UMBC (12-8, 5-2 AE) at UAlbany Great Danes (7-15, 3-4 AE) | Saturday, Jan. 31, 7pm | Albany, N.Y. (Broadview Center) | Watch | Live Stats | Internatiional Feed | 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 681-958 (.414) all-time.
• The Retrievers are 482-685 (.412) at the DI level
• The Retrievers are are 4-6 on the road this season.
• UMBC is 3-0 in games decided by two points or less this season.
• The Dawgs are 5-6 in games decided by single figures.
• The Dawgs own the second highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.600).
• UMBC is fifth in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.5).
• The Retrievers lead the league with a +4.7 scoring margin.
• The Dawgs lead the AE with a .353 three-point shooting percentage (63rd NCAA).
• UMBC leads the league with 26.8 defensive rebounds per game (75th NCAA).
• The Retrievers have outscored their six America East opponents by a combined total of 113-57 from the free throw line (9.0) more makes per game).
• Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 4th in the league in scoring at 14.6 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 8th (13.3 ppg.).
• Armstrong leads the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.423, 35th NCAA) and leads the league in 3's per game (2.9, 53rd NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15.. He also eclipsed 900-career points in the win against NJIT last Thursday night.
• Armstrong Jr. made his first 22 free throw attempts in conference play before missing two straight in the 2nd half at Vermont.
• Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 3.4 assist/turnover ratio (21st NCAA). He recorded his 250th career assist at Bryant on Jan. 15.
• Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo made his 100th career start last Saturday and scored a season-best 17 points.
• Odunowo needs six points to reach 900 in his career.

 
LAST TIME OUT - UMBC BATTLES BUT FALLS AT VERMONT

• UMBC battled all night but eventually fell to the Vermont Catamounts, 64-55, in a showdown for the America East lead at Patrick Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
• Sophomore forward Caden Diggs paced the Retrievers with 14 points in 29 minutes off the bench, while junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn added 13 points.  Junior guard Jah'Likai King and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. each added eight points.
• UMBC (12-8. 5-2 AE) struggled offensively as they hit just 17-of-52 field goals for a 32.7 percent clip.  The Retrievers also misfired on 20 of their 26 attempts from behind the arc (23.1 percent).
• The game was deadlocked at intermission, 29-29, but UMBC would never take the lead over the final 20 minutes.
• The hosts took a 38-33 advantage with 17:04 remaining, but the Dawgs scored five straight to even the score. Junior guard Ace Valentine hit two free throws, and King swished a triple during the mini run.
• Vermont (14-8, 6-1 AE) answered with a 10-2 run to grab a 51-42 advantage at the 9:16 mark, but the visitors responded with nine straight points to knot the score again at 51 apiece.  Diggs ignited the burst with four straight points, graduate student forward Josh Odunowo converted two free throws, and Tanchyn buried a trey to account for the scoring during the stretch.
• The Catamounts then scored six straight points to regain the lead for good at 57-51 with 4:58 left.  Armstrong Jr. hit a long trifecta to bring UMBC within three, 57-54, with 3:08 left, and then Tanchyn converted one of two from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to just 57-55 with 1:39 left.
• UMBC was unable to get over the hump, as they missed their final three field goal attempts and the hosts hit four free throws and received a dagger 3-pointer from Lucas Mari to put the game away.
• Guard TJ Hurley scored a game-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 4-of-8 3-pointers.  Mari added 16 points off the bench and added six boards.

 SERIES HISTORY WITH UALBANY

•  The Retrievers are The Retrievers are 17-31 against the Great Danes all-time.
• UMBC is 5-3 against UAlbany during the Jim Ferry era.
• The Dawgs are 9-16 all-time in Albany
• UMBC has won seven of the last 10 meetings.

 ABOUT  UALBANY

• The Great Danes are coming off a 77-68 loss to NJIT and have now dropped three straight.
•  Amir Lindsey led UAlbany with 23 points and added five rebounds.
• Okechukwu Okeke paced the Great Danes on the glass with seven rebounds, while contributing eight points and two blocks.
• UAlbany leads the circuit with 14.3 assists per game.
• The Great Danes are averaging 72.7 ppg. (4th in league) and are yielding 74.0 ppg. (6th in league).

 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 (13.3 ppg.) and is first in 3s per game (2.9). He's also first on the the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.423). He's swished at least two treys in 17-of-20 contests this season.

 A KING RESIDES IN BALTIMORE

• Currently, King leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.6 points per game, ranking third in the league. He is also 31st in the league in rebounding, averaging 4.1 caroms per game and is 19th in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 4th in free throw percentage at .792.
• King recorded his 300th career rebound at Vermont.
• 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 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.

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 25th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.4) and is third in the AE in assists per game (4.3).
• The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 23-for-61 (.377) and is 76-of-155 overall (.490).
• He dished his 250th career assist in the loss to Bryant on Jan. 15.
• Ace has reached double-figures in scoring in six of the last nine contests and is averaging 11.2 ppg. during the stretch. He's 38-for-67 (.567) from the floor during the stretch.

 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 six of seven AE contests and is averaging 11.3 ppg. during the stretch. The Old Dominion transfer is also 31-for-61 (.508) from the floor, including 7-of-19 (.468) from distance.

TANCHYN GAINING STEAM

• Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started four of the last five games, his first four as a Retriever.
• Tanchyn scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the overtime loss at Bryant. 
• He followed that up with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting along with a season-high seven boards in the win at Binghamton.
• Tanchyn corralled a season-high 11 rebounds in the victory against UMass Lowell on Saturday.
• He was also in double-digits (13) at Vermont on Thursday night.

 MILESTONE WATCH   
1200 career points, Jah'Likai King (1,211)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (211)
300 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (300)
900 career points, Josh Odunowo (894)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (487)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (78)
700 career points, Ace Valentine, (656)
300 career assists, Ace Valentine (266)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (475)
550 career points, Paul Greene (505)
1000 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (931)