UMBC

BALTIMORE—UMBC senior forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) and freshman wing Jamar Wertz (Suffolk, Va./King’s Fork) will miss the remainder of the 2009-10 men’s basketball season and are expected to resume their athletic careers for the Retrievers during the 2010-11 academic year.

Neither player competed in any contests this season.

UMBC will play its final non-conference contest of the season and face the University of Pennsylvania for the first time when the Retrievers and Quakers take the court on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Penn  is just the third team from the Ivy League that UMBC has faced--the Retrievers defeated Columbia last season and have three previous meetings against Princeton. Tip-off time is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live by Fox 1370 Sports Radio (www.fox1370.com) with Gary Stein and Paul Mittermeier on the call.  Video streaming is also available at http:www.umbcretrievers.tv.

Fry underwent successful surgery to repair the medial patellofemoral ligament in his right knee in order to prevent the reoccurrence of dislocation. He suffered the injury during a workout with teammates in late September.

Last season, Fry earned All-Academic Team recognition, becoming the first Retriever men’s basketball player to earn that honor in the four years that the league has given out the award. He is expected to earn his undergraduate degree in economics in the spring and will apply to graduate school for the fall of 2010.

The six-foot-nine three-year letterwinner averaged a career-best 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. He underwent a surgical procedure on the right knee in February and missed four games before playing in the final four contests of the season. Fry scored a career-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds in the America East Conference quarterfinal win over Boston University.

Wertz underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early November and has not returned to full team practice.

RETRIEVER UPDATE:  UMBC (1-12, 0-1 America East) has dropped three straight contests, including Saturday’s America East  opener at Vermont, by a 73-58 count. The Retrievers have played five games decided by five points or less and has dropped four of those contests, including last Wednesday’s 89-86 double overtime loss at Central Connecticut State. Junior post Robbie Jackson has scoring in double figures in four striaght games, averaging 15.3 points per game since his return from a foot injury.

QUAKERS’ UPDATE:  Penn (0-10) has played a brutal schedule with losses at Penn State, Villanova, Davidson and Duke. This is Penn’s fifth consecutive road game after a 78-60 home loss to America East foe Albany. Sophomore guard Zack Rosen is the Quakers’ leader in scoring (15.8 ppg), 3-point field goals (27 of 62, 43.5%) and assists (4.8 pg). Penn dropped a 77-62 decision at Lafayette on Sunday.

UP NEXT: UMBC has the weekend off before starting a four-game in day stretch at Boston University on Tuesday, Jan. 12.