Men's Hoops Travels to UMass Lowell on Thursday Evening

UMBC came up just short as they fell at America East Conference leader Bryant, 81-79, on Saturday afternoon at Chace Physical Education Center.
Marcus Banks Jr. had an opportunity to give the Retrievers the victory but his three-pointer from the top of the circle rimmed out at the buzzer. Senior guard Marlon Short was terrific in a starting role as he finished with a new UMBC career-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Louie Jordan added 16 points (4 treys) while Banks Jr, (16 points) Bryce Johnson (13 points), and Josh Odunowo (10 points) were also in double-digits.
Fifth year Quinton Mincey registered 23 points with four threes, as UMass Lowell dropped an 80-79 decision at the buzzer at New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.
The game-winner came from the Wildcats' Sami Pissis, who sunk a step-back three just before the clock expired.
Fifth year Max Brooks added 20 points in the contest, while senior Cam Morris III and freshman Martin Somerville chipped in with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Somerville finished with eight assists, as well, and fifth year Yuri Covington led the way on the boards with nine rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY

UML holds a 17-8 advantage in the series.
The River Hawks have six five straight contests, including a 94-89 OT win in last year's AE quarterfinals.
In their first meeting this season, senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. scored a team-high 16 points, but the host Retrievers dropped an 83-67 decision at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
Banks Jr. hit 6-of-11 field goals, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc to pace the Retrievers. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo was the only other Retriever in double-figures with 11 points. Senior guard Bryce Johnson contributed nine points, four steals, and four assists.
Quinton Mincey finished with a game-high 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead the visitors,
UMBC's last victory was a 93-85 OT win at the Peake on 3/6/2022.
The Retrievers are 3-8 all-time in Lowell.

LAST TIME OUT: RETRIEVERS FALL IN CLOSING SECONDS AT BRYANT

Smithfield. Rhode Island - The UMBC men's basketball team came up just short as they fell at America East Conference leader Bryant, 81-79, on Saturday afternoon at Chace Physical Education Center.
Marcus Banks Jr. had an opportunity to give the Retrievers the victory but his three-pointer from the top of the circle rimmed out at the buzzer. Senior guard Marlon Short was terrific in a starting role as he finished with a new UMBC career-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Louie Jordan added 16 points (4 treys) while Banks Jr, (16 points) Bryce Johnson (13 points), and Josh Odunowo (10 points) were also in double-digits.

IT'S BRYCE'S WORLD

Johnson is third in the America East in scoring at 16.7 ppg. He's also 6th in field goal percentage (.513), 15th in 3-pt fg. per game (1.6),and is 12th in free throw percentage (.760).
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 14 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.

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 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 15.5 ppg. He's also one of the top guards in the conference in rebounding (4.1 pg.) and is 30th overall.

NOT JOSHING AROUND

GR forward Josh Odunowo has enjoyed an excellent season at UMBC.
The Columbia graduate is 26th in the league in scoring (11.1 ppg.), 15th in rebounding (5.1 rpg.) and is 9th in blocks per game (0.8). In addition, he ranks 4th in field goal percentage (.559).
Odunowo has reached double digits in scoring in 10 of his last 13 contests.
He recorded 17 points and a team-high nine boards along with 5 blocks (tied career high) in the win versus Binghamton last Thursday.

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 6th in the league with 3.4 assists per game and is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).

BOMBS AWAY

• UMBC leads the AE with 8.6 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 (.379) and are 18th 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 3rd the AE in the category at 15.0 pg. and are 82nd in the NCAA.
Ace Valentine is 6th 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 156-122 (.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. (1141)
1100 career points - Bryce Johnson (1104)
900 career points - Marlon Short (915)
750 career points, Josh Odunowo, (734)
225 career 3-pointers-Marcus Banks, (223)
450 career rebounds - Marlon Short (442).
400 career field goals - Bryce Johnson (381)
150 career 3pt-fg - Bryce Johnson (153).

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