Washington, D.C.-- UMBC men's basketball suffered an 85-61 loss to American on Tuesday night. Senior guard K.J. Jackson (Missouri City, Texas) recorded his third straight 19 point game, leading three in double figures. 15 of his 19 points came in the second half.

The Retrievers fall to 5-4 on the year while the Eagles improve to 3-4. 

Jackson led three Retrievers in double figures with 19 points. L.J Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary) and Daniel Akin (London, England) each added 10 for the Retrievers who shot 38 percent from the floor.

Sa'eed Nelson led the Eagles with 17 points adding seven assists and eight steals in the win. Jacob Boonyasith and Stacy Beckton Jr. each had double figures with 12 and 10 respectively. 

UMBC jumped out to an early lead after getting the Eagles into early foul trouble. However, American would answer with an 8-0 run that saw the Retrievers go scoreless over a three-minute stretch to push their lead to nine early on. L.J. Owens ended the spurt with a pair of free throws. 

The Retrievers would once again cut the deficit to seven but a quick 6-0 run gave the Eagles a 13 point advantage before Owens nailed a deep three to end the drought. American would score the last six points of the half to take a 42-28 lead into the locker room. 

Owens led the Retrievers with six points in the first half with Brandon Horvath (West River, Md./Southern) and Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) each adding five. UMBC was hampered by nine turnovers that led to nine American points. The Eagles shot 56 percent from the floor, getting 20 points from their bench.

American came out of the locker rooms where they left off, getting a steal and bucket on the first possession of the half. UMBC would answer back, getting the deficit to within 16 thanks to six points from Daniel Akin. However, the Eagles would respond, leading by as many as 20 early on.

UMBC would fire back getting six quick points, capped by a Brandon Horvath steal that led to an Owens layup, forcing an American timeout. The Eagles would answer pushing their lead to as many as 29 in an 85-63 win on Tuesday night.

UMBC will return to the UMBC Event Center on Saturday, Dec. 7 to take on Saint Francis University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+ with Gary Stein, John Feinstein and Paul Mittermeier on the call.