Baltimore --- The UMBC men's basketball team clinched a top four seed in the upcoming America East Conference Tournament after recording a thrilling 66-62 victory against the UAlbany Great Danes on Saturday afternoon at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The Retrievers' sixth straight triumph, its first since the 2022-23 season, kept them in first place in the standings with three games remaining. UMBC will host a quarterfinal game at the 'Peake on Saturday, March 7.

Junior guard Ace Valentine scored 14 points and handed out a game-high five assists to lead four Retrievers in double-figures in scoring. Junior guard Jah'Likai King (13 points), junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn (10 points, five rebounds), and sophomore forward Caden Diggs (10 points, seven rebounds) provided a balanced scoring attack.

The Retrievers (18-8, 11-2) struggled in the opening half but only trailed by four, 32-28 at the break. UMBC connected on just 11-of-32 field goal attempts, including 2-for-11 from behind the arc. Tarique Foster scored all 17 of his points in the opening half as the forward drilled 5-of-6 three-pointers to spark the visitors.

UAlbany (10-18, 6-7 AE) scored the opening bucket of the second half to extend its lead to 34-28 with 19:12 remaining. However, the Retrievers responded with a 16-4 burst over the next 5:42 to take their largest lead of the game, 46-38, at the 13:39 mark.  UMBC took its first lead since the 7:06 mark of the opening half after King hit a jumper to make it 38-36 with 15:17 left. Diggs eventually capped the stretch with a transition triple following a turnover.

The Great Danes refused to fade away as they managed to come all the way back to even the contest at 48-48 on a layup by Amir Lindsey with 8:19 left. But Diggs hit a jumper in the lane, Valentine followed with a layup, and graduate forward Josh Odunowo converted two free throws to restore a 54-48 advantage at the 6:29 mark.

Valentine, who has reached double-figures in six straight games, extended UMBC's lead to 64-57 after swishing a long trifecta from the top of the key with 2:43 left. However, Lindsey buried a trey and added two free throws to bring his squad within 64-62 with 1:29 left.

The visitors had an opportunity to even the game, but Valentine came up with a key steal with forty-one ticks left, and UMBC called a timeout.  After the break, Valentine misfired on a 3-pointer, but Tanchyn grabbed the offensive rebound, was fouled, and finished a layup with 14 seconds left to spot UMBC a 66-62 lead.  After missing the free throw, Tanchyn rejected Lindsey's layup with five seconds left, and UMBC was able to run out the clock.

Lindsey, the leading scorer in the league, finished with 15 points while Okeke added 14 points and eight boards.

UMBC, now 11-2 at home this season, shot 52 percent overall in the second half and made 6-of-9 three-pointers.

Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. scored all seven of his points in the second half and eclipsed 1,000 points in his career. UMBC head coach Jim Ferry reached 18 wins at UMBC for the third time in his career.

The Retrievers will host Bryant on Thursday evening.