New York, N.Y. - Senior guard and tournament Most Valuable Player Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa.) scored a game-high 22 points, leading UMBC to a 66-52 victory in the title game of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic.
The Retrievers improved to 3-1, while the Lions dropped to 2-2. UMBC has won five consecutive in-season tournaments, although the last victory occurred in the final Battle of Baltimore Tournament in 2003-04.
Senior forward Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md.) added 16 points and eight rebounds and also earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Sophomore forward Rich Flemming (Chester, Pa.) was the other Retriever in double figures with 13 points and he added a career-best nine rebounds.
Joe Bova and Nike Scott led Columbia with 11 points each, but UMBC held the Lions to 27 percent shooting from the floor.
The Retrievers trailed only once at 3-2, then went on an 8-0 run to open up a 10-3 lead at the 14:30 mark of the first half. Greene scored 13 points in the first 20 minutes as the visitors built a pair of 13-point leads before settling for a 30-22 advantage at intermission.
Columbia got as close as four points at 36-32 on a K.J. Matsui three-point field goal five minutes into the half, but Flemming keyed a 9-0 surge with five points as UMBC opened up a 45-32 lead with 10:17 remaining.
The Lions made one more run, as Matsui hit another trifecta to bring the hosts to within 54-47 with 2:52 to play. But on the next possession, Proctor turned a potential turnover into a three-point play, sparking an 8-0 run which gave UMBC a comfortable 62-47 advantage with 1:21 remaining.
UMBC struggled from the floor, hitting just 20 of 50 attempts, but converted 24 of 29 from the charity stripe (83 percent).
The Retrievers are in action on Wednesday, Nov. 26 when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on George Washington.
