Albany, N.Y.- UMBC junior guard Ryan
Cook (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) scored a team season-best 28
points, but Albany's Gerardo Suero countered with 32 to lead the
host Great Danes to an 87-76 victory at SEFCU Arena.
Cook hit 10 of 22 shots from the floor, all eight free throw
attempts and added a team-high eight rebounds.
Freshman forward Chandler
Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) added 19 points and seven rebounds
for the visitors and junior guard Brian
Neller (Red Bank,N.J.) tallied 17.
Thomas started in place of sophomore forward Chase
Plummer (Plainfield, N.J.) who did not accompany the team
after suffering a concussion in practice earlier in the week.
Plummer, UMBC's leading scorer at 14.0 points per game, scored a
career-high 25 points vs. Albany at the RAC Arena on Jan. 4.
UMBC (3-18, 2-7 America East) jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but the
Great Danes scored the next ten points and never looked back.
Albany stretched the advantage to 44-27 with 1:13 to play in the
half, but the Retrievers scored the final seven points of the
stanza to get within 44-34 at the break.
Albany scored on its first seven possessions of the second half
and eventually built the lead to as large as 68-44 with 10:44
remaining.
But the Retrievers would not go quietly, as they chopped 15
points off the deficit and came within 82-73 on freshman Jarell
Lane's (Rahway, N.J.) jumper with 69 seconds to play. Albany's
Jacob Iati hit just one of two free throws eight seconds later, but
Cook's trey to get UMBC within seven points was no good with 54
seconds remaining.
Suero scored 21 first half points, hitting 6 of 9 from the floor
and all eight attempts from the line. UMBC hit 16 of 27 shots from
inside the arc in the first 20 minutes, but misfired on all seven
3-point attempts.
The Retrievers missed their first 11 treys of the night until
Neller connected with 4:42 remaining.
UMBC shot 48.5 percent from the floor, hitting 32 of 66 shots,
while Albany (15-9, 7-3 America East) netted 28 of 54 (51.9%). Six
of the last seven Retriever opponents have converted 50 percent or
better from the floor.
The Retrievers return to action when they entertain Maine on
Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3:30 p.m.
