Towson, Md.— UMBC men's basketball fell, 91-65 to Towson (9-4) on Wednesday at SECU Arena. The Retrievers (3-10) got another 20 point  performance from Jairus Lyles (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatha/VCU), who poured in 24 points. 

The opening half saw the Tigers come out strong in the opening three plus minutes. Lyles came off the bench early; hitting his first two shots to cut the Tiger lead to 11-8 at the first media timeout.

His streak would continue, scoring ten straight, including ten of the 12 points the Retrievers scored over a four-minute stretch. UMBC would tie the game at 15-15 midway through the stanza. 

From there the Tigers would hold the Retrievers at bay, keeping UMBC without a field goal for just over nine minutes. Junior Ben Grace (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) knocked down a trey with the shot clock winding down to break the streak to make it 39-23 Towson.

The Tiger would end the half with a 47-26 lead. Lyles scored 14 points in the opening half, going 7-10 from the free throw line. The Retrievers shot 36% from the field, including 33% from beyond the arc. 

Half number two saw much of the same, as Towson pushed their lead to as many as 29 early on.

Freshman Ishmail Jabbie (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) came off the bench to score his first colligate points, finishing with nine late, but the Tigers held on for a 91-65 victory.

Lyles finished with a game best 24 points and four rebounds. Jabbie added nine for the Retrievers who shot 41% from the field for the game. 

Mike Morsell led the Tigers with 17 points, going 7-10 from the field. Towson shot 57.6% from the field for the game.

The Retrievers will have a short holiday break before returning to the hardwood against UMES on Thursday, Dec. 31. The New Year's Eve tilt with the Hawks begins at 1 p.m. at the RAC.