Burlington, VT – The UMBC men's basketball team shook off a slow start and earned a convincing 80-63 America East Conference victory against the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gymnasium. The Catamounts had won 23 straight conference games on their home floor.

"I just thought it was another gritty win for us today," said UMBC head coach Jim Ferry. "To come on the road and earn a comeback win at UAlbany and then get off to a tough start and beat Vermont, stopping their home winning streak in the league, was impressive. Our guys looked so much more connected today. They {Vermont} started the game with a flurry, and we set the tone the rest of the way. I'm just proud of these guys. This is one step in our growth in this program, and we must keep focusing on improving."

UMBC (11-10, 3-3 AE), who picked up their second straight victory, shot a sizzling 58 percent (30-for-52) overall and were 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from behind the arc. The Retrievers were tremendous defensively as they held the hosts to a 37 percent shooting clip and scored 23 points off 14 of their miscues.

Senior Bryce Johnson continued his sensational offensive production as the guard poured in a game-high 26 points. Johnson converted 8-of-13 field goal attempts, including 3-for-6 from three, and was 7-of-8 from the foul line. He's scored over 20 points in seven of his last nine contests. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo was a warrior in the paint as he recorded the team's first double-double of the season with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. contributed 14 points, dished four assists, and splashed his 200th career trifecta late in the contest.

"This is a real big win for us," stated Odunowo. "We didn't start the conference season the way we wanted, but we know this group will always work hard and not look back. We've been putting a lot of effort in these last few days to try and flip the switch and turn the season around. Today was just a testimony to that. To beat Vermont on their home court shows there's no limit to our potential. We have to continue to build on this."

Vermont (11-10, 4-2 AE) scored the first 10 points of the game over the first 2:11, but UMBC steadied the ship and took the lead for good, 19-17, on a triple by junior forward Regimantas Ciunys with 10:40 left in the stanza.

The Dawgs continued to build on the momentum and took a 44-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Catamounts never got closer than 14 points for the remainder of the contest.

UMBC stopped a seven-game losing skid against Vermont, who entered the game with a 7-1 mark at home this season. The Retrievers had lost four straight contests at Patrick Gymnasium.

The Retrievers will return home to take on Bryant on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Notes

• Johnson is averaging a league-best 23.5 ppg in conference play and is shooting 57 percent from the floor overall (45-of-79). In addition, he's connected on 38-of-44 free throws (86 percent) and is 13-of-27 (48 percent) from long-distance over the six-game span.
• Johnson has scored 20+ points a league-high nine times.
• Banks Jr. has reached double-figures in scoring in eight straight games.
• Odunowo has reached double-digits in scoring in six of his last seven outings.
• UMBC is now 5-5 on the road this season and have won three straight away tilts.
• It's the first time the Retrievers have won three straight conference road game since the 2021-22 season.
• UMBC is tied for 4th-place with UMass Lowell in the AE standings.