Bloomington, Ind.- UMBC shaved a 23-point deficit to 10 points
early in the second half, but a torrid shooting display by No. 17
Indiana propelled the Hoosiers to an 89-47 victory before 12,665 at
Assembly Hall.
Three Retrievers- junior Ryan Cook (Laurel,
Md./Pallotti) and sophomores Chase
Plummer (Plainfield, N.J.) and Quentin Jones
(Ellicott City, Md./Mount St. Joseph) scored 10 points apiece to
lead UMBC. Plummer added a team-high seven rebounds, while Jones
had four assists and three steals against relentless Indiana
pressure.
The hosts built a 37-14 lead, scoring 17 of those points from
the free throw line, with 3:40 left in the first half. But UMBC
finished the half on 9-0 run and trailed, 37-23 at the break.
The Retrievers came out with passion early in the second half
and shaved the deficit to 40-30 on a Plummer lay-in just 1:57 into
the frame. But the Hoosiers hit their next 11 shots from the floor,
including all seven from behind the arc in a mammoth 33-5 run which
gave them a prohibitive 73-35 advantage with 9:52 remaining.
Hoosier forward Christian Watford led all players with 22 points
and 10 rebounds.
Junior guard Brian
Neller (Red Bank, N.J.) added seven points and freshman
post Nate
Basalyga (Scranton, Pa.) hit all three field goal attempts
in a six-point effort for UMBC.
UMBC shot 32 percent (16-of-50) from the floor, while Indiana
erased a 34.6 rate in the first half (9-of-26) and converted on 17
of 29 shots in the second stanza to improve to 47.3 percent
(26-of-55) for the contest.
The Retrievers close out 2011 with a contest at Niagara
University on Wed., Dec. 28.
