Men's Hoops Opens 410 Invitational Against Morgan State on Thursday Night at the Peake

The Retrievers stormed past the McDaniel Green Terror 91-61 for its first win of the season on Monday night at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
Redshirt senior guard Devin Ceaser scored a game-high 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting in 22 minutes, while sophomore guard Carlos Varela and junior guard Evan Morton (seven rebounds) each added 10 points. Junior forward Jovan Ristic pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
UMBC (1-2) shook off a slow start after falling behind the Green Terror 10-8 with 14:10 left in the opening half. Then Varela drilled a three-pointer, sparking a 12-0 explosion that sent the Dawgs surging ahead 20-10 with 10:54 left. Morton fueled the momentum with five points during the run, including a deep three to cap the stretch.
The Retrievers kept pouring it on, erupting to a 36-17 lead with 6:32 left after freshman guard Aidan Able drained back-to-back three-pointers.
UMBC led 51-25 at the break as they held McDaniel to just 28.1 percent shooting on 9-of-32 field goal attempts. Ceaser (12 points) and Varela (10 points) combined for 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the stanza.
The Retrievers took a 65-33 lead with 14:13 remaining, outscoring the visitors 14-8 to open the second half.
McDaniel made a brief push, narrowing the gap to 22 points after a late layup with 5:39 left, but the Retrievers never let up and kept the outcome firmly in hand.
UMBC held a 54-36 advantage on the boards.
Kyle Harvin led McDaniel (1-2) with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
UMBC will host Morgan State on Thursday evening for the opening round of the 410 Invitational.

DAWG BITES

Redshirt senior guard Devin Ceaser ranks fifth in the America East in scoring at 16.3 ppg. and leads the conference with a .909 free-throw mark.
Junior forward Jovan Ristic is fourth on the circuit with 7.7 rebounds per game. His 13 caroms against McDaniel on Monday evening are tied for the third most in the league this season.
Sophomore forward Riley Jacobs is tied for the league lead with 2.0 steals per game and is 2nd in the league with 1.7 blocks per game.
UMBC leads the league in 3-point fg's made (9.0 per game), free- throw percentage (.851), defensive rebounds (30.0 per game), and is second in scoring offense (75.0 pg.)

ALL-TIME vs. MORGAN STATE

UMBC lead the series, 16-15.
The Retrievers have won two straight, including a buzzer-beater triumph last season at Morgan State on a jumper by DJ Armstrong.
UMBC is 10-6 at home against the Bears.
The series is tied 5-5 over the last ten matchups.

ABOUT THE BEARS

Morgan State has opened the season with three straight wins against Cheyney, Virginia of Lynchburg, and Niagara.
The Bears are averaging 90.3 points per game while holding their opponents to just 59.0 ppg.
Opponents are shooting just .291 from the field, and the Bears are outscoring their foes by 16.7 points per game.
Alfred Worrell Jr. is averaging 22.3 points per game while Keith Richard is adding 14.3 points per game.
Trent Edwards is pulling down a team-best 8.3 boards per game.

LAST MEETING AGAINST MORGAN STATE

UMBC graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. hit a step-back three with one second remaining to lift UMBC men's basketball to a thrilling 81-79 road victory against the Morgan State Bears at Hill Field House last Nov. 11.
Armstrong finished with 17 points and was 4-for-6 from downtown. Junior forward Daylon Dickerson recorded his first career "double-double" with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Ace Valentine added 12 points and a season-high seven assists. Freshman forward Riley Jacobs and senior guard Devin Ceaser (3-for-6 3pt-range) contributed nine points apiece.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

The Retrievers return just one player, sophomore forward Riley Jacobs, who played meaningful minutes last season. Jacobs made 16 starts and averaged 15.3 minutes per game over his 32 appearances. Redshirt senior guard Devin Ceaser played three games during the early season before being shutdown with a leg injury.
Redshirt senior forward Regimantas Ciunys missed the entire 25-26 season with a leg injury while sophomore guard Evan Morton enrolled at the school prior to the second semester but did not dress.
The Retrievers have 12 newcomers in total.

PRESEASON POLL
2026-27 Preseason Poll
1. Vermont            62 (7)
2. UMBC                46 (1)
3. Binghamton       45 (1)
4. NJIT               38
5. Bryant                     36
6. UAlbany                  34
7. UMass Lowell          31
8. Maine                      19
9. New Hampshire      13

RETRIEVER HISTORY

The Retrievers are competing in their 60th season and their 41st season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 671-943 (.416) all-time.
The Retrievers are 503-689 (.422) at the DI level (41st season).
UMBC has competed in the East Coast Conference, Big South, NEC, and America East
The Dawgs have won four regular-season championships at the Division I level (3 AE, 2 outright, 1 NEC ) and three AE Tournament titles.
Last season, UMBC recorded its 6th 20-win season as a DI member and its first since 2018-19. The program's win record was set in 2017-18 with 25. The 2007-08 squad also won 24 games.
The Retrievers went 17-3 (.850) in league play as a member of the Northeast Conference in 1998-99 under Tom Sullivan. That squad won a previous DI program-best 11 straight games

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Dawgs made their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season (2008, 2018, 2026).
The Retrievers dropped an opening-round game to Georgetown in Raleigh in 2008 and fell to Howard last season in the NCAA play-in round.

HISTORIC SEASON

The Dawgs accomplished their best DI conference winning percentage in program history this season (14-2, .875) and their fewest losses.
UMBC won 12 straight contests prior too falling to Howard in the NCAA play-in game.
UMBC tied for the third-best single-season conference win improvement (+8) in league history after winning just five AE games last season.
Head Coach Jim Ferry recorded his 400th career win at Maine. He is the first coach in program history to reach that mark. He's now 83-76 in five years at UMBC.
Ferry has won at least 18 games in three of his five seasons at UMBC and has recorded his first 20-win season as a Retriever in 25-26. It's the 7th 20-win season of his career.
The Retrievers went 15-2 at home this season and were a perfect 8-0 in America East regular season games at the 'Peake + three more in the AE Tournament. It's the first time the Retrievers have gone undefeated in the league on their home floor. The 15 wins equals a program record (2007-08).
UMBC is 2nd in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.3).
The Retrievers led the league with a +9.2 scoring margin and are 46th in the country in the category.
UMBC was 28th in the NCAA in scoring defense (67.3 ppg.), which was tops in the AE. Last season, the Dawgs yielded 78.8 ppg.
UMBC paced the league with 27.3 defensive rebounds per game (21st NCAA).
The Dawgs were 24th in the country with just 9.6 turnovers per game.
The Retrievers outscored their 16 America East opponents by a combined total of 255-150 from the free-throw line during the regular season. (5.9 more makes per game).
The Retrievers were 47th in the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 76.2 percent.
UMBC led the America East in the following categories: Points Per Game, Points Per Game Allowed, Scoring Margin, FT Percentage, Field Goal Percentage, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, and Turnover Margin.

'PEAK CAPACITY
The Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena ('The Peak) drew a capacity record crowd of 4,753 rowdy fans for the America East Championship game versus Vermont this past Saturday morning.
It was UMBC's first championship in the sport of basketball, won on the "Peake floor.

A PROGRAM ON THE RISE

UMBC is enjoying its best stretch in program history, with the Retrievers going 182-138 (.571) over the past 11 seasons. They are 94-67 (.584) in AE play.
UMBC enjoyed three straight 20+ win seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Their 25 victories in 2017-18 were 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 postseason 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 26th season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth at UMBC.
Ferry owns an 85-76 record (.525) in Baltimore. He holds the 2nd-best winning percentage at UMBC behind Ryan Odom (.660)
Ferry is the 7th DI head coach at UMBC.
Ferry picked up his 400th career win against Maine this season.
Ferry led the Retrievers to consecutive 18-14 records as well as an appearance in the America East Finals in 2021-22.
Ferry is the third UMBC Head Coach to take the Retrievers to the NCAA Tournament.
Ferry was recently named the America East Coach of the Year, the third time a UMBC coach has won the award.
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, including 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.