Men's Basketball 3/9/2026 10:33:00 AM

#1 Men's Hoops Hosts #4 UMass Lowell in Semifinals of #AEPlayoffs on Tuesday Night

Retrievers Set to Battle River Hawks at 6:00 p.m. at the 'Peake

The Retrievers are competing in their 59th season and their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 695-959 (.420) all-time.
The Retrievers are 500-676 (.425) at the DI level (40th season).
The Retrievers have now won four regular-season championships at the Division I level (3 AE, 2 outright, 1 NEC).
UMBC has now recorded its 6th 20-win season as a DI member and its first since 2018-19. The program's win record was set in 2017-18 was 25.
The Dawgs accomplished their best DI conference winning percentage in program history (14-2, .875) and the fewest losses.
The Retrievers went 17-3 (.850) in league play as a member of the Northeast Conference in 1998-99 under Tom Sullivan. That squad won a DI program-best 11 straight games.
UMBC last won the AE regular-season crown in 2020-21. The Dawgs, who joined the AE in 2003-2004, shared that title with Vermont.
The Retrievers are seeking their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2008, 2018).
UMBC has won 10 straight contests, the fourth-longest current streak in the country.
UMBC last won 10-straight during the 1998-99 season.
With a win against UML, the Dawgs would equal the all-time program record with 11 straight wins (1998-99).
The Retrievers own the highest overall winning percentage in the America East (.733) and are 42nd in the country.
UMBC tied for the third-best single-season win improvement (+8) in league history after winning just five AE games last season.
Head Coach Jim Ferry recorded his 400th career win at Maine. He is the first coach in program history to reach that mark. He's now 82-76 in five years at UMBC.
Ferry has won at least 18 games in three of his five seasons at UMBC and recorded his first 20-win season as a Retriever in 25-26. It's the 7th 20-win season of his career.
The Retrievers are 13-2 at home this season and went a perfect 8-0 in America East games at the Peake. It's the first time the Retrievers have gone undefeated in the league on their home floor.
UMBC is 3rd in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.5).
The Retrievers lead the league with a +8.6 scoring margin and are 53rd in the country.
UMBC is 32nd in the NCAA in scoring defense (67.2 ppg.), which is tops in the AE.
UMBC leads the league with 27.4 defensive rebounds per game (22nd NCAA).
The Dawgs are 29th in the country with just 9.7 turnovers per game.
The Retrievers outscored their 16 America East opponents by a combined total of 255-150 from the free-throw line. (5.9 more makes per game).
The Retrievers are 53rd in the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 75.9 percent.
UMBC leads the America East in the following categories: Points Per Game, Points Per Game Allowed, Scoring Margin, FT Percentage, Field Goal Percentage, Field Goal Percentage Defense, and Turnover Margin.

UMBC'S AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Retrievers are 18-20 in America East postseason play since joining the conference in 2003-04.
This is the third time that the Retrievers have entered the event as the No. 1 seed. (2021, 2008)
The Retrievers have reached the championship game five times.
UMBC won the tournament in 2008 and 2018.
The Retrievers reached the finals in Head Coach Jim Ferry's first season in 2022 but fell at Vermont.
UMBC is 2-2 against UML in AE Tournament history. 2018 (QF, D. UML, 89-77; 2021 (Semifinals, L. 79-77; 2022 (QF, W, 93-85 (OT), 2024 (QF, L, 94-89).

INDIVIDUAL SUPERLATIVES

Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 7th in the league in scoring at 14.0 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 10th (12.7 ppg.).
Armstrong leads the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.403, 37th in NCAA) and 3's per game (2.6, 88th in NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15.
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 went 33-for-35 (.943).
Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio (29th NCAA) and is third in assists per game (4.0).
Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo, a career 60 percent foul shooter, has converted 38-of-47 (.809) attempts over the last 12 games. He's finished 10th in the league from the stripe in AE contests (.764).
Odunowo is five points shy of 1,000 and could become the third Retriever to hit the mark this season (Armstrrong Jr., King).
Jose Tanchyn has posted double-figure rebound totals in seven of his last 12 contests and is averaging 8.5 points and 9.2 boards during the Retrievers current 10-game winning streak.

AMERICA EAST POSTSEASON AWARDS

Three Retrievers earned America East All-Conference Team accolades. Jah'Likai King (First Team), DJ Armstrong Jr (Second Team), Ace Valentine (Second Team). It's the first time the Retrievers have had three honorees since the 2021-22 season.
Caden Diggs was named the 6th Man of the Year. He is just the second Retriever to win the award and the first since Keondre Kennedy in 2020-21.
Jim Ferry was named the Coach of the Year. It's the third time a UMBC coach has won the award and the first since Ryan Odom (2020-21).
Josh Odunowo made the All-Defensive Team
Armstrong Jr. and Valentine both made the All-Academic Team.

LAST TIME OUT - VALENTINE SPARKS RETRIEVERS IN AE QUARTERFINALS

Junior guard Ace Valentine poured in 23 points to lead the No. 1-seeded UMBC men's basketball team to an 84-69 victory over the No. 8-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Air Force Reserve America East Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The Retrievers, who have won ten straight contests, will host a semifinal contest at the 'Peake on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. against fourth-seeded UMass Lowell. UMBC is now 22-8 and has recorded its most wins since the 2017-2018 campaign (25).
Valentine paced four Retrievers in double figures in points as he matched his career high and established a new personal-best with five treys in eight attempts. The Second Team All-Conference pick, who hit 7-of-11 field goals, also added five rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Jah'Likai King (13 points), graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. (3-of-7 3-pointers), and sophomore guard Caden Diggs (11) were also in double figures.
UMBC, which is one game shy of tying the program record for most consecutive victories, shot 50.9 percent overall, went 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from behind the arc, and converted 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) of their attempts from the foul line.
The Retrievers jumped out to a 24-6 advantage at the 10:28 mark of the opening half, buoyed by a raucous home crowd. Valentine scored eight points during the opening burst, including a pair from behind the arc.
The hosts led 34-18 after freshman forward Riley Jacobs (eight points, five boards) made a pair of free throws with 3:33 left in the opening stanza. However, the Wildcats scored the final 12 points to cut the deficit to just 34-30 at intermission. Guard Jack Graham knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to key the run.
UMBC opened the second half on a 7-1 spurt to extend the lead back to double-digits, 41-31 at the 17:56 mark. Valentine (4 points) and Armstrong Jr. (triple) accounted for the scoring.
The Wildcats did not go away without one last charge, trimming the deficit to 41-37 with 14:31 remaining.
UMBC responded with ten consecutive points to widen their lead to 52-37 with 11:38 remaining, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Jacobs off an inbounds pass from Valentine.
The Retrievers were never challenged the rest of the way and led by as many as 21 points on four different occasions. UMBC, now 13-2 at home, committed just seven turnovers and held the visitors to zero points on fast break points in the contest.
Forward Belal El Shakery scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the Wildcats, who finished with a 9-21 record.

SERIES HISTORY WITH UML

The Retrievers are 10-18 against the River Hawks all-time.
The series dates back to 1/5/2014.
The Dawgs had dropped five straight in the series before sweeping the season series this year. UMBC graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr. scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the first half as the Retrievers cruised to an impressive 79-56 home victory against the UMass Lowell River Hawks on Jan. 24.
Junior guard Jah'Likai King drilled 9-of-13 field goal attempts and tied his season-high with 24 points to lead four Retrievers in double-figures in an 84-60 win at Lowell on Feb. 28
UML has won nine of the last 12 contests.
UMBC is 6-9 against the River Hawks in Baltimore.

ABOUT THE RIVER HAWKS

Junior Angel Montas Jr. produced 28 points to help lift UMass Lowell to an 81-76 comeback victory against No. 5 UAlbany in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Air Force Reserve America East Playoffs at Kennedy Family Athletic Complex on Saturday.
Despite trailing by as many as 12 in the second half, the River Hawks used a 16-1 run that included a pivotal three from freshman Victor Okojie to change the lead for the first and only time in the contest. The performance marked the first time since 2021 that the River Hawks have overcome a 12-point, second-half deficit.
Rebounding has been a key stat for the River Hawks this year, as the team leads the circuit with a +4.6 margin. The squad averages a league-high 12.2 offensive rebounds per game.
The River Hawks are second behind UMBC in scoring (75.1 ppg.) but rank last in defense (75.8 ppg.
AE Newcomer of the Year Angel Montas Jr. is third in the league in scoring at 15.6 ppg. and averaged a league-best 20.0 ppg. in league play.

INSIDE THE 10-GAME WIN STREAK

The Retrievers have won eight of the 10 games by double figures.
UMBC owns a 16.5 ppg. margin of victory (78.0 - 61.5).
UMBC is holding opponents to a combined .395 field goal percentage.
Opponents are shooting .299 percent (72-for-241)from behind the arc.
UMBC is shooting .815 from the foul line (159-for-195).
Six Retrievers are averaging at least 8.5 ppg. (Valentine (13.9), King (12.9), Armstrong Jr. (11.6), Odunowo (10.1), Diggs (9.7), and Tanchyn (8.5) is averaging 8.5 points and 9.2 rebounds.
Valentine is netting a team-best 13.9 ppg. and is shooting .558 overall (48-for-86) and .459 (17-for-37) from 3-point land.
UMBC is shooting .367 from behind the arc (79-for-215).
Odunowo is averaging 10.1 ppg. and 5.8 rpg.

THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

The Retrievers outscored their 16 America East opponents by a combined total of 255-150 from the free-throw line. (5.9 more makes per game).
The Retrievers are 53rd in the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 75.9 percent.
UMBC shot a league-best .799 percent in the AE play while its foes went a league-worst .636 percent.
UMBC is first overall (.753) from the charity stripe in the AE this season. (53rd NCAA).

PLAY THAT HIT AGAIN, MR. DJ

Armstrong Jr. earned Second Team America East honors on Friday. He was also named to the AE All-Academic Team.
He's 10th in the America East in scoring (12.7 ppg.) and is 1st in 3s per game (2.6) and 3-point field goal percentage (.402). He's swished at least two treys in 22-of-30 contests this season.
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-high game at Coppin State, scoring 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He drilled a career-best eight treys in 14 tries.

THE KING OF BALTIMORE

King was named to the America EastAll-Conference First Team.
Currently, King leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.0 points per game, ranking 7th in the league. He is also 19th in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 4th in free-throw percentage at .827.
King has scored 20 or more points a team-high seven times this season and has been in double-figures in a team-best 23-of-29 games played.
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. He currently has a team-high 1,340 career points.
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 also recorded his 300th career rebound at Vermont.
UMBC is 8-2 when King records UMBC's first bucket of the game.

ACE IN THE HOLE

Guard Ace Valentine continues to play a key role on both ends of the floor and earned his first America East All-Conference selection on Friday. He also earned All-Academic Team honors.
Valentine, a Second Team pick, leads the conference and is 29th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.0) and is fourth in the AE in assists per game (4.0).
Valentine is averaging a team-high 13.9 ppg. during UMBC's current 10-game winning streak and is shooting a team-best .558 percent during the stretch.
The junior is fifth in the league overall in field goal percentage (.515) and also ranked sixth in conference games (.522).
Valentine surpassed 300 career assists in the AE quarterfinal win against UNH.
Ace, who needs five points for 800 in his career, had reached double-figures in scoring in a career-best eight straight games until being held to eight points last Tuesday at NJIT.
The Retrievers are 6-0 when Valentine records UMBC's first bucket of the game.

CAN YOU DIG IT?

Sophomore forward Caden Diggs was named the America East Sixth Man of the Year.
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 reached double figures in scoring in 11 of 16 AE contests and averaged 10.4 ppg. during the stretch.

TANCHYN GAINING MAJOR STEAM

Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started 13 of the last 14 games in the frontcourt, and the team is 12-2 in his starts.
Tanchyn finished 4th on the circuit with 7.8 rpg in conference play.
He averaged 23.5 mpg, 8.5 ppg. and 7.8 rpg. in AE contests.
Tanchyn averaged 4.2 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. in just 12.1 mpg. during the non-conference season.
He recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in the home victory against Binghamton on Feb. 5 and added another one at UMass Lowell (12 pts, 13 reb).
Tanchyn has posted double-figures in rebounds in seven of his last 12 contests.
Is averaging 8.5 points and 9.2 rebounds during UMBC's 10-game winning streak.
Tanchyn recorded his 500th career rebound in the AE quarterfinal win against UNH.

A PROGRAM ON THE RISE

UMBC is enjoying its best stretch in program history, as the Retrievers have gone 178-158 (.528) over the past 10 seasons. They are 95-82 (534) in AE Play.
UMBC enjoyed three straight 20+ win seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Their 25 victories in 2017-18 were 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 postseason 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 an 81-76 record (.516) in Baltimore. He holds the 2nd-best winning percentage at UMBC behind Ryan Odom (.660)
Ferry is the 7th DI head coach at UMBC.
Ferry picked up his 400th career win against Maine this season.
Ferry led the Retrievers to consecutive 18-14 records as well as an appearance in the America East Finals in 2021-22.
Ferry was recently named the America East Coach of the Year, the third time a UMBC coach has won the award.
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, including 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 (1,327)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (224)
350 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (323)
100 career steals, Jah'Likai King (94)
1,000 career points, Josh Odunowo (995)
550 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (545)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (81)
800 career points, Ace Valentine (795)
350 career assists, Ace Valentine (303)
1050 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (1047)
250 career 3-pointers, DJ Armstrong Jr. (233)
550 rebounds, Jose Tanchyn (504)

2025-26 AE PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont           63 (7)
T2. Maine               47 (1)
T2. UAlbany            47
4. UMass Lowell     39 (1)
5. Binghamton      37
6. Bryant               35
7. UMBC               31
8. NJIT                     13
9. New Hampshire   12

Print Friendly Version