BALTIMORE- Visiting Canisius scored the last nine points of the
first half and opened the second half on a 9-1 run to break open a
close game and proceed to defeat UMBC, 83-65 at the RAC Arena.
Senior guard Ryan
Cook (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) led UMBC with 16 points, while
junior postBrett
Roseboro (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) posted a career-high
13 points in the setback.
Canisius junior guard Billy Baron led all scorers with 19
points.
The Golden Griffins have opened the season at 4-1 and snapped a
10-game road losing streak. UMBC has dropped four straight and fell
to 1-5.
It was a see-saw battle for the first 12 minutes of the contest
and a Roseboro layup but the hosts ahead, 19-16, with 9:10
remaining. But the visitors scored the next nine points to lead,
27-19, at the 6:21 mark. UMBC looked poised for their surge when
Cook hit a layup and senior guard Brian
Neller (Red Bank, N.J./Christian Bros. Acad.) to cut the
deficit to 27-24 with 4:36 to go. But those would be the last
points UMBC would score in the half, as Canisius hit four field
goals from inside and added to free throw to take a 36-24 edge at
the break.
UMBC could only manage one free throw in the first 5:22 of the
second half, as the Griffins completed the 18-1 surge over a span
of 9:56.
Canisius led by as many as 22 points at 54-32 before UMBC
managed to whittle the lead down to 75-63 with 1:36 remaining. But
the visitors hit all six free throws in the final 79 seconds to
hold off any Retriever comeback effort.
The Retrievers looked to have an advantage on the boards
entering the game as Canisius entered play with a -7.2 rebound
margin. But the visitors dominated the glass, garnerning 24 of 36
total caroms in the first half and ending the game with a 44-27
advantage.
UMBC junior guard Jamar
Wertz (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) scored a season-high 10
points on 5-of-10 shooting in 15 minutes of action.
Both teams shot poorly from behind the arc with each side
hitting only 3-of-20 attempts. But the Golden Griffins hit 24 of 35
attempts (68.6%, 49.1 percent overall) and converted 26-of-31
(83.9%) from the stripe. UMBC misfired on 20 of 30 first
half attempts in the first half and rallied to surpass the
40-percent mark (27-of-65, 41.5%).
UMBC returns to action on Saturday evening, when they host
cross-town foe Towson at 7:00 p.m.
