Men's Basketball Completes Seven-Game Home Stand Against Morgan State on Wednesday Afternoon

Retrievers Will Have Played Seven Games Over 17-Day Stretch Following Wednesday's Contest

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.
The Retrievers will finish their seven-game home stand against Morgan State.
UMBC will finish a stretch of seven games over a span of 17 days in November after Wednesday's contest.

SERIES HISTORY

Morgan State took a 15-14 edge in the all-time series after defeating the Retrievers, 92-80 last season at home.
Marcus Banks Jr. (13 pts) and Bryce Johnson (12 pts) scored in double-figures. Wynston Tabbs poured in 38 points and Will Thomas added 23 for the Bears.
UMBC has lost five of their last six meetings against the Bears.
UMBC is 9-10 against Morgan State at home and have won five straight meetings on their home floor.

LAST TIME OUT

Senior guard Bryce Johnson scored 26 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as the host UMBC men's basketball team pulled away from the Howard Bison, 95-77, on Monday afternoon at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. More than 1,000 elementary and middle school children attended Midday Madness.
Johnson, who came off the bench for the first time this season and played 27 minutes, buried 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. "I wouldn't have gotten those shots without good ball movement and my teammates allowing me to get open and setting screens," Johnson explained. "It always feels great to play like we did today, especially in the second half. We got that nice run down the stretch by sharing the ball and helping each other get open."
Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. recorded 17 points and added six rebounds and three steals, sophomore guard Ace Valentine contributed a season-high 16 points and distributed a game-high seven assists, and graduate student forward Josh Odunowo registered 16 points.
The Retrievers (4-4) shot a sizzling 60.3 percent from the floor as they drained 35-of-58 field goals, including 12-for-24 from long-distance. The hosts were even better in the second stanza, connecting on 20-of-30 attempts for a 66.7 percent clip.
UMBC fell behind by a 66-61 margin with 9:39 remaining after the visitors went on a 15-4 run. Dom Campbell scored the final five points during the stretch for the Bison, who trailed 42-39 at the break.
The hosts answered with eight straight points and never trailed again as they re-claimed a 69-66 edge at the 7:53 mark. Johnson gave UMBC the lead for good with 7:29 left as he converted a layup off a steal by Banks Jr.
The Bison (3-4) were still within two, 76-74, after Anwar Gill scored in the paint at the 5:27 left, but the Retrievers pulled away with 12 consecutive points over the next 3:30. Johnson ignited the burst with two straight treys and scored eight points during the decisive stretch.
Howard could never get closer than 12 points for the remainder of the contest.
Blake Harper led the Bison with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

BOMBS AWAY

UMBC leads the AE with 9.3s 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 (.385).
Marcus Banks Jr.(2.9) and Louie Jordan (2.3) rank 2nd and 8th respectively in treys per game.
Jordan is first in 3-pt percentage (.486) while Banks Jr. is 4th (.451).

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 lead the league in the league in the category at 15.5 pg.
Ace Valentine is third in the league with 4.0 helpers per game and is 2nd in assist/turnover ratio (2.3)

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 33 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 148-112 (.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. (829)
800 career points - Marlon Short (769)
800 career points - Bryce Johnson (784)
600 career points, Josh Odunowo, (525)
200 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (163)
400 career rebounds - Marlon Short (399).
300 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (266)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (125).

UP NEXT
UMBC will travel to D.C. to take on Georgetown at Capital One Arena on Monday, Dec. 2 at 6:30.

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