BALTIMORE – Playing for the fourth time in eight days, UMBC fell, 66-54, to visiting UAlbany at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
With the score tied at 52-all, the Great Danes outscored the Retrievers, 14-2, over the final 5:19 to prevail.
Senior wing
Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) led UMBC with 14 points and junior forward
Nathan Johnson (Adel, Iowa) added 11 points in his first career start.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After Ray Salvane (Elmont, N.Y.) hit the game's opening trey, UAlbany reeled off the next 7 points to take a 7-3 lead with 14:17 remaining. They would extend the lead to 17-5, as UMBC misfired on nine of their first 11 attempts from the floor.
- The Great Danes stretched the advantage to as many as 13 points at 24-11 with 7:39 to play in the half.
- UMBC found the range late in the first half as Johnson and senior guard L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md.) knocked down treys as part of a 13-2 run. Owens knotted the game at 26-all with a shot from long range with 3:38 to play in the period.
- UAlbany led, 30-28 at the half. The Retrievers committed nine first half turnovers and were outscored, 16-8, in the paint.
- Similar to the first half, UMBC took a brief lead with a trey on the first possession by Darnell Rogers, but UAlbany proceeded to outscore the Retrievers, 9-2 to secure a 39-32 lead with 15:20 to play in the second half.
- The Retrievers scored seven straight to briefly tie the game at 39-all on Owens layup at the 12:55 mark, but the Great Danes countered with a trey on their next possession.
- Owens buried his second trifecta of the half to knot the score again, this time at 47-all with 8:18 remaining. UMBC's last tie occurred on a Kennedy trey with 5:39 remaining.
- The second half featured four lead changes and three ties.
UMBC travels to Maine for a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 22.
