BALTIMORE, MD. –The Hartford men’s basketball team looks to end UMBC’s five-game winning streak as it travels to Baltimore, Md., to face the Retrievers on Wednesday night. Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena whistleblower scheduled for 7 p.m.
MATCH 20: HARTFORD HAWKS (5-15, 3-5 AE) at UMBC RETRIEVERS (11-10, 6-4 AE)
SITE: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (Baltimore, Maryland)
DATE HOUR : Wednesday, February 9 (7 p.m. EST)
LIVE STATS: Handgun Stats
LOOK: ESPN+
PLAY NOTES: hartford | UMBC
A WEDNESDAY VICTORY WOULD BE…
- snap Hartford’s three-game losing streak
- give the Hawks a 21-20 lead in the all-time series
- push Hartford’s league record to 4-5
UMBC SCOUTING
- UMBC enters Wednesday’s contest on a five-game winning streak
- The Retrievers last beat New Hampshire, 88-77, on Saturday
- UMBC, which is 6-4 in conference, is led by Keondre Kennedy
- Kennedy ranks fifth in the America East in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game
- LJ Owens is the team’s sniper, dropping 10.6 points on 42.6% shooting from beyond the arc
- Darnell Rogers rounds out UMBC’s double-digit scoring, scoring 10.3 points per game while delivering 3.7 assists, a mark that ranks third in the league
SERIES HISTORY
- Hartford and UMBC meet for the 41st time in both programs’ Division I history, with the all-time series deadlocked at 20-20
- Teams split from last season’s regular season series at UMBC
- UMBC has a 13-8 advantage in games played in Baltimore
- UMBC have won four of the last five games against Hartford
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
- UMBC held Hartford to 22 points in the second half to take a 57-49 decision inside the UMBC Event Center on January 17, 2021
- austin williams led all scorers with 16 points, while RJ Eytle-Rock scored 14 points to lead three double-digit Retrievers
- Leading the team in scoring for the third time in as many outings, Williams added nine rebounds, three assists and one steal.
- All eight players who signed up for the Hawks recorded at least one field goal
- UMBC, which committed even turnovers, struggled behind the arc, dropping 2-for-21 for 10%
- The Retrievers capitalized on the free throw line, going 15 for 20
- Kennedy (10 points) and Dimitrije Spasojevic (10) round out UMBC’s leading scorers
LAST TIME OUT
- Diploma Hunter Marks scored a game-high 19 points as the Hawks fell, 85-75, to UMass Lowell on Monday night
- With Hartford leading 40-39 at halftime, UMass Lowell pulled away in the second half to pick up the win.
- Marks was 5 of 6 from the field and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line
- He also provided five assists
- Flowers (16 points), Mitchell (15) and Shriver (11), joined Marks in double digits
- Mitchell went a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc
- The Hawks went from 54.5% to three (12 of 22) compared to 50.0% for the River Hawks (10 of 20)
- UMass Lowell held a 37-16 rebounding advantage
THREE-POINT PERFECTION
- A Hawks trio was perfect beyond the arc against UMass Lowell on Monday
- DJ Mitchell led the way with a 3 for 3 rating, while Marks and Traci Carter went 2 for 2 long distance
WATCH THE FLOWERS BLOOM
- Flowers was a jack-of-all-trades when he returned to the Hawks in 2021-22
- The team leader in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and second-best in the league in the category, he is the second-leading scorer with a career-high 14.1 points per game.
- Scored double figures in 17 of 20 games, including seven consecutive games, his versatility makes him difficult for opponents to keep
- He leads the team in field goals scored (101) and is third in free throws (53) and three-point field goals (27)
WARM HANDS
- Hartford has been effective from the floor in 2021-22, ranking second in the America East in field goal percentage (.454)
- The team was equally effective in conference play, going 45.5%, including 40.1% from three
- Three starters – Marks, Flowers and Williams – had extremely hot hands
- They each shoot 48% or better from the field to finish in the top seven in the conference
- The trio have been deadly, combining to shoot 51.5% from the floor this season (271 for 526)
- Marks leads the team and is third in the league with a .563 clip
SHARP SHRIVER
- Shriver, who left Alderson Broaddus second all-time in three-point field goals (216), was a threat from range in 2021-22 for the Hawks
- He is first in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.4) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.388)
- The senior has hit at least a three in 19 of 20 games this season and knocked down multiple triples in 13 games
- Shriver had an impressive outing against New Hampshire (January 18) which saw him go a perfect 4-on-4 from long range
- He knocked down six three-pointers at Winthrop on Dec. 1 — the most for a Hawk since Mitchell had six against Maine on Dec. 20, 2020 — to finish with a career-high 20 points.
- All but 12 of his 57 field goals – and 135 of his 164 points – have come from behind the arc
- Shriver, who scored his 1,000th career point at UNLV, knocked down 255 career three-pointers
TURN, TURN, TURN
- Since conference play, the Hawks have limited turnovers on the offensive side
- After averaging 14.7 errors per game in the non-conference, Hartford reduced that number to 11.4 per game against league opponents.
- In their first league game against New Hampshire, the Hawks committed a season-low six errors (January 19).
KILLA’ KIMBROUGH
- Senior Jared Kimbroughwho has missed five games through injury, has been a key contributor off the bench in his 15 appearances this season
- With high percentage shooting being the bread and butter of his game, Kimbrough is a 60.0% effective shooter.
- Standing at 6-8, his versatility was evident early in the season with a 4 of 7 clip from long range
- Kimbrough came just short of his first double-double against Boston University with 13 points and nine rebounds (November 18)
DJ FOR THREE
- Mitchell continues to be one of the best shooters in the America East
- Became the 24th player in program history to make 100 three-pointers at UNLV (December 11), he has 119 career long-range marks
- A career 39.3% shooter, Mitchell ranks third in Hartford’s Division I history in three-point field goal percentage
- Throughout his career, 66% of Mitchell’s goals have come from behind the arc
BRIGGS TIME
- Second year Briggs McClain was a spark plug on the bench for the Hawks
- Entering the season with just eight career points, he set new career highs by scoring in three consecutive outings
- With nine points against Boston University (Nov. 18) and 12 at Merrimack (Nov. 23), he took his career high to 14 at App State (Nov. 29).
- Averaging 10.4 minutes per game, he is averaging a career-high 3.3 points, after averaging 0.6 points in 2.1 minutes per game in 2020-21.
NEXT ON PRESS
The Hawks conclude their three-game road trip at the NJIT on Saturday. Tipoff in Newark, NJ, is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For an overview of Hartford men’s basketball, stay on HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media: Twitter | instagram
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