Men's Basketball Returns to The Peake on Thursday Evening Against Binghamton

UMBC dropped a 73-50 decision against the Maine Black Bears this past Saturday in Orono.
Senior guard Bryce Johnson (five rebounds) was the lone Retriever in double-figures with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Junior forward Louie Jordan came off the bench to grab a team-best seven boards.
First-place Bryant made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 18 seconds to hold off Binghamton 78-71 in Vestal, N.Y. last Saturday afternoon. The loss in front of a season-high 3,018 fans snapped the Bearcats' three-game win streak.
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery led the Bearcats with 18 points. Sophomore guard Evan Ashe had one of his strongest games of the season with 17 points (7-of-10 FG). Senior guard Chris Walker and sophomore forward Gavin Walsh added 10 points apiece. Walsh, who ranks No. 2 in the nation in defensive rebounds, collected eight more.

SERIES HISTORY

UMBC has won five of the last eight meetings,
UMBC leads the series, 25-22.
The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on the road
Three of last five contests have been decided by one possession.
UMBC is 15-10 in Baltimore but have dropped two straight, including the AE Quarterfinal game on 3/4/23.
Senior guard Bryce Johnson scored a game-high 23 points, but the Retrievers dropped an 87-82 decision against the Bearcats in the America East Conference opener for both squads last January in Vestal.
Johnson made 7-of-14 field goal attempts and sank all nine free throws to pace the Retrievers, who dropped their fourth straight conference opener. Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. contributed 17 points (3 treys), while senior forward Marlon Short (13 points) and graduate student forward Josh Odunowo (10 points) were also in double-digits.

IT'S BRYCE'S WORLD

Johnson Bryce is averaging 19.4 ppg. over his last 13 contests and is 81-of-152 (54 percent) from the floor over the span. In addition, he's knocked down 55-of-67 free throws (82 percent). He hit 1,000 points for his career at UAlbany last month. Johnson has reached 20+ points on nine different occasions, including seven of his last 13 games. He's now 3rd in the league in scoring (17.0 ppg.) and ranks 92nd in the nation.
Bryce joined the 1,000-point club at UAlbany late in the second half.
Johnson has reached 20+ points on nine different occasions, including seven of his last 13 games.
The nine 20-pt games are second in the league.
He's also drawing a team-high 3.9 fouls per game.
Johnson's nine drawn fouls at American was a career-high and he followed that up with eight at Binghamton.
Johnson ranks 90th in the country with 122 free throw attempts although he's failed to reach the line in three straight contests.

MONEY IN THE BANKS

The senior guard joined the 1,000-point club in the second half of the win at UAlbany.
Banks Jr. was named the America East Player of the Week (12/31/24) after his performance in UMBC's OT win at American.
Banks Jr. has already made 5+ treys in seven contests this season and is fourth in the country in total makes. His 3.1 threes per game ranks first in the America East and is 30th in the NCAA. His 42 percent clip from behind the arc is 3rd in the league and slots 51st in the country.
Overall, the sharpshooter is 8th on the circuit, scoring at 15.3 ppg. He's also one of the top guards in the conference in rebounding (4.1 pg.) and is 27th 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 15 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 5th in the league with 3.4 assists per game and is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).

BOMBS AWAY

UMBC leads the AE with 8.8 3s made per game this season, which ranks 88th 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 (.386) and are 11th in the nation.
UMBC has reached double-figures in treys 11 different times.
Marcus Banks Jr. (3.1 pg.) and Louie Jordan (1.9 pg.) rank first and 12th respectively in treys per game. Johnson is now 15th (1.6 pg.). Banks Jr. is 3rd (.420) 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 15.2 pg. and are 82nd in the NCAA.
Ace Valentine is 5th in the league with 3.5 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 155-122 (.562) over the past nine seasons. They are 78-58 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 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
1200 career points -Marcus Banks, Jr. (1105)
1100 career points - Bryce Johnson (1077)
900 career points - Marlon Short (878)
750 career points, Josh Odunowo, (707)
225 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (218)
450 career rebounds - Marlon Short (436).
400 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (370)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (151)

LAST TIME OUT: RETRIEVERS FALL AT MAINE

Orono, ME – The UMBC men's basketball team dropped a 73-50 decision against the Maine Black Bears in an America East Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium.
Senior guard Bryce Johnson (five rebounds) was the lone Retriever in double-figures with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Junior forward Louie Jordan came off the bench to grab a team-best seven boards.
UMBC (11-14, 3-7 AE) was within 9-8 after Johnson intercepted a pass and finished a dunk with 11:17 left in the opening stanza. However, Maine went on a 13-4 run to extend their lead to 22-12 with 4:30 left in the half.
The Black Bears (16-9, 8-2 AE) led 27-17 at the break, as the visitors made just 7-of-27 of their field goal attempts (25.9 percent).
The hosts took complete control of the contest, outscoring the Retrievers by 14-2 over the first 2:47 of the second half, pushing their lead to 41-19.
UMBC never recovered, as Maine had led by as many as 29 points on four occasions.
The Retrievers shot 54.2 percent in the second half and finished 20-of-51 (39.2 percent) for the game.
The hosts shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) and were 9-of-25 (36 percent) from behind the arc. Guard A.J. Lopez score a game-high 17 points while guard Quion Burns recorded a double-double of 13 points and 11 caroms.