Baltimore, Md. – Junior Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) scored 21 points and collected a career-high 15 rebounds, as UMBC men's basketball defeated St. Mary's (Md.), 79-57, Wednesday afternoon at the UMBC Event Center.

UMBC moves to 3-0, their best start since the 2016-17 season.

The game got off to a sluggish start, as the teams combined to make only ten shots total going into the second media timeout. The Retrievers came out of the timeout on a 7-2 run, making the score 19-15 in favor of the Black and Gold. The Seahawks would return the favor though, as they put together their own 14-3 run to take the lead, before being stopped by a Dimitrije Spasojevic (Vrsac, Serbia) layup off a Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC) assist to cut the score to 29-24.

The UMBC defense would then tighten up over the next 2:42, chipping at the lead, before going into the locker room tied at the half, 33-33. Horvath, Spasojevic, and L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary) all had six points to lead the Retrievers at the half. Horvath and Owens also chipped in seven and five rebounds apiece, respectively.

The second half would begin more upbeat than the first half, as the Retrievers gained the lead a minute and a half into the period. The two teams would then trade shots, as UMBC slowly began to increase the lead before going off on an 11-3 run that would be capped off by a Horvath and one dunk, making the score 57-46, with a little over ten minutes left to play.

UMBC would once again slowly increase their lead throughout the second half, getting to as many as 19 twice, taking home a 79-57 victory on Wednesday.

Horvath led all scorers with 21 points and added 15 rebounds. Spasojevic aided the scoring with 15 of his own, as four Retrievers scored in double figures.

UMBC returns to the court this Saturday, November 16, as they battle Georgian Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the UMBC Event Center. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.