West Hartford, Conn.-- UMBC men's basketball had to hold off a late charge from Hartford, after the Hawks trimmed an 18 point UMBC lead down to four late. However the Retrievers would hit their free throws down the stretch to win 92-85 behind a career-high 26 points from Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Indian Land (SC)/New Mexico JC).

UMBC improves to 14-13, 9-7 AE while the Hawks fall to 9-18, 7-8 AE.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Hartford came out to a strong start, leading 10-0 after the first five minutes.
• Darnell Rogers ended the run with a three in the corner to get UMBC on the board.
• That helped spark the Retriever offense who got another three from Rogers to help cut the deficit to just six at the under 12 timeout.
• UMBC would then rip off a 10-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the game after Jacob Boonyasith (Grand Rapids, Mich.) capped the run with three.
• After the Hawks ended the run, UMBC retook the lead with buckets from L.J. Owens (Annapolis, Md./Severn School/William & Mary) and Yaw Obeng-Mensah (Toronto, Ontario). 
• Hartford cut the gap to just two at the break, with the Retrievers in front 39-37 after the first 20 minutes.
• The Retrievers would shoot just 36 percent from the floor in the opening half, but went 17-20 from the foul line to aid the offense.
• UMBC came out strong to start the second half, using a 7-0 run to take their largest lead to that point. 
• Hartford would cut the Retriever lead to three, but UMBC then made their charge. Szymon Wojcik (Wroclaw, Poland) had a big putback that sparked a huge run that included threes from Boonyasith and Owens and a Keondre Kennedy (Atlanta, Ga.) layup to put UMBC in front 74-59 at the under eight timeout. 
• Hartford would trail by as many as 18, but would not go away. The Hawks cut the Retriever lead down to just four with 39 seconds left, but UMBC would hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the Hawks winning 92-85.

NOTABLE:

• Darnell ties career high
• UMBC shot 50 percent from the floor in the game, shooting a blistering 64 percent in the second half alone.
• Rogers led the way with a career-high 26 points. Kennedy poured in 24 with five rebounds. 
• UMBC as a team went 32-40 from the foul line. That mark is the 16th most in a game this year in the nation. 

UMBC will return home for the final two regular season games, starting with Senior Day against Maine on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tip-off with the Black Bears is set for 1 p.m.