LOWELL, Mass. - For just the third time in program history, UMBC is the America East men's basketball regular-season champion. The Retrievers defeated UMass Lowell, 854-60 on Saturday to claim the crown, their first since 2021 and just their seccond outright championship (2008). UMBC will be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Air Force Reserve America East Men's Basketball Playoffs.
UMBC (20-8, 13-2 AE) has won eight-straight games, its longest win streak since the 2007-08 campaign. The Retrievers, who were picked 7th in the league's preseason poll, only won five conference games a year ago. Their eight-win improvement is the third-best year-of-year jump in conference history.
The Retrievers will visit NJIT to close out the regular season on Tuesday and then host No. 8 New Hampshire in the Air Force Reserve #AEPlayoffs quarterfinals on Saturday.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -