Preview of Saturday’s America East Men’s Basketball Game CATONSVILLE, Md. (Interstat) — A surging Maryland-Baltimore County looks to continue its push atop the America East standings when it hosts struggling Albany on Saturday at Retriever Activities Center. The Retrievers (17-8, 9-3 America East) enter on a three-game winning streak, including a decisive 75-62 victory over conference heavyweight Vermont on Thursday. Junior guard Jah’Likai King led the way with 24 points in that win, highlighting a recent offensive surge. King averaged 20.5 points in wins over New Hampshire and Vermont last week, a significant jump from his four-point outing in the first meeting against Albany. That prior matchup, a 68-65 UMBC road win on Jan. 31, will be fresh in both teams’ minds. The Great Danes (9-17, 4-8) have lost five of their last seven games since, though they are coming off a 77-74 road win at Binghamton on Feb. 14. Albany will lean heavily on guard Amir Lindsey, who has been a workhorse, playing 39 or 40 minutes in six consecutive games. He scored 23 points in the win over Binghamton and had 23 points and seven assists in a loss to UMass Lowell on Feb. 7. However, he was held to nine points on 3-of-14 shooting in the January loss to UMBC. Beyond King, UMBC has shown balanced scoring, with Ace Valentine adding 12 points and five assists against Vermont. The Retrievers have been dominant at home in conference play, winning their last four by an average of 18 points. Albany’s challenge will be finding consistent scoring beyond Lindsey and replicating the rebounding effort from the Binghamton win, where Okechukwu Okeke and Jaden Kempson combined for 22 boards. The Great Danes rank near the bottom of the conference in scoring offense. A UMBC win would solidify its position in the top tier of the league, while Albany seeks a season-altering road upset to build momentum for the final stretch before the conference tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.