Men's Basketball Closes 2023 Versus American on Friday Evening at The Peake

UMBC sophomore guard Dion Brown and graduate student forward Khydarius Smith combined for 43 points on 17-of-28 shooting but the Retrievers dropped a 103-81 decision against the Iowa Hawkeyes, on Dec. 20 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Brown buried a career-high five three-point field goals, including his first five attempts, and was 9-of-14 from the floor on the evening, while Smith converted 8-of-14 attempts in the contest. Graduate forward Max Lorca-Lloyd added a game-high three blocks and junior guard Marcus Banks Jr. contributed eight points, a team-best five boards and three assists.
UMBC splashed a season-high 13 triples in the contest and finished at 52 percent from long-distance. Iowa (7-5, 0-2 Big Ten) outscored the Retrievers by a 66-34 margin in the paint and registered 33 assists while committing just four turnovers.

WHO'S HOT

Brown, who has averaged 20.0 points over his last five contests, has already recorded 20 or more points five times this season. He's converted 38-of-67 field goal attempts for a 57 percent clip during the stretch and has swished 11-of-24 treys (46 percent). Brown is 4th in the America East in scoring at 16.9 ppg., 8th in fg percentage (.505) and 11th in rebounding (5.5 pg.). His 95 total field goals leads the circuit and he ranks 21st in the nation.
Smith is 3rd in the America East with a .588 shooting rate and is 9th on the circuit in scoring (13.6 ppg.). He's 21-for-35 (60 percent) from the floor over his last three contests.
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.
Junior guard Devan Sapp has had the touch from long-range during non-conference slate. Sapp, who made just 8-of-29 (.276) treys in his initial season in Baltimore last year, is 22-for-48 (.458 percent) from distance and is 15th in the league with 1.6 3s per game.
Banks is 5th in the conference with 2.1 3-pt field goals per game and is sixth in 3-pt percentage at .358 percent.
FR guard Franck Emmou is 20-for-21 from the line this season (.952).
Lorca-Lloyd is second in the America East with 2.0 blocks per game.

A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

American dropped a 77-55 decision in their last time out at Virginia Tech. In his first career start, sophomore Jermaine Ballisager Webb scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Eagles in scoring, adding a team-leading six rebounds, as well. Freshman Matt Mayock knocked in all three of his three-point attempts to reach his nine total points.
First-year head coach Duane Simpkins is familiar to fans in the DMV, having played at prep power DeMatha Catholic and for Gary Williams at Maryland, where he scored more than 1,100 points in the mid-1990s.
The Eagles returned four of their top five scorers and have a strong core of leaders with five seniors on the roster. It's a team that defeated both Georgetown and GW last year and made a late-season run to the Patriot League semifinals.
AU's leading scorer last season was forward Matt Rogers (14.1 ppg), who returns for his fourth year and still has one remaining in 2024-25. Rogers was an All-PL Second Team pick as a junior, and a Preseason All-PL selection this season.
Junior guard Elijah Stephens has 97 career steals after just two years, and came close to cracking the all-time single-season steals list with 60 steals as a sophomore last year.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Friday will mark the 13th meeting between UMBC and American, a series which dates back to the 1986-87 season.
The Retrievers are 4-8 against the Eagles.
UMBC broke a six-game losing streak versus American in 2021, thumping the Eagles by a 98-67 margin at The Peake. Keondre Kennedy scored 21 points to lead the Retrievers.
UMBC is 2-4 against American in Baltimore.