Amherst, Mass.-- UMBC men's basketball dropped their 2021-22 season opener at UMass on Tuesday night. The Retrievers held a four-point lead at halftime, but the Minutemen used a strong shooting second half to hand UMBC a 77-60 loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• UMBC came out blistering, jumping out to a 12-2 lead early thanks to shooting 75 percent from the floor.
• UMass came back and cut the deficit to just six midway through.
• UMBC ripped off an 8-1 run led by Dimitrije Spasojevic (Vrsac, Serbia) and Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) buckets to regain a nine point advantage. 
• The Minutemen used a late 5-0 run to close the half, but it was UMBC that led 36-32 at halftime. 
• Spasojevic led the Retrievers with 10 points and eight rebounds. L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary), and Kennedy had seven points each. 
• UMass came out of the break strong, ripping off a 13-2 run to give them their first lead of the game.
• Yaw Obeng-Mensah (Toronto, Ontario) had a big putback that ended what was a 15-2 run by the Minutemen.
• Kennedy kept the Retrievers close with a monster putback slam to cut into the deficit. 
• However, the Minutemen held off the Retrievers late to take a 77-60 win on Tuesday.

NOTABLE:

• Kennedy finished the night with a team-best 13 points with eight rebounds. He went 4-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the line.
• Spasojevic and Owens each added 10 points with Spasojevic adding a team-high nine rebounds. 
• The Retrievers outrebounded the Minutemen, 45-37, but UMass had 21 points off turnovers and 50 points in the paint.

The Retrievers will look to bounce back with their 2021-22 home opener against Penn State York on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.