Washington, D.C. - The UMBC men's basketball team put up a scrappy effort, but it fell just short, as George Washington edged the Retrievers, 70-64, before 2,103 fans at the Smith Center on Thanksgiving eve.
Senior forward Darryl Proctor (District Heights, Md.) led all scorers with 17 points and led the Retrievers with nine rebounds in all 40 minutes of action. Senior guard Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa.) also played all 40 minutes and amassed 11 points, nine assists and just one turnover against the constant pressure defense of the Colonials.
Trailing 57-56 with 8:49 to play, UMBC had two chances to take the lead, but Greene misfired on a pair of jump shots. GW's Tony Taylor then buried a three-pointer to start a 9-2 run and the Colonials took a 66-58 advantage with 4:14 to play. But Proctor hit field goals on three consecutive possessions and UMBC forced a missed shot and two turnovers to climb within 66-64 on Proctor's baseline jumper with 41 seconds left.
Greene fouled Taylor with 19 seconds to play and the freshman hit the first of two shots, but drew iron with the second. But GW forward Damian Hollis got the carom and tipped it in to give the hosts a 69-64 advantage. Greene's hurried jumper was off the mark with 10 seconds left and Taylor made one additional free throw with seconds left to provide the final margin.
UMBC was outrebounded for the fourth consecutive game, as the Colonials held a 39-29 advantage on the boards. The Retrievers only turned it over nine times, but hit just 12 of 30 second half shots after converting on 15 of 29 in the first 20 minutes.
Junior forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa.) scored 12 points, all in the first half, as he picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the second stanza and played only 21 total minutes. Sophomore forward Rich Flemming hit five of seven shots and scored 11 points.
The game was tied at 37-all at halftime, but GW came out on a 7-0 run to take control. UMBC would battle back and tie the game at 53-all on a Chauncey Gilliam (Columbia, Md.) free throw with 10:54 to play.
UMBC hit nine of its first 12 shots from the floor, sparked by the marksmanship of Fry, who hit all five first half field goal attempts, including a three-point field goal. Trailing 11-9, Rich Flemming opened a 14-2 run to give UMBC a 22-13 lead at the 12:21 mark of the first half with a dunk and free throw and Greene and Fry contributed three-pointers. But the Colonials countered with an 11-0 burst to retake the advantage at 24-22 at the 8:35 mark of the stanza. Flemming capped the half with a follow shot of a Brett Burrier missed free throw with 22 seconds left and the teams went to the half tied at 37-all.
Guard Noel Wilmore led George Washington with 14 points, as the hosts hit 12 of 23 second half attempts. GW's win tied the all-time series at three apiece.
UMBC returns home after four games to host Toledo on Saturday afternoon at 2:05 p.m.
