UMBC enters the final week of the regular season trying to hold off UNH for the sixth seed in the upcoming America East Tournament. The Retrievers open play this week by taking on the Hartford Hawks at the Chase Family Arena on Thurs., Feb. 28. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC (4-10, 6-21) has droppped five straight, including last Saturday’s 68-59 setback vs. Boston University. The Retrievers fell behind by 12 early in the second half before a rally cut the deficit to two points midway through the stanza, but the comeback fell short. Reserve SO G Joey Getz is averaging 12.0 ppg in the month of February. SR G Ryan Cook leads the squad with 14.6 points per game.

HAWK UPDATE:  Hartford (8-6, 15-12) is tied with Albany for the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Hawks has been tough at home in 2012-13, postiing a mark of 9-4. UH is coming off a 49-44 victory over UNH on Feb. 20 and had the weekend bye. SO F Mark Nwakamma leads America East in scoring in league play at 17.6 points per game.

WHO’S UP NEXT:  UMBC completes the regular season vs. Binghamton at home on Sun., March 3 at 2:00 p.m.  The Retrievers will honor seniors Ryan Cook, Brian Neller and Adrian Satchell in ceremonies before the start of the game.

UMBC starts a two-game America East road swing on Wed., Feb. 9 when they visit New Hampshire at Lundholm Gymnasium. Tip-off time between the Retrievers and Wildcats is 7:00 p.m. 

RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC (4-7, 6-18) could not recover from another poor start and fell to Vermont, 67-55, at the RAC Arena on Sat., Feb. 9. In the three-game homestand, UMBC trailed by 9, 15 and 9 points at the midpoint of the fi rst half. They rallied to defeat Maine, 68-67, in the opener, but lost to Albany and Vermont. SR G Brian Neller has hit 22 treys in his last five games, while SO G Joey Getz scored in double figures in two of the three games at the RAC Arena. SR G Ryan Cook (14.7 ppg) leads UMBC in scoring, but is now at a season-low in scoring average.

WILDCAT UPDATE: New Hampshire (2-8, 6-16) had the bye this weekend, after falling, 63-48 at Vermont on Feb. 6. The Wildcats are 0-5 at home in league play in 2013. SR F Ferg Myrick, who leads the Wildcats with 13.8 ppg, scored just two points at Vermont a week ago. Myrick leads UNH with 34 three-point field goals.

WHO’S UP NEXT: UMBC has the weekend off before traveling to Long Island to take on Stony Brook at Pritchard Gym on Tues., Feb. 19.

The UMBC men’s basketball team plays at home for the first time since Dec. 12 and opens the home portion of its America East Conference schedule on Wed., Jan. 9 when they host the New Hampshire Wildcats. The road time has won five of the last six meetings between UMBC and UNH. The opening tap is slated for 7:05 p.m. Streaming is available on www.umbcretrievers.tv.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: Host Maine shot a blistering 58.5 percent from the floor and withstood a late Retriever rally to win their fourth straight, defeating visiting UMBC, 81-66, at Alfond Arena on Jan. 5. JR F Chase Plummer scored 14 points off the bench to lead UMBC (0-2, 2-13), which is in the midst of an eight-game slide. SR G Ryan Cook leads UMBC with 16.2 ppg and has scored in double figures in ten straight games.

WILDCAT UPDATE:  New Hampshire (0-2, 4-10) has lost five consecutive games since a 64-58 win over Yale on Dec. 8. Most recently, UNH fell, 65-49, to league favorite Stony Brook on Jan. 5. SR F Ferg Myrick  leads four Wildcats in double figures with 15.4 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in three of UNH’s last six outings. JR C Chris Pelcher (10.6 ppg, team-high 7.3 rpg) is one of the league’s top rebounders and is shooting 53 percent from the floor.

WHO’S UP NEXT:  The Retrievers head back out on the road to face a red-hot Vermont squad on Sat., Jan. 12.

DURHAM, N.H. - Riding a three-game winning streak, the Tigers will be seeking to stake their claim to a share of the Colonial Athletic Association championship when they visit Cowell Stadium to face CAA co-leader New Hampshire …A Tiger win over UNH would throw the entire CAA into a mad scramble because it would create the possibility of a six-way tie for first place in the CAA … Wins by Towson over UNH, James Madison over Old Dominion, Richmond over William & Mary and Villanova over Delaware would leave Towson, UNH, JMU, Richmond and Villanova all tied for first place at 6-2 and would force the utilization of a tie-breaker scenario.

For Towson to have its best shot at its second straight CAA championship, the Tigers would like a three-way tie with New Hampshire and Villanova because Towson would hold the tie-breaker over both teams.

The Tigers, who are the defending CAA champions, have won 12 of their last 15 CAA games … Towson was 7-1 in 2011 and has a 5-2 record this year … From 2007 to 2010, the Tigers were 3-29 in CAA games.

Towson is also seeking its second straight appearance in the NCAA FCS playoffs … Last year, the Tigers earned the CAA’s automatic bid as conference champion … Towson earned a first-round bye and dropped a 40-38 heartbreaker to Lehigh in the second round of the playoffs before a sellout crowd at Unitas Stadium.

TIGERS vs. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Towson and New Hampshire are meeting for the ninth time in a series that began in 1980 … UNH has a 7-1 series lead and didn’t lose a game to the Tigers until last year.

The two teams first met in 1980 when Towson was a Division II program … UNH won that contest, 10-6 despite a 51-yard field goal by future NFL All-Pro punter Sean Landeta … In 1981, Towson and New Hampshire met in Durham and the Wildcats pulled out a 31-29 victory … The teams did not meet again until 2004 when they were conference rivals … In seven games as conference rivals, UNH has averaged 43.3 points per game … In conference games, their average margin of victory has been 29.3 points … UNH has a 4-0 record at home against Towson.

On its way to its first CAA championship last season, the Tigers finally beat UNH for the first time ever, handing the Wildcats a 56-42 loss at Unitas Stadium … The two teams combined for 98 points and 1,128 total yards.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Tigers, who are seeking their first-ever win at Cowell Stadium, have been a very good road team the last two seasons … In fact, Towson has won six of its last seven CAA road games … In 2011, Towson earned CAA road wins at No. 17 Old Dominion (39-35), No. 14 William & Mary (38-27), No. 7 Maine (40-30) and Rhode Island (28-17) … Towson has a 2-1 CAA road record this year … On Oct. 6, the Tigers lost at No. 5 James Madison (13-10) … But, Towson bounced back with a 49-35 win at No. 19 Villanova and a 34-27 overtime victory at No. 23 Delaware one week later.