Towson (4-5, 0-0 Colonial) at UMBC (5-6, 0-0 America East) | Saturday, Dec. 9, 1:00 p.m. (THE PEAKE) | MASN | ESPN+ | Live Stats| Game Notes | Game Program
SETTING THE STAGE
- UMBC is 4-1 at The PEAKE this season
- The Dawgs will finish a difficult span of seven games in 18 days after they travel to Saint Peter's on Tuesday, Dec. 12. They are 2-3 thus far during the stretch.
- 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.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will mark the 64th meeting between UMBC and Towson, a series which dates back to the 1968-69 season.
- The Retrievers hold a 20-43 record against their Beltway rivals.
- The Tigers have won seven straight games in the series.Â
- The two squads last met during the 2019-2020 season, a 77-71 victory for Towson at TU Arena.
- UMBC's last win came during the 2012-13 campaign, a 66-62 triumph at the RAC.
A GLANCE AT THE TIGERS
- Towson defeated UMass 81-71 on Wednesday at TU Arena. Christian May dropped a career-high 27 points and Dylan Williamson added a career-best 17. Charles Thompson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.Â
- The Tigers return eight players from last season's 20-win team that reached the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals led by graduate student Charles Thompson and sophomore Christian May. Thompson enters his fifth season with the Tigers after being named to the CAA All-Defensive Team for the third straight season and All-CAA Second Team for the second consecutive season.
- In addition to May and Thompson, juniors Rahdir Hicks and Tyler Coleman, redshirt freshmen Dylan Williamson and Cole Paar, graduate student Chase Paar and redshirt junior Brandon Held will suit up again for the Tigers in 2023-24.
WHO'S HOT
- Brown is averaging 18.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over his last five contests. He's converted 40-of-76 field goal attempts for a 54 percent clip. Brown is 6th in the America East in scoring at 16.2 ppg., 9th in fg percentage (.497) and 12th in rebounding (5.7 pg.).
- Smith is 5th in the America East with a .584 shooting rate and is 12th in scoring (13.0 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.Â
- Smith made his first start as a Retriever versus Loyola Maryland.Â
- 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 19-for-42 (.452 percent) from distance and is second in the league in 3-pt field goal percentage.Â
- Banks is 5th in the conference in free throw percentage as he's hit 26-of-30 attempts for a .867 percent clip overall. Additionally, he's 10th in 3-pt fg percentage (.352) and is 8th with 2.1 treys per game.
- FR guard Franck Emmou is 12-for-23 from the floor over his last five games. He's also 16-for-17 from the line this season (.941).
COOL UNDER PRESSURE
- The Retrievers have been much better from the foul line during crunch time this season.
- UMBC, who is shooting just .684 from the charity stripe as a team this year, are a combined 44-56(.786) over the final four minutes of play.
- Banks is 14-of-15 (.933) to lead the squad.Â
BROWN'S HUGE SECOND-HALF PERFORMANCES
- Dion 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.
- 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.
- Brown scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the final stanza versus Lehigh last Saturday.
- Brown was named the America East Player of the Week (Nov. 13) for the first time in his career.
MAD MAX
- Graduate student Max Lorca-Lloyd, who will have two seasons of eligibilty at UMBC, is 3rd in the America East with 16 blocks (1.8 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 nice 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-12 (.417 percent) from downtown this season
BENCH MOB
- The Retrievers' bench is averaging 29.4 ppg. UMBC ranks 40th in the nation in the category.
UMBC FALLS AT MORGAN ST ON WEDNESDAY EVENING
- UMBC sophomore guard Dion Brown scored 16 points to pace four players in double-figures but the Retrievers fell to the Morgan State Bears, 92-80, on Wednesday evening at Hill Field House.
- Brown converted 6-of-10 field goals and grabbed five boards in just 23 minutes as he was in foul trouble early in the game. Junior guard Marcus Banks Jr. splashed 3-of-7 triples en route to 13 points, while junior guard Bryce Johnson (12 points) and graduate student forward Khydarius Smith (11 points, three blocks) were also in double-figures in scoring. Freshman guard Ace Valentine registered a career high nine rebounds and five assists in his second straight start.
- Guard Wynston Hobbs scored a game-high 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting for Morgan State. The senior made 6-of-10 treys and converted all six of his free throw attempts. Junior forward Will Thomas added 23 points off the bench while junior forward Allen Udemadu contributed a double-double of 10 points and 13 caroms.
- UMBC jumped out to a solid start as they hit four of their first six shots and held a 10-4 advantage at the 16:13 mark.
- Â The Bears responded with a 10-2 run to take their first lead, 14-12, with 13:05 left in the stanza. Tabbs scored nine of his 22 first-half points during the spurt.
- The Retrievers led 23-18 after sophomore guard Devan Sapp splashed a trey at the 9:06 mark but the game would be tied four more times, the last instance coming at 30-30 with 5:15 remaining in the half.
- Morgan State took the lead for good at 36-30 on back-to-back triples from junior guard Kamron Hobbs and Tabbs. The Bears settled for a 41-36 lead at intermission.The hosts built their first double-digit lead of the contest at 64-53 with 11:13 remaining as the Bears went on an 8-2 spurt after the Retrievers were within 56-51 after a layup by freshman guard Alpha Chibambe.
- The Retrievers managed to close within 65-57 at the 9:56 mark after a free throw by freshman guard Franck Emmou but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest. The Bears went on an 11-2 run to widen their lead to 17 points, 76-59, at the 7:15 mark. Tabbs ignited the stretch with a layup and capped it with a trey. Thomas had the other five points for the Bears during the run.
- UMBC scored the next bucket on a layup by Johnson, however, Thomas converted four straight free throws after UMBC head coach Jim Ferry was ejected from the game after being whistled for two technical fouls with 6:52 left. A three-pointer by Tabbs at the 6:17 mark would then give the hosts their largest lead of the night, 83-63.
- The Retrievers dropped to 5-6 while the hosts improved to 3-8.
- UMBC shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) overall, hit 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) treys, and made 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) of their free throws. Morgan State went 31-of-69 (44.9 percent) overall, made 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) long-range shots, and swished 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the line. Ther Bears held a 43-39 advantage on the boards.
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 aÂ
- 7-12 Big Ten record that included wins over NCAA TournamentÂ
- 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 Â
FORMER RETRIEVERS IN THE PRO'S
- Â 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.
- Â 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.
- Â 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.
- Â 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.
- Â 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.
- 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.
MORE RETRIEVERS WHO PLAY PROFESSIONALLY
- 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 travel to Saint Peter's on Tuesday evening.