BALTIMORE – The UMBC men's basketball team got out of the gate slowly and could never recover, dropping the home opener, 76-57, to cross-town rival Loyola.

Sophomore guard Rodney Elliott (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) scored 19 points and added five assists and three steals, but was the lone Retriever in double figures.

Loyola senior post Jarred Jones produced a superb performance, scoring 26 points and adding 11 rebounds. Jones hit 10-of-16 shots from the floor, all six free throws and added a pair of steals.

UMBC (0-3) fell behind by as many as 22 points at 57-35 with 15:53 to play, but went on a spirited 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 57-48 and bring some life into the RAC Arena. Freshman Joe Sherburne (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.)capped the surge with a trey from the left wing and UMBC had another possession to cut the lead even further, but a Daquon Ervin (Brooklyn, N.Y.)foul-line jumper was off the mark.

Loyola (1-2) responded with an 8-0 run to restore a 17-point lead and coasted to the19x-point victory.

Loyola never trailed, as senior guard Tyler Hubbard buried his first four treys of the game, sparking the visitors to an 18-12 lead just 7:01 into the game. The Greyhounds would go on to hit 11 of their first 18 shots and would eventually lead by as many as 14 points at 36-22 with 5:35 to play in the stanza.  Loyola, which outscored UMBC, 13-2, in second-chance points in the half, took a 43-31 lead at the break.

Loyola hit 16-of-19 free throws and finished just below 50 percent (28-of-58, 48.3%) from the field. UMBC hit 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, but struggled again from the stripe, misfiring on 9-of-16 attempts.

The Greyhounds outrebounded UMBC, 42-28, and both teams committed 11 turnovers.

UMBC junior wing Will Darley (Timonium, Md./Dulaney), out since September with a foot injury, made his season debut and scored seven points in 15 minutes.

The Retrievers head out for a pair of games in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Regional Games at Northern Colorado University. UMBC will play the host Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 and then face either Austin Peay or Cal Poly on Sunday.