Lewisburg, Pa. – The UMBC men's basketball team came through with a hard-fought 73-66 road victory against the Bucknell Bison on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion.
 
Junior Jah'Likai King led the Retrievers with a game-high 20 points, shooting 6-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-5 from behind the arc. He also converted 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo contributed 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, along with two blocks. Freshman center Riley Jacobs achieved a career-high 11 points, added five rebounds, and recorded a career-best three blocks. Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. also scored 11 points, hitting a crucial three-pointer in the final moments of the game.
 
The Retrievers shot 51.9 percent overall, making 27 of 52 field goal attempts. They were 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from three-point range and 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
UMBC (6-3) held Bucknell to a 39.3 percent shooting percentage as the Bison made 24-of-61 field goals. Bucknell struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 6-of-24 attempts and shooting 12-for-17 (70.6 percent) from the foul line.
 
The game featured 13 lead changes and was tied four times before the Retrievers took control in the final four minutes.
 
Trailing 26-25 at halftime, UMBC opened the second half with a 14-6 run, taking their largest lead of the game at 39-32 with 14:11 remaining. King scored eight points during this stretch.
 
Bucknell (2-9), losers of nine straight, took their first lead of the second half at 48-47 after Jayden Williams made a driving layup at the 9:30 mark.
 
The game remained closely contested, with three more ties, the latest at 57-all after King hit a pull-up jumper with 5:18 left.
 
Bucknell forward Grgur Bricic, who scored 14 points and collected 16 rebounds, provided the Bison their final lead at 59-57 on a layup with 4:51 remaining. Armstrong Jr. answered with a driving layup on the next possession, followed by sophomore forward Caden Diggs, who gave UMBC the lead for good with a driving layup at the 3:36 mark.
 
The Retrievers produced two consecutive defensive stops, and Diggs and Odunowo each scored in the paint, extending their lead to 65-59 with just 2:14 left on the clock. Bucknell responded with five straight points to come within one point with 57 seconds remaining. However, Armstrong Jr. hit a clutch three-pointer from the top of the key with 39 seconds left.
 
Amon Dorries (16 points) scored for the Bison to bring them within 68-66 on the next possession, but Diggs made two free throws to extend the lead to 70-66 with 27 seconds remaining. This was as close as Bucknell would get, as they missed their final three shots.
 
UMBC will host Buffalo on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.