacob Boonyasith (6'3''-G, played in 2020-23, currently in Spain) was not able to secure a victory for Tarragona in their game against Cartagena in the Spanish LEB Silver (third division). Despite his very good performance in Sunday night's game He was the second best scorer with 13 points. Boonyasith has relatively good stats this season 13.7ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.3apg and 1.1spg.

Other former UMBC players who play in pro basketball:

• Kevin Maura (5'8''-PG-1995, played in 2016-18) plays for Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rican BSN
• Craig Beaudion (6'3''-G-1998, played in 2022-23) signed for KK Joker Sombor in Serbian KLS
• Jarvis Doles (6'8''-F-1998, played in 2022-23) signed for Garveys Tralee Warriors in Irish Super League
• Arkel Lamar (6'6''-F-1996, played in 2016-20) plays for Western Mass Zombies in the ECBL
• Quentin Jones (6'0''-G-1990, played in 2020-14) plays for Wenatchee Bighorns in the TBL
• Anyang Garang (6'9''-F-2000, played in 2021-23) plays for Darwin Salties in Australian NBL One
• Jakob Stenhede (6'10''-F-1995, played in 2013-16) plays for Sloga Uppsala in Swedish Superettan

UP NEXT

• UMBC will host Lehigh on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. 
• The Retrievers blitzed the Mountain Hawks, 88-62, last season in Bethlehem, Pa. UMBC shot 55 percent and hit 11 treys in the contest. Jacob Boonyasith scored a team-high 17 points for the Dawgs. Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored a game-high 23 points for Lehigh.