Men's Hoops Prepares for First-Place Bryant at The Peake on Thursday Night; Game Will be Televised on ESPNU

UMBC 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. UMBC, 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.
Rafael Pinzon dropped his 3rd 30-point game of the season and Earl Timberlake had a double-double as the Bryant Bulldogs overcame a slow start in the first half and beat the Binghamton Bearcats by a final score of 83-69. The win gives Bryant their best start to conference play since joining the America East in 2022
Johnson is 3rd in the America East in scoring (18.0 ppg.), while teammate Marcus Banks Jr. is 12th (14.4 ppg.). Johnson is now 5th in the league with a .527 field goal rate. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo is fourth in the AE in field goal percentage (.556).
The Retrievers have recorded six of the top 17 scoring performances in the America East this season. They are tied for second in the league in scoring (82.2 ppg.) and are 26th in the country.

SERIES HISTORY

The two squads have only met four times as the Bulldogs joined the AE in 2022-23.
Bryant won both contests last season. The Bulldogs downed the Retrievers, 99-95 in Smithfield, Rhode Island and came out on top, 81-67 in Baltimore.

LAST TIME OUT: UMBC STOPS VERMONT'S 23-GAME AE HOME WINNING STREAK

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.
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.
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.

IT'S BRYCE'S WORLD

Johnson is averaging 22.7 ppg. over his last nine contests and is 63-of-109 (58 percent) from the floor over the span. In addition, he's knocked down 49-of-58 free throws (84 percent). He's now 3rd in the league in scoring (18.0 ppg.) and ranks 72nd in the nation.
He joined the 1,000-point club last Thursday at UAlbany late in the second half.
Johnson has reached 20+ points on nine different occasions, including seven of his last nine games.
The nine 20-pt games are second in the league.
He's also drawing a team-high 4.3 fouls per game.
Johnson's nine drawn fouls at American was a career-high and he followed that up with eight at Binghamton.

MONEY IN THE BANKS

The senior guard joined the 1,000-point club in the second half of the win at UAlbany last Thursday.
Banks Jr. matched his career high with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point territory in UMBC's 96-93 double-overtime victory at American. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, just one shy of his career-high. Banks Jr. was named the America East Player of the Week after that performance.
Banks Jr. has already made 5+ treys in five contests this season and is fourth in the country in total makes. His 2.9 threes per game ranks first in the America East and is 36th in the NCAA. His 41 percent clip from behind the arc is 4th in the league and slots 54th in the country.
Overall, the sharpshooter is 11th on the circuit, scoring at 14.4 ppg. He's also one of the top guards in the conference in rebounding (4.4 pg.) and is 24th overall.

ACE IN THE HOLE

SO guard Ace Valentine has reached double-figures in scoring six times since moving back into the starting lineup against Howard (span of 14 games)
He's shooting 54 percent overall (56-for-104) during the stretch.
The point guard scored the go-ahead bucket in UMBC's 2OT win at American on a driving layup.
Valentine is 3rd in the league with 3.6 assists per game and is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).

BOMBS AWAY

• UMBC leads the AE with 8.8 3s made per game this season, which ranks 63rd 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 (.384) and are 20th in the nation.
• UMBC has reached double-figures in treys 10 different times.
• Marcus Banks Jr. (2.9 pg.) and Louie Jordan (2.0 pg.) rank first and 11th respectively in treys per game. Johnson is now 14th (1.7 pg.)
Banks Jr. is 4th (.403) in the league in percentage.

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 2nd the AE in the category at 15.3 pg. and are 78th in the NCAA.
Ace Valentine is 3rd in the league with 3.6 helpers per game and is 3rd in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).

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.

A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 149-114 (.562) 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
1100 career points -Marcus Banks, Jr. (1025)
1100 career points - Bryce Johnson (1029)
900 career points - Marlon Short (839)
700 career points, Josh Odunowo, (671)
225 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (200)
450 career rebounds - Marlon Short (436).
400 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (344)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (142).

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