Red-Hot Men's Hoops Hosts UAlbany On Saturday for Senior Day

The Retrievers are competing in their 58th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 686-958 (.414) all-time.
The Retrievers are 487-685 (.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 Retrievers control their own destiny for the AE regular-season crown with four games left.
UMBC clinches a top-four seed in the AE Tournament with a victory against the Great Danes.
The Dawgs have won five straight for the first time this season and their first since a six-game streak in 2022-2023.
The Retrievers own the highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.680).
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. He's now 77-76 at UMBC.
Ferry can clinch his third 18th-win season with a victory against UAlbany.
The Retrievers are 10-2 at home this season.
UMBC has won their last four contests by an average of 17.0 ppg. It's the largest 4-game disparity since joining the America East Conference.
The Retrievers are 11-2 in games decided by double-figures this season.
UMBC is 4th in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.6).
The Retrievers lead the league with a +6.6 scoring margin and are 85th in the country.
UMBC is 56th in the NCAA in scoring defense (68.6 ppg.), which is tops in the AE.
UMBC leads the league with 27.3 defensive rebounds per game (32nd NCAA).
The Retrievers have outscored their 12 America East opponents by a combined total of 204-114 from the free throw line. (7.5 more makes per game).
Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 5th in the league in scoring at 14.1 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 9th (13.2 ppg.).
Armstrong is 2nd in the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.410, 38th in NCAA) and is first in 3's per game (2.8, 56th in NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15. He needs four 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 30-for-32 (.938).
Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 3.0 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 30-of-35 (.857) attempts over the last eight games. He's 10th in the league in AE contests (.780).
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 TOPPLE VERMONT FOR SEASON-SWEEP

Junior guard Jah'Likai King scored a season-high 24 points to lift the UMBC men's basketball team to a 75-62 victory over the Vermont Catamounts at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Thursday evening. The win, coupled with NJIT's loss to UAlbany, vaulted the Retrievers (17-8, 10-2) into sole possession of first place in the America East Conference standings with just four games remaining in the regular season.
King, who scored 16 points in the opening stanza to spot the hosts a 38-26 halftime advantage, tied his season-high by splashing 5-of-9 3-pointers, four of which came in the opening half. He also went 7-for-8 from the foul line and grabbed five rebounds. Junior guard Ace Valentine (12 points, game-high five assists) and sophomore reserve forward Caden Diggs (12 points) were also in double-digits. Junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds and added seven points, while graduate forward Josh Odunowo chipped in with eight points and seven caroms.
The Retrievers took their first lead of the game after King drilled a triple to make it 4-2 with 18:15 remaining in the first half. UMBC never surrendered the lead again as they widened their advantage to 19-7 at the 13:41 mark after another trifecta from King. In all, King scored 11 points during the stretch.
Leading 24-12 after a Tanchyn second chance layup at the 10:07 mark, Vermont was able to use a 9-2 run to close to within 26-21 on a 3-pointer by Gus Yalden with 7:20 remaining. However, UMBC responded with a 9-2 spurt of their own to re-establish a 12-point lead, 35-23, with 1:17 left before the break. Diggs ignited the flurry with a triple and finished it off with a layup.
UMBC's lead ballooned to a game-high of 20 points, 46-26, at the 17:38 mark of the second half as they scored the first eight points of the stanza.
Vermont (17-11, 9-4) sliced the lead in half, 50-40, using a 14-4 spurt over the next 5:10 to get back into the game. Following a media timeout, however, graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. connected on a difficult floater in the lane, and Diggs converted two from the charity stripe to spot the hosts a 54-40 edge, helping to keep the visitors at bay with 8:50 remaining.
The Catamounts refused to go away as they embarked on an 11-3 burst to close within 57-51 after two free throws from forward Noah Barnett at the 5:24 mark. However, Valentine drained a clutch trey on the next trip down the floor, and King answered two Vermont free throws with his final 3-pointer of the night to give UMBC a 63-53 edge at the 4:06 mark. Valentine put the game out of reach with another triple followed by three free throws, making it 69-55 with just 2:29 left. The Catamounts were never able to recover as UMBC went on to secure their first home win against Vermont since the 2020-21 campaign.
UMBC, which has won five straight games for the first time this season, held Vermont to 34.9 shooting as the visitors went just 22-for-63 overall.
Yalden finished with a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards, while TJ Long scored a team-high 21 points

SERIES HISTORY WITH UALBANY

The Retrievers are 18-31 against the Great Danes all-time.
UMBC is 6-3 against UAlbany during the Jim Ferry era.
The Dawgs are 9-13 all-time in Baltimore.
UMBC has won eight of the last 11 meetings.
The Dawgs pulled out a 68-65 victory in comeback fashion at Broadview Center on Jan. 31.
UMBC trailed 63-57 with just 3:50 remaining but outscored the hosts by an 11-2 margin to close out the contest.
Junior guard Ace Valentine led three Retrievers in double-figures with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point territory.

ABOUT UALBANY

The Great Danes are fourth in the America East in scoring at 72.8 ppg and are fifth in defense (73.5 ppg.). UAlbany is also 2nd in blocks per game (3.96) and field goal percentage (.465).
Guard Amir Lindsey is leading the team in scoring (17.6 ppg.) and is 2nd in assists (4.8 pg.)
Okechukwu is third in the league with 6.9 rebounds per game and leads with 1.9 blocks per game.

INSIDE THE 5-GAME WIN STREAK

The Retrievers have won four of the five games by double-figures.
The average margin of victory is 14.2 points per game, their largest 5-game discrepancy as a member of the America East. (77.0-62.8).
UMBC is holding opponents to a .388 field goal percentage.
UMBC is shooting .813 from the foul line (91-for-112).
King is 20-for-22 (.909) from the foul line and Odunowo is 19-22 (.864).
Five Retrievers are averaging double-figures in scoring (Valentine, Armstrong Jr., King, Diggs, Odunowo).
Tanchyn is averaging 10.0 rebounds per game.
Valentine is shooting a team-high .579 percent from the floor (22-for-38).

THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

The Retrievers have outscored their nine America East opponents by a combined total of 204-114 from the free throw line. (7.5 more makes per game).
UMBC is shooting a league-best .803 percent in the AE while its foes are at a league-worst .620 percent).
UMBC is 2nd overall (.749) from the charity stripe in the AE this season. (97th NCAA).

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 thows 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 (13.2 ppg.) and is 1st in 3s per game (2.8). He's also 2nd on the the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.410). He's swished at least two treys in 20-of-25 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 14.1 points per game, ranking 5th in the league. He is also 34th in the league in rebounding, averaging 3.7 caroms per game and is 18th in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 3rd in free throw percentage at .818.
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 fourth in the AE in assists per game (3.9).
The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 30-for-75 (.400) and is 98-for-193 overall (.508, 6th 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 seven of the last nine 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 10 of 12 AE contests and is averaging 11.5 ppg. during the stretch.
Diggs is 6th in the league in field goal percentage in conference play (.520)

TANCHYN GAINING STEAM

Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started nine of the last 10 games, his first as a Retriever.
Tanchyn is 4th on the circuit with 7.1 rpg. in conference play.
He's averaging 7.9 ppg. and 7.1 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 five of his last six contests and is averaging 9.3 rebounds during the stretch.

A PROGRAM ON THR RISE

UMBC is enjoying their best stretch in program history as the Retrievers have gone a combined 175-158 (.520) over the past ten seasons. They are 92-82 (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 77-76 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.

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