UMBC (16-8, 9-2 AE) vs. Vermont (17-10, 9-3) | Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 6:00 p.m. | Baltimore, Md. (The 'Peake) | Watch | Live Stats | International Feed | Game Notes | Promotion - First 500 fans receive UMBC hockey jersey's


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 685-958 (.414) all-time.
• The Retrievers are 486-685 (.412) at the DI level.
• UMBC is off to their best start in conference play since the 2007-2008 championship season. The Retrievers finished 13-3 that year.
• The Dawgs are in search of their first five-game win streak of the season on Saturday.
• The Retrievers own the highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.667).
• Head Coach Jim Ferry recorded his 400th career win last Thursday at Maine. He is the first coach in program history to reach that mark. The win on Saturday evened his record at UMBC at 76-76.
• The Retrievers are 9-2 at home this season.
• UMBC has won their last three contests by an average of 18.3 ppg. It's the largest 3-game disparity since joining the America East Conference.
• The Retrievers are 10-2 in games decided by double-figures this season.
• UMBC is 4th in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.7).
• The Retrievers lead the league with a +6.3 scoring margin and are 93rd in the country.
• UMBC is 61st in the NCAA in scoring defense (68.9 ppg.), which is tops in the AE.
• UMBC leads the league with 27.0 defensive rebounds per game (41st NCAA).
• The Retrievers have outscored their ten America East opponents by a combined total of 184-106 from the free throw line. (7.1 more makes per game). 
• Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 6th in the league in scoring at 13.7 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 9th (13.4 ppg.).
• Armstrong is 2nd in the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.419, 29th in NCAA) and is first in 3's per game (2.9, 51st in NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15. He needs 13 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Armstrong Jr. made his first 22 free throw attempts in conference play before missing two straight in the 2nd half at Vermont. Those were his only two misses in the conference as he's gone a league-best 28-for-30 (.933).
• Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 3.1 assist/turnover ratio (29th NCAA). He recorded his 250th career assist at Bryant on Jan. 15.
• Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo, a career 59 percent foul shooter, has converted 28-of-33 (.848) attempts over the last seven games. He's 10th in the league in AE contests (.769).
• UMBC is the only team in the league with four of the top 25 scorers in AE-play. (King, Armstrong Jr., Valentine, Diggs).

 LAST TIME OUT - RETRIEVERS BLITZ UNH FOR SEASON-SWEEP

• UMBC scored the first 16 points of the contest and never looked back in a dominant, 85-63, America East Conference victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium. UMBC (16-8, 9-2 AE) and NJIT remain even in the loss column for first place in the league standings.
•  Junior guard Jah'Likai King and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. (3 assists, 3 steals) led five Retrievers in double-figures with 17 points apiece.  Sophomore forward Caden Diggs (15 points), graduate student forward Josh Odunowo (12 points), and sophomore guard Ace Valentine (10 points) provided a balanced scoring effort. Junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds along with a team-high four assists.
• UMBC, off to its best start in the conference since the 2017-18 season, blitzed the Wildcats in the opening half as they held a 47-28 advantage at intermission.  The Retrievers made 15-of-26 field goal attempts for a 57.7 percent clip and swished all 12 of their free throw attempts.
• The Dawgs, winners of four straight, held a 16-0 advantage after Armstrong Jr. hit the first of his three treys of the day at the 14:09 mark.  UMBC continued to apply the pressure as they extended the lead to 27-7 following a jumper by Armstrong Jr. with 10:41 left in the stanza.
• New Hampshire (8-16, 4-7 AE) went on their only run of the period as it used a 17-4 burst to trim the deficit to 31-24 at the 6:40 mark. However, King and Diggs splashed consecutive triples to ignite a 12-0 stretch over the next 3:40, resulting in a 43-24 lead. King scored seven points during the run.
• The Retrievers left no doubt as they scored the first eight points of the second half to widen their lead to 55-28 with 17:09 remaining. King opened the scoring with a jumper, and Armstrong Jr. buried back-to-back 3-pointers to account for the scoring.
• UMBC held its largest lead of the game at the 14:33 mark, 62-33, after Diggs converted a jumper following a turnover. The Retrievers matched their largest lead on three other occasions, the last one coming with 6:50 remaining after a layup by Odunowo.
• The Retrievers held the Wildcats to 38.2 percent shooting (21-for-55), and the hosts went just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from behind the arc.
• UMBC finished with a 51.7 percent shooting clip overall, making 30-of-58 attempts. The Dawgs also made 16-of-19 free throws for an 84.2 percent rate.
• R.J. Kennedy led the Wildcats with 15 points while Belal El Shakery grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

 SERIES HISTORY WITH VERMONT

• The Retrievers are 10-45 against the Catamounts all-time.
• UMBC is 1-8 against Vermont during the Jim Ferry era. The victory was a decisive 80-63 triumph last season in Burlington. Josh Odunowo recorded 19 points and grabbed 10 boards.
• Vermont came up with a 64-55 win this season in Burlington on Jan. 29. UMBC trailed 57-55 with 1:39 left but were unable to get over the hump. Diggs scored a team-high 14 points for the Retrievers while TJ Hurley paced Vernont with 18 points.
• The Dawgs have lost four straight at home and are 4-19 all-time in Baltimore against the Catamounts.
• The Retrievers won a landmark game in Patrick Gymnasium in 2018, defeating the Catamounts 65-62 in 2018 to win the AE Tourney. Just a week later, the Dawgs knocked off #1 overall seed UVA to become the first #16 seed to win in March.
• Vermont has won nine of the last 11 overall meetings.

 ABOUT VERMONT

• The Catamounts have won or owned a share of the AE regular-season crown eight of the last nines seasons.
• Vermont has won the conference tournament three of the past four years. They have participated in the "Big Dance" 11 times as members of the AE.
• Vermont is 2nd in the league in scoring at 75.2 ppg and are 2nd in scoring margin (+5.3).
• The Catamounts are averaging a league-best 8.9 3's per game.
• Vermont is 2nd in the AE with a +4.6 rebounding margin.
• Gus Yalden is 2nd in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg.) and is 6th in rebounding (5.6 rpg.).
• TJ Hurley (15.2 ppg.) and TJ Long (12.6 ppg.) are also in the top 11 in scoring.  Hurley is a league-best 78-for-84 (.929) from the foul line and is 2nd in treys per game (2.3).

 THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

• The Retrievers have outscored their 11 America East opponents by a combined total of 184-106 from the free throw line. (7.1 more makes per game). 
• UMBC is shooting a league-best .803 percent in AE games while its foes are at a league-worst .609 percent.
• UMBC is 2nd overall (.746) from the charity stripe in the AE this season. (97th NCAA).
• The Dawgs are 71-of-87 (.816) from the line over their last four games.

 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 (2.9). He's also 2nd on the the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.419). He's swished at least two treys in 20-of-24 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 13.7 points per game, ranking 6th in the league. He is also 34th in the league in rebounding, averaging 3.7 caroms per game and is 20th in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 4th in free throw percentage at .813.
• 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 (3.0) and is third in the AE in assists per game (3.9).
• The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 28-for-71 (.394) and is 95-for-185 overall (.514, 5th in the AE).
• Valentine 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 eight contests and is averaging 11.2 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 nine of 11 AE contests and is averaging 11.5 ppg. during the stretch.
• Diggs is 7th in the league in field goal percentage in conference play (.533)

 TANCHYN GAINING STEAM

• Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started eight of the last nine games, his first as a Retriever.
• Tanchyn is 4th on the circuit with 6.7 rpg. in conference play.
• He's averaging 8.0 ppg. and 6.7 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 four of his last five six contests.

 A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

• UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 174-158 (.517) over the past ten seasons. They are 91-82 (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 75-76 record in Baltimore.
• Ferry picked up his 400th career win against Maine on Thursday evening.
• 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   
1300 career points, Jah'Likai King (1,249)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (217)
350 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (306)
950 career points, Josh Odunowo (939)
500 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (510)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (80)
800 career points, Ace Valentine, (709)
300 career assists, Ace Valentine (274)
500 career rebounds, Paul Greene (481)
550 career points, Paul Greene (507)
1000 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (987)
225 career 3-pointers, DJ Armstrong Jr. (223)