West Hartford, Conn.- UMBC's defensive struggles continued as
the host Hartford Hawks hit 51 percent from the floor and buried 11
of 24 attempts from behind the arc and defeated the Retrievers,
74-57, at Chase Family Arena.
UMBC junior forward Adrian
Satchell (Windsor, Conn.) scored a season-high 11 points and
grabbed a team high seven rebounds and was named the Retrievers'
America East Player of the Game. Junior guard Ryan Cook (Laurel,
Md./Pallotti) led UMBC with 12 points and sophomore forward Chase
Plummer (Plainfield, N.J.) added 10.
Hartford senior guard Andres Torres posted a double-double with
a game-high 16 points and 10 assists.
UMBC fell behind, 39-28 three minutes into the second half, but
scored nine consecutive points to come within 39-37 at the 14:07
mark. At the 8:42 mark, Cook kept the Retrievers within one
possession by converting two free throws and bringing UMBC to
within 47-44. On the ensuing possession, Torres threw in a
desperation, turnaround three-pointer, sparking a 9-0 Hawk run and
the Retrievers did not close within nine points the rest of the
way.
There were seven lead changes in the first 13:24 of the first
half and UMBC had its final advantage after a Quentin Jones
(Ellicott City, Md./Mount St. Joseph) three-point play gave the
visitors a 19-18 lead with 8:31 to play in the frame. But Hartford
hit 7 of 14 shots from behind the arc in the stanza and built a
33-27 lead at the break. UMBC, averaging 13.7 offensive caroms per
game, had none in the first half.
UMBC started the game 9-of-15 from the floor, but finished at
21-of-51 (41.2 percent) and misfired on 10 of 11 attempts from
behind the arc.
The Retrievers return home to face Binghamton on Thursday, Jan.
19.
