Men's Basketball Returns Home for Thursday Night Clash Against Binghamton

The Retrievers are competing in their 58th season as well as their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 682-958 (.414) all-time.
The Retrievers are 483-685 (.412) at the DI level
UMBC is 6-2 through eight AE games for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. They are tied with Vermont and NJIT for the league-lead.
The Retrievers own the highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.619).
Head Coach Jim Ferry needs just two more wins to reach 400 in his career.
The Retrievers are 8-2 at home this season, while Binghamton is 0-11 on the road.
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 +4.6 scoring margin.
UMBC is 72nd in the NCAA in scoring defense (69.8 ppg.), which ranks 2nd in the AE.
The Dawgs lead the AE with a .353 three-point shooting percentage (104th in NCAA). They are also tied with UMass Lowell with a .467 overall shooting clip (105th in NCAA)
UMBC leads the league with 26.5 defensive rebounds per game (59th NCAA).
The Retrievers have outscored their eight America East opponents by a combined total of 135-61 from the free throw line. (9.25 more makes per game).
Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 4th in the league in scoring at 14.1 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 8th (13.2 ppg.).
Armstrong leads the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.423, 29th in NCAA) and in 3's per game (2.9, 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 3.4 assist/turnover ratio (29th NCAA). He recorded his 250th career assist at Bryant on Jan. 15.
Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo scored his 900th career points this past Saturday at UAlbany.

LAST TIME OUT - UMBC PULLS OUT GRITTY WIN AT UALBANY

UMBC pulled out a 68-65 victory over the UAlbany Great Danes in comeback fashion on Saturday evening at Broadview Center. The win lifted the Retrievers into a three-way tie for first place in the America East standings along with Vermont and NJIT.
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. Graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. added 13 points (3-for-8 treys) and a team-high four assists, while sophomore forward Caden Diggs chipped in with ten points in 24 minutes off the bench. Junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn corralled a team-high ten boards, scored nine points, and came up with a team-high three steals.
UMBC (13-8, 6-2 AE) trailed 63-57 with just 3:50 remaining but outscored the hosts by an 11-2 margin to close out the contest.
Armstrong Jr. drilled a pull-up trey from the right wing with 3:38 remaining to slice the lead to three, 63-60, and Diggs followed with a turnaround jumper in the lane after a UAlbany miss to make it 63-62 thirty-eight seconds later.
Armstrong Jr then came up with a steal and found graduate student forward Josh Odunowo, who was fouled with 2:25 on the clock. Odunowo misfired on the first attempt but brought the Dawgs even at 63-63 after swishing the next attempt.
UAlbany (7-16, 3-5 AE), who led 28-27 at the break, took its final lead of the game, 65-63, when forward Isaac Abiddie converted a driving layup at the 2:09 mark. However, Tanchyn hit a free throw on the next trip down, and Odunowo came up with a big rejection with forty-four seconds left. Valentine eventually was fouled with twenty-five seconds left and calmly converted two free throws to give the visitors a 66-65 edge.
Tanchyn came up with a critical steal with 14 ticks left, drew a foul, and made two from the charity stripe to make it 68-65.
Without a timeout remaining, guard Amir Lindsey misfired on a game-tying three, and Armstrong Jr. grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded.
UAlbany held a 21-12 lead, its largest of the game, with 9:05 left in the opening stanza. However, UMBC eventually came all the way back to even the score at 25-all after Diggs made a pair of free throws with 1:22 left.
After trailing by five early in the second half, the Retrievers surged to a 49-45 lead after Armstrong Jr. drained a three-pointer with 11:22 left in the contest. But UAlbany embarked on an 18-8 burst to grab the 63-57 lead late in the contest.

SERIES HISTORY WITH BINGHAMTON

UMBC leads the all-time series, 26-21.
The Retrievers are 14-7against Binghamton in Baltimore.
The Dawgs defeated the Bearcats in Vestal, 78-60, on Jan. 19th. Jah'Likai King led four Retrievers in double-figures with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Caden Diggs (14 points), Ace Valentine (13 points, seven rebounds), and DJ Armstrong Jr. (10 points) contributed to the balanced scoring effort.

ABOUT BINGHAMTON

Binghamton is 0-11 on the road this season.
The Bearcats are last in the league with a -8.1 scoring margin.
Binghamton leads the AE with a .746 team free throw percentage.
Junior guard Jeremiah Quigley leads the AE with 6.4 assists per game and slots 7th on the circuit in scoring (13.5 ppg.).
Junior forward Zyier Beverly is 13th in the league in scoring (12.2 ppg.), 8th in rebounding (5.2 rpg.), and 5th in blocked shots (1.5 pg.)
Binghamton closed the game with a 10-0 run to overtake Bryant 63-60 last Thursday night in Vestal. The win gave the Bearcats their first conference victory and kept them in the playoff race at the halfway point of the 16-game slate.
Junior guard Jeremiah Quigley tallied eight of his team-high 21 points in the final five minutes as the Bearcats rallied. Down 57-49 with 4:47 left, Binghamton got the needed spark from Quigley, who made his final three shots, sank two clinching free throws with one second left and added two assists to lift the team. His post feed to classmate Zyier Beverly and Beverly's subsequent dunk gave the Bearcats a 61-60 lead with 8.8 seconds remaining. After a Bryant 3-point miss on the other end, Quigley sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

The Retrievers have outscored their eight America East opponents by a combined total of 135-61 from the free throw line. (9.25 more makes per game).
UMBC is shooting a league-best .799 percent in the AE while its foes are at a league-worst .550 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 (13.2 ppg.) and is 1st in 3s per game (2.9). He's also first on the circuit in 3-point field goal percentage (.421). He's swished at least two treys in 18-of-21 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 fourth in the league. He is also 32nd in the league in rebounding, averaging 4.0 caroms per game and is 22nd in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 6th in free throw percentage at .797.
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 third in the AE in assists per game (4.1).
The junior has shot the ball well from behind the arc going 25-for-64 (.391) and is 81-for-163 overall (.497). He's also 10th in field goal percentage (.507) 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 seven of the last 10 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 eight AE contests and is averaging 11.1 ppg. during the stretch. The Old Dominion transfer is also 34-for-67 (.507) from the floor, including 7-of-20 (.468) from distance.
Diggs is 9th in the league in field goal percentage in conference play (.507)

TANCHYN GAINING STEAM

Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started five of the last six games, his first four as a Retriever.
Tanchyn is 12th on the circuit with 5.7 rpg. in conference play.
Tanchyn scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the overtime loss at Bryant.
He followed that up with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting along with a season-high seven boards in the win at Binghamton.
Tanchyn corralled a season-high 11 rebounds in the victory against UMass Lowell on Saturday.
He was also in double-digits (13) at Vermont last Thursday night.
Tanchyn grabbed a team-high 10 boards in the win at UAlbany on Saturday.

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