First Place Men's Basketball Travels to Maine On Thursday Evening

The Retrievers are competing in their 58th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 683-958 (.414) all-time.
The Retrievers are 484-685 (.412) at the DI level.
UMBC is off to their best start in conference play since the 2017-2018 championship season. The Retrievers finished 12-4 that year.
The Retrievers own the highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.636).
Head Coach Jim Ferry needs just one more win to reach 400 in his career.
The Retrievers are 5-6 on the road this season.
UMBC is 4-1 in games decided by three points or less this season.
The Dawgs are 6-6 in games decided by single figures.
UMBC is 3rd in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.3).
The Retrievers lead the league with a +5.1 scoring margin.
UMBC is 72nd in the NCAA in scoring defense (69.5 ppg.), which ranks 2nd in the AE.
The Dawgs lead the AE with a .353 three-point shooting percentage (104th in NCAA). They also lead the circuit with a .466 overall shooting clip (105th in NCAA)
UMBC leads the league with 26.7 defensive rebounds per game (59th NCAA).
The Retrievers have outscored their nine America East opponents by a combined total of 149-76 from the free throw line. (8.1 more makes per game).
Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 4th in the league in scoring at 14.0 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 9th (13.4 ppg.).
Armstrong is 3rd in the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.423, 29th in NCAA) and is first in 3's per game (3.0, 51st in NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15. He also eclipsed 900-career points in the win against NJIT.
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 3.2 assist/turnover ratio (29th NCAA). He recorded his 250th career assist at Bryant on Jan. 15.

LAST TIME OUT - ALL FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE-FIGURES AS UMBC RUNS AWAY FROM BINGHAMTON

UMBC's entire starting five reached double-figures in scoring for the first time this season as the men's basketball team rolled to a 79-62 victory against the Binghamton Bearcats on Thursday evening at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. UMBC (14-8) improves to 7-2 in the America East Conference and is tied with NJIT for first place with seven games remaining. The Dawgs are also off to their best start in league play since the 2017-2018 championship season.
Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. paced UMBC with 17 points as five of his six field goals came from three-point distance. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo recorded 15 points and tied his season-high with eight rebounds. Junior guard Jah'Likai King (13 points), junior guard Ace Valentine (12 points, team-high four assists), and junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn (10 points, 11 rebounds) completed the balanced scoring attack. Sophomore forward Caden Diggs (seven points, eight caroms) played 17 productive minutes off the bench.
The Retrievers, now 9-2 at home, led from start to finish, but the Bearcats managed to hang around for the first 13 minutes of the contest. Leading 21-20, the hosts ripped off seven consecutive points to extend their lead to 28-20 at the 4:07 mark. Armstrong Jr. got things going with a trey, and then Valentine converted back-to-back layups.
Bryson Wilson's free throw narrowed Binghamton's deficit to 30-23 with 2:14 remaining in the half, but the hosts responded with a 9-3 run to lead 39-26 at halftime.
UMBC, who only committed three turnovers, opened the second half with consecutive field goals from Armstrong Jr. and Odunowo to increase its lead to 43-26 at the 18:28 mark.
The hosts stretched their advantage to as many as 21 points on two different occasions, the last coming on a trey by King with 10:45 remaining in the contest.
Binghamton (5-19, 1-8 AE) could never recover, as they could only get as close as 13 points with just under two minutes remaining.
Guard Jeremiah Quigley recorded a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats while Bryson Wilson added 18 points.
UMBC outscored Binghamton by a 38-18 margin in the paint and did not allow a second chance point.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MAINE

UMBC leads 28-17.
The Dawgs are 11-11 all-time on the road against the Black Bears.
Maine has won three straight in Orono against the Dawgs.
UMBC won the first matchup this season, 69-62, back in Baltimore on January 8. Junior guard Jah'Likai King led four Retrievers in double-figures in scoring with 15 points and added six rebounds to pace the hosts. Junior guard Ace Valentine (14 points, two steals), sophomore forward Caden Diggs (13 points, six rebounds), and freshman forward Riley Jacobs (10 points, seven boards) provided the Dawgs with a balanced scoring performance.
TJ Biel scored a game-high 27 points and added 10 boards to pace the Black Bears.

ABOUT MAINE

The Black Bears are coming off a 73-67 loss at Bryant this past Saturday.
Logan Carey led the Black Bears with 16 points.
Mekhi Gray (15), TJ Biel (14) and Ryan Mabrey (10) all reached double-digits in scoring.
Maine forced 15 turnovers and held Bryant to 46% shooting from the field.
The Black Bears are averaging a league low 62.8 points per game.
Defensively, Maine is tops in the league as they yield just 69.1 ppg. UMBC is right behind the Black Bears at 69.5 ppg.
The Black Bears are last in the league in combined team rebounds (28.0 per game).

THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

The Retrievers have outscored their nine America East opponents by a combined total of 149-76 from the free throw line. (8.1 more makes per game).
UMBC is shooting a league-best .793 percent in the AE while its foes are at a league-worst .589 percent).
UMBC is third overall (.735) from the charity stripe in the AE this season.

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 9th in the America East in scoring (13.4 ppg.) and is 1st in 3s per game (3.0). He's also third on the the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.423). He's swished at least two treys in 19-of-22 contests this season.

THE KING OF BALTIMORE

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 on Wednesday and followed it up with 20 points in a victory over Bucknell on Saturday. 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 14.0 points per game, ranking fourth in the league. He is also 34th in the league in rebounding, averaging 3.8 caroms per game and is 19th in steals (1.0). Additionally, King is 5th in free throw percentage at .790.
King recorded his 300th career rebound at Vermont.

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 (3.2) and is fourth in the AE in assists per game (4.1).
The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 26-for-67 (.388) and is 84-for-168 overall (.500). He's also 7th in field goal percentage (.513) in league play.
Valentine dished his 250th career assist in the loss to Bryant on Jan. 15.
Ace has reached double-figures in scoring in eight of the last 11 contests and is averaging 12.3 ppg. 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 seven of nine AE contests and is averaging 10.7 ppg. during the stretch. The Old Dominion transfer is also 36-for-71 (.507) from the floor, including 7-of-20 (.468) from distance.
Diggs is 8th in the league in field goal percentage in conference play (.507)

TANCHYN GAINING STEAM

Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started six of the last seven games, his first six as a Retriever.
Tanchyn is 8th on the circuit with 6.4 rpg. in conference play.
He recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in the home victory against Binghamton on Feb. 5.
Tanchyn has recorded double-figures in rebounds in three of his last four contests averaging 9.0 rpg. during the stretch.

A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 172-158 (.517) over the past ten seasons. They are 89-82 (516) 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 26th season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth at UMBC.
Ferry owns a 74-76 record in Baltimore. He needs just one more win to reach 400 in his career.
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.

MILESTONE WATCH
1200 career points, Jah'Likai King (1,228)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (214)
300 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (303)
900 career points, Josh Odunowo (915)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (497)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (80)
700 career points, Ace Valentine, (683)
300 career assists, Ace Valentine (271)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (476)
550 career points, Paul Greene (507)
1000 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (961)
225 career 3-pointers, DJ Armstrong Jr. (220)

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