Men's Hoops Travels to Bryant on Thursday Evening in Search of Fourth Straight Win

The Retrievers are competing in their 58th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 678-956 (.414) all-time.
The Retrievers are 479-683 (.412) at the DI level
UMBC is 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 2020-21 season when they opened 3-0.
The Dawgs are looking for their their first four-game winning streak since the 2022-23 campaign.
The Retrievers are 3-4 on the road this season.
UMBC is 3-0 in games decided by two points or less this season.
The Dawgs own the highest winning percentage in the America East (.600).
The Retrievers are second in the league with a +3.5 scoring margin.
The Dawgs lead the AE with a .359 three-point shooting percentage.
UMBC paces the circuit with 26.7 defensive rebounds per game.
Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 3rd in the league in scoring at 14.9 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 8th (13.0 ppg.).
Armstrong is second in the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.426, 34th NCAA) and leads the league in 3's per game (2.9, 25th NCAA). He needs just three treys to hit 250 for his career.
Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 3.4 assist/turnover ratio. He needs just one assist to reach 250 for his career.

LAST TIME OUT - ARMSTRONG JR's LAST SECOND FREE THROWS GIVES RETRIEVERS 1-POINT WIN VERSUS UNH

Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. calmly sank two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to give the UMBC men's basketball team a 75-74 come-from-behind victory against the New Hampshire Wildcats, in an America East Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. UMBC is now 6-2 at home and has won three straight contests for the first time this season.
Armstrong Jr., who had already made two game-winning shots earlier this season, paced the Retrievers with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Jah'Likai King contributed 15 points, junior guard Ace Valentine (12 points, four assists), and sophomore Caden Diggs contributed 10 points.
UMBC (9-6, 2-0 AE) was down by as many as 11 points in the second half after it trailed 39-30 at intermission. The visitors shot a sizzling 57.1 percent (16-for-18) from the floor and held the Retrievers to a 38.5 percent clip (10-of-26) over the first twenty minutes.
Trailing 43-32 with 18:53 remaining in the contest, the hosts went on an 8-3 mini run to trim the deficit to 44-40 at the 16:52 mark after a fast break layup by graduate student forward Josh Odunowo. However, New Hampshire answered with five straight points to grab a 49-40 edge after a layup by center Belal El Shakery (game-high 18 points, 13 rebounds) with 15:33 left.
UMBC changed the trajectory of the game as they responded by scoring 12 unanswered points over the next 3:16 to take a 52-49 advantage, their first lead since the 12:23 mark of the opening stanza. Odunowo and Valentine ignited the stretch with consecutive layups, reserve forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn scored five consecutive points (layup, 3-pointer), and King completed the run with another triple.
Neither team led by more than three points over the final 12:17 of the contest, as there were 12 lead changes during that stretch.
Down the stretch, Robinson gave the Wildcats a 71-69 advantage with 1:19 remaining on a driving layup, but Armstrong Jr. answered on the next possession with a layup to even the score with 1:02 left.
Following a timeout, El Shakery hit one of two from the line to put New Hampshire up 72-71 with fifty-four seconds left. King misfired on the other end, but Diggs came up with a critical offensive rebound and made two clutch free throws after he was fouled by El Shakery with thirty-three ticks left. El Skakery then scored inside with seven seconds left to provide the visitors with their final lead, 74-73.
After a UMBC timeout, the Retrievers set up a play for Armstrong Jr., and he was fouled on the perimeter before getting into shooting position. The whistle put him on the line for a one-and-one situation, but not before New Hampshire called a timeout. With ice water in his veins, the sharpshooter swished both attempts to put the Dawgs ahead.
The Wildcats attempted a baseball pass from under their basket, but time expired before they could get off a shot.
New Hampshire, now 0-10 on the road, fell to 4-12 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
UMBC committed a season-low four turnovers and shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) in the second half.

ABOUT BRYANT

Bryant has dropped two straight league games to UMass Lowell and UAlbany.
The Bulldogs are second in the conference in points per game allowed (71.1) but are scoring just 62.9 ppg.
Bryant is last on the circuit with a .289 3-point field goal percentage.
FR Timofei Rudovski averages a team-high 12.1 ppg. (13th AE).

SERIES HISTORY WITH BRYANT

UMBC trails, 5-2
Bryant has won five straight contests
UMBC is 1-3 in Smithfield and have dropped three straight at Chace Center.

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.
He also came up clutch by hitting two free throws in a one-and-one situation with 0.9 on the clock in the 75-74 win over UNH (1/10).
DJ also enjoyed a career game at Coppin State with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He drilled a career-best eight treys in 14 tries.
Armstrong Jr. is 8th in the America East in scoring (12.7 ppg.) and is first in 3s per game (3.0). He also leads the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.424).

THE KING HITS A GRAND; NAMED AE PLAYER OF WEEK

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 was named AE Player of the Week on December 8. The Newburg, New York native averaged 19.5 points while shooting an impressive 54% from the field during two road games last week against Georgetown and Bucknell.
King started the week by scoring 19 points in a loss to Georgetown and followed it up with 20 points in a victory over Bucknell. After trailing 26-25 at halftime against the Bison, UMBC opened the second half with a 14-6 run, establishing their largest lead of the game at 39-32 with 14:11 remaining. King contributed eight points during this crucial stretch.
Currently, King leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.9 points per game, ranking third in the league. He is also 22nd in the league in rebounding, averaging 4.5 caroms per game and is 11th in steals (1.0).

ACE IN THE HOLE

Guard Ace Valentine continues to play a key role on both ends of the floor.
Valentine leads the conference and is 42nd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.4) and is second in the AE in assists per game (4.6).
The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 20-for-50 (.400) and is 55-of-117 overall (.470).
Ace needs one assist to hit the 250 mark.

NOT JOSHING AROUND

Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo has been a model of consistency throughout this first two seasons as a Retriever.
Odunowo owns a .500 field goal percentage this year and is a career .559 shooter.
Odunowo is also 6th in the league in rebounding at 5.5 per game.

CAN YOU DIG IT?

Sophomore forward Caden Diggs erupted for a career-high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench against Buffalo. Diggs also knocked down a career-best three 3-pointers.
Diggs recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds earlier in the season against Wagner.
Diggs has reached double-figures in scoring in four of his last six contests and is averaging 10.6 points per game during the stretch.

MILESTONE WATCH
1200 career points, Jah'Likai King (1,143)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (205)
300 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (284)
900 career points, Josh Odunowo (847)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (467)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (77)
600 career points, Ace Valentine, (579)
250 career assists, Ace Valentine (249)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (474)
900 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (852)
200 career 3-pointers, DJ Armstrong Jr. (197)

Print Friendly Version