UMBC (1-0) at Dayton (1-0) | Saturday, Nov. 8, 2:00 p.m. | UD Arena | Dayton, Ohio | Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes

RETRIEVER TIP-OFF    

• The Retrievers are beginning their 59th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
• UMBC has a record of 674-951 (.414) all-time.
• The Retrievers are 477-678 (.412) at the DI level
• UMBC was selected to finish seventh in the America East Preseason Poll.
• Graduate student Josh Odunowo was named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team after averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season.
• The Retrievers have nine new faces in 2025-26.
• UMBC won their season-opener, 74-53, against Penn State York on Tuesday evening in Baltimore. Junior guard Jah'Likai King scored  23 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
• The Dawgs delivered an impressive performance but ultimately fell to the Maryland Terrapins, 82-81, in an exhibition game at the XFINITY Center on October 27.
• Junior forward Daylon Dickerson led the scoring for UMBC with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, contributing to a total of six players in double figures. Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. added 14 points and recorded a game-high seven assists. Other notable scorers included sophomore forward Caden Diggs with 13 points (including three three-pointers), junior guard Jah'likai King with 12 points, and both graduate forward Paul Greene and senior guard Devin Ceaser, who each scored 10 points.
• UMBC held a 78-76 lead after Dickerson made a free throw with 1:01 left, but Maryland's George Turkson Jr. hit a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining, allowing the Terrapins to secure the victory.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Retrievers opened their season with a decisive victory over the Penn State York Nittany Lions, winning 74-53 on Tuesday evening at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
• Junior guard Jah'Likai King led the Retrievers with a game-high 23 points and added eight rebounds. King shot 8-for-15 from the field and made 5-of-8 from three-point range. Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. contributed 12 points, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Ace Valentine also made an impact, scoring 11 points and providing a game-high six assists.
•  The Retrievers initially trailed 8-7 with 15:35 left in the first half but quickly surged ahead, going on a 15-2 run to establish a 22-10 lead by the 7:20 mark. King and Armstrong hit consecutive three-pointers to cap the run.
• Penn State York managed to cut the lead to single digits at 25-16 after a fast-break dunk with 4:14 remaining in the half. However, UMBC closed the half with the last four points, heading into halftime with a 39-25 advantage.
•  Valentine and King scored the first two baskets of the second half, extending the Retrievers' lead to 43-25, their largest of the game up to that point.
•  The Nittany Lions narrowed the gap to 47-33 at the 14-minute mark, but UMBC responded with a 13-7 run, pushing their lead to 20 points with just under nine minutes left. Fifth-year senior guard Cougar Downing ignited the stretch with a three-pointer from the top of the key.
• The Retrievers' lead grew to as much as 25 points in the final minutes, securing a solid win as they began their season.

DAYTON UPDATE

• The Flyers coasted to an 88-48 victory over Canisius in the 2025-26 regular season opener on Monday, Nov. 3, at UD Arena.
• Senior Javon Bennett scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the first 11 minutes of the game, going 8-of-10 from the floor and also adding two steals and two assists. Sophomore Amael L'Etang added 17 points and a game-high six rebounds, and junior De'Shayne Montgomery added 16 points, six steals, five assists and four rebounds.
• Javon Bennett, sophomore forward Amaël L'Etang, and graduate forward Keonte Jones received Preseason Atlantic 10 honors, according to a poll of the conference's head men's basketball coaches and selected media.
• Bennett was named to the A-10 Preseason First Team as well as the All-Defensive Team, L'Etang earned a spot on the Second Team, and Jones was tabbed Third Team.
• In the same announcement, the Flyers were selected third in the conference's preseason poll. This news came at the A-10's Media Day held at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., site of the 2026 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Retrievers and Flyers only meeting came during the 1999-2000 season in Dayton.
• The Flyers came away with an 83-60 victory.

 A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 164-153 (.517) over the past ten seasons. They are 83-78 (516) in AE Play.
• 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 26th season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth at UMBC.
• Ferry owns a 61-68 record in Baltimore,
• 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 (7)                 63       
T-2       Maine (1)                    47
T-2       UAlbany                      47       
4          UMass Lowell (1)        39                   
5.         Binghamton                 37
6.         Bryant                         35       
7          UMBC                         31
8.         NJIT                            13       
9          New Hampshire          12    
 
MILESTONE WATCH   
1000 career points, Jah'likai King (957)
200 career assists, Jah'likai King (180)
500 career rebounds, Jah'likai King (412)
800 career points, Josh Odunowo (766)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (404)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (71)
500 career points, Cougar Downing (487)
500 career points, Ace Valentine, (463)
200 career assists, Ace Valentine (191)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (452)
500 career points, Paul Greene (476)