UMBC (3-3) vs. Howard (3-3) | Monday, Nov. 25, 2024 | Baltimore, MD (The Peake) | Watch | Live Stats International Feed

SETTING THE STAGE  

• UMBC opened their 57th season against Penn State York on November 4th. This is the 39th season of DI hoops for the Black and Gold.
• In season openers, UMBC now holds a 16-22 mark in DI play.
• The Retrievers have lost three straight, all coming at The Peake
• The Bison dropped a 69-62 decision against BU on Sunday afternoon.
• Marcus Dockery scored a team-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting against the Terriers.
• Blake Harper added 14 points and 7 boards while Anwar Gill had 10 points.
• Over 1,000 kids will be in attendance for Midday Madness.

 SERIES HISTORY

• UMBC has dropped five of six meetings with Howard.
• The Retrievers are 1-2 against the Bison in Baltimore.
• Howard defeated UMBC, 103-93, in their last meeting during the 2015-2016 season in Washington D.C.

 LAST TIME OUT

• The UMBC men's basketball team rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to take a late lead but eventually fell to the Boston University Terriers, 75-71, on Saturday afternoon at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
•  Graduate student Josh Odunowo scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed a team-high six boards to pace the Retrievers. The forward went 7-for-14 from the floor and made a career-high 9-of-11 free throws. Senior guard Bryce Johnson scored 18 points, including 13 in the second half, while classmate Marlon Short (3 steals) was also in double-figures with 10 points.
•  UMBC (3-4) trailed 62-51 with 10:20 remaining in the contest but scored 14 straight points to claim a 54-51 edge with just 3:52 remaining.
•  Odunowo scored seven points during the spurt, including two free throws that cut the deficit to 62-61 with 5:56 remaining. Johnson then converted a layup with 5:17 left to give the hosts their first lead, 63-62, since the late stages of the opening half.
•  After neither team could score on consecutive possessions, Johnson converted a driving layup after a BU turnover to stake the Retrievers to the 3-point lead just before the final media timeout.
•  Matai Baptiste evened the game at 65-all with a trey from the left wing at the 3:25 mark, but Johnson converted two free throws to give UMBC a 67-65 edge with just over three minutes left. It would be UMBC's final lead of the day as Miles Brewster converted a layup, Baptsite swished two free throws, and Kyrone Alexander scored in the paint to give the Terriers a 71-67 lead with 1:26 remaining.
•  Odunowo hit two from the line to cut the deficit to 71-69 with 1:14 remaining, but Brewster answered with a layup with a minute left.
•  Johnson calmly hit two from stripe to inch the hosts within 73-71 with 15 ticks left, but Ben Palacios made two on the other end with 12 seconds left for the game's final points.
•  Brewster finished with a team-high 18 points while Baptiste recorded 13 points and a team-high nine boards.
•  BU (2-4) shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) overall and was 9-for-25 (36 percent) from behind the arc.
•  The Retrievers finished at a 38.2 (21-of-55) percent clip and made 5-of-18 attempts (27.8 percent) from distance. UMBC helped themselves at the line by going a season-best 24-for-26 (92.3 percent)
•  The Terriers held a 38-27 advantage on the glass, and UMBC's bench was outscored 31-7.

 BOMBS AWAY
• UMBC leads the AE with 8.9s made per game this season
• The Retrievers 17 makes against Valley Forge were an America East single-game high.
• The Retrievers lead the league in 3-pt field goal percentage (.369).
• Marcus Banks Jr. (2.9) and Louie Jordan (2.3) rank 2nd and 6th respectively in treys per game.
Jordan is second in 3-pt percentage (.485) while Banks Jr. is 3rd (.455).
 
SHARING IS CARING

• UMBC dished an America East high 31 assists in the win versus Valley Forge. It was their highest output since they handed out 29 vs. Coppin St. on 11/30/2022.
• It was also the most in the conference since Maine and Bryant recorded 32 during the 2022-23 season.
• The Retrievers are 4th in the league in the category at 15.3 pg.

 
TAKING A LICKING & KEEP ON TICKING

• Bryce Johnson drew a career-high eight fouls in back-to-back games against Coppin State and Saint Peter's.
• Johnson leads the squad with 34 fouls drawn thus far in 2024-25.

 A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 147-112 (.570) over the past nine 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 led the Retrievers to consecutive 18-14 records as well as an appearance in the America East Finals in 2021-22.
• 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.

 AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL     
Rank   Team (First-Place Votes)          Points
1          Vermont (8)                 64
2          UMass Lowell (1)         55
3          Bryant                          52
4          Maine                          39
5          UMBC                          31
6          Binghamton                30
7          UAlbany                      26
8          NJIT                             15
9          New Hampshire          12
 
MILESTONE WATCH   
900 career points -Marcus Banks, Jr. (812)
800 career points -  Marlon Short (769)
800 career points - Bryce Johnson (756)
600 career points, Josh Odunowo, (509)
200 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (160)
400 career rebounds - Marlon Short (397).
300 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (256)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (121).