UMBC (5-3) at Bucknell (2-8) | Saturday, Dec. 6, 12:00 p.m. | Sojka Pavillion | Lewisburg, Pa. | Watch | International Stream | Live Stats | Game Notes

RETRIEVER TIP-OFF   

• The Retrievers are competing in their 58th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
• UMBC has a record of 675-953 (.414) all-time.
• The Retrievers are 478-680 (.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.
• The Retrievers are 4-0 at home.
• UMBC leads the America East with 28.1 defensive rebounds per game (57th in the country)
• The Dawgs are second in the league with a +4.5 margin of victory.
• The Retrievers afe second in the league in team 3-point field goal percentage (.348) and 3-point field goals made per game (8.8).

 PLAY THAT HIT AGAIN MR. DJ

• DJ Armstrong's trey against Morgan State (11/11) was the first time UMBC hit a game-winner in the final five seconds since Craig Beaudion II. (11/20/22 vs. Central Conn.).
• Armstrong Jr. followed that up with a buzzer-beater to defeat Wagner in overtime on Nov. 16.
• Armstrong Jr. was named the America East Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 17.
• Armstrong Jr. was featured on #SCTop10 twice. Teammate Jah'Likai King also made the list after his crossover move and hoop against Penn State York.
• Armstrong Jr. is 14th in the America East in scoring (11.8 ppg.) and is first in 3s per game (2.9). He also leads the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.460) and is 38th in the country.

 LAST TIME OUT - UMBC PUTS FIVE IN DOUBLE-FIGURES AT GEORGETOWN

• The UMBC put forth an impressive offensive performance, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field in a 90-81 loss to Georgetown on Wednesday evening at Capital One Arena.
• Jah'Likai King scored 19 points to pace the Retrievers as five UMBC players reached double figures in the contest. Coming off the bench, Caden Diggs scored 13 and Daylon Dickerson added 12 points and seven rebounds for UMBC. Josh Odunowo and DJ Armstrong Jr. both scored 10 points.
• The team's leading scorer coming in, King's 19 points give him six games this season with at least 10 points and three with 19 or more. Diggs reached double figures for the second straight game and third time this season, while Dickerson scored 10 or more for the fifth time.
• The Retrievers shot 48.4 percent from the floor (30-62) after a blistering hot start where they made 53.6 percent (15-28) of their first-half shots.
• Georgetown led 22-12 just under 10 minutes into the contest before a solo 8-2 run from Diggs pulled UMBC within four. The Retrievers remained within four at the 7:12 mark after an Odunowo bucket before the Hoyas pulled away to take an eight-point lead at the break.
• The Retrievers scored the first two buckets of the second half, once again pulling within four, but the Hoyas would put together their strongest stretch of the contest, a 17-0 run, to stretch the lead to 21.
• UMBC still had a run in it, trimming the deficit to single digits with 2:09 to play before falling by nine.
• All five Georgetown starters reached double digits, led by 18 from Caleb Williams. The Hoyas shot 56.3 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three in the win.

 ABOUT BUCKNELL

• The Bison have dropped eight consecutive games after opening the season with two wins.
• Quin Berger hit six 3-pointers and doubled his previous career high with 18 points, but Bucknell couldn't keep up with hot-shooting Akron in the second half and fell 97-77 on Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
• The Bison once again played shorthanded, as starters Ruot Bijiek and Brandon McCreesh and key reserves Pat Curtin and Josh Fulton were not available due to injury.

 SERIES HISTORY WITH BUCKNELL

• UMBC trails 6-2.
• The Retrievers and Bison have not met since the 2001-2002 season when Bucknell came up with a 70-67 victory in Baltimore. 
• UMBC is 1-2 all-time in Lewisburg as the Dawgs came up with a 78-74 triumph during the 1997-98 campaign.

 THE KING HITS A GRAND

•  Jah'Likai King went over the 1,000 mark for his career at GW on November 18.  King scored 934 points in his first two seasons at New Haven (DII) before coming to Baltimore this season.
• King currently leads the squad in scoring at 13.6 ppg., which is currently eighth in the America East.
• King became the first Retriever in the Jim Ferry era to draw 10 fouls in the game versus Wagner (11/16)

 DICKERSON DELIGHTS

• Junior forward Daylon Dickerson has been perhaps the biggest surprise for the Retrievers in the early going.
• Dickerson is playing 20.0 minutes per game after just 7.8 minutes per game in his first season in Baltimore in 24-25.
• Dickerson recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the victory at Morgan State (11/11). Both were career highs.
• He's averaging 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

 A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 166-155 (.517) over the past ten seasons. They are 84-80 (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 own a 65-69 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 (1,043)
200 career assists, Jah'Likai King (190)
500 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (448)
800 career points, Josh Odunowo (814)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (426)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (73)
500 career points, Cougar Downing (523)
500 career points, Ace Valentine, (516)
250 career assists, Ace Valentine (217)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (465)
500 career points , Paul Greene (491)