UMBC (7-5) at Georgia Tech (4-6) | Wednesday, December 18, 7:30 p.m. | Atlanta, Georgia (McCamish Arena) | Watch  | Live Stats

SETTING THE STAGE  

• UMBC finished a stretch of seven games over a span of 17 days in November. All of those games were at home. The Retrievers went 5-4 in November.
• The Retrievers have won four of their last five contests. The lone loss came at Georgetown.
• UMBC is 27th in the country in 3-pt field goal percentage (40.4).
• Senior guard Bryce Johnson is 8th in the America East in scoring (14.4 ppg.) while teammate Marcus Banks Jr. is 10th (13.8 ppg.). Banks has reached double-figures in five of his last six contests and is 20-for-44 (.444) from behind the arc during the stretch. He needs 19 points this evening to record his 900th career point.
• Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo is fifth in the AE in field goal percentage (.520).
• Sophomore point guard Ace Valentine is averaging14.2 ppg. over his last five outings since moving back into the starting lineup and is shooting 70 percent overall (28-for-40) during the stretch....He's also 2nd in the America East with a 2.3 A/T ratio. 
• The Retrievers have recorded six of the top 17 scoring performances in the America East this season. They are third in the league in scoring (83.1 ppg.).
• UMBC is 47th in the country in scoring offense (83.1 ppg.)

 SERIES HISTORY

• UMBC and Georgia Tech have never met.
• UMBC's last win against an ACC Team came on Nov. 27, 2021 when the Retrievers knocked off Pittsburgh, 87-77 at Peterson Events Center. It was Head Coach Jim Ferry's 6th game at the helm of the Retrievers.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH

• The Yellow Jackets have dropped three straight, including a 71-60 decision vs. Northwestern on Sunday afternoon in the MKE Tip-off at the Fiserv Forum.
• Senior guard Lance Terry has reached double figures eight times in 10 games this season and 54 in his career. He led the Jackets with 17 points at Northwestern.

LAST TIME OUT: Valentine Enjoys Career Night; Men's Hoops Blows Past Cairn

• Sophomore guard Ace Valentine scored 17 of his career-high 23 points in the opening half, and the host UMBC men's basketball team cruised to a 103-57 victory against the Cairn Highlanders on Tuesday evening at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
• UMBC, winners of four of their last five contests, improved to 7-5 on the season after shooting 52.8 percent overall (38-for-73) from the field. The Retrievers also went 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from behind the arc and were 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) from the foul line. It's the seventh time the Dawgs have reached double-figures in treys this season.
• UMBC held Cairn (6-4) to just 30 percent overall shooting (21-of-70) and only 10-of-38 (26.3 percent) from long-distance.
• Valentine enjoyed the finest shooting performance of his young career as he was nearly perfect on the evening. He made 10 of 11 field goal attempts, including 2 for 2 from long range. The point guard also added five rebounds and three steals.
• Senior guard Devan Sapp (five rebounds) scored a season-high 15 points off the bench, including 13 in the second half. The guard hit 6-of-10 field goals and was 3-for-6 from downtown.
• Guard Marlon Short (five rebounds, three steals) was the third Retriever in double-figures with 14 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The senior canned all five attempts from the floor and went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe.
• Graduate student Josh Odunowo garnered a career-high 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. The forward just missed a double-double after finishing with eight points.
• The Retrievers pulled away over the final 8:25 of the opening half, as the Highlanders missed their final 14 field goal attempts and committed six turnovers before intermission. UMBC held a 30-25 lead before a monster 20-2 run gave them a 50-27 advantage.
•  UMBC, which outscored the visitors by a 22-2 margin in fast break points, continued to build on its lead in the second half, and the Highlanders were never able to get any closer.
•  Sophomore walk-on Isaac Varghese drilled a trifecta from the top of the key to give UMBC their 100th point with 2:49 left. It was the first field goal of the sophomore guard's career.

KINGS OF BALTIMORE

• The Retrievers won the Charm City Classic by virtue of their victories against Morgan State and Towson. UMBC, who had not defeated Towson since 2012, broke an eight-game losing skid against their Beltway rivals The Retrievers also knocked off Coppin State earlier this season.

 BOMBS AWAY

• UMBC leads the AE with 9.4 3s made per game this season, which ranks 64th in the country.
• 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 (.390)and are 24th in the nation.
• UMBC has reached double-figures in treys seven different times.
• Marcus Banks Jr.(2.9) and Louie Jordan (2.0) rank 2nd and 8th respectively in treys per game. Jordan is 2nd in 3-pt percentage (.480) while Banks Jr. is 4th (.443). 

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 second in the league in the league in the category at 15.8 pg.
• Ace Valentine is 6th in the league with 3.6 helpers per game and is 2nd in assist/turnover ratio (2.4)

 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 43 fouls drawn thus far in 2024-25.
• Johnson is 73rd in the country with 51 free throw attempts.

A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 149-113 (.568) 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. (881)
900 career points - Bryce Johnson (816)
800 career points -  Marlon Short (773)
600 career points, Josh Odunowo, (553)
200 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (173)
450 career rebounds - Marlon Short (406).
300 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (280)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (128).