Smithfield, RI – The visiting UMBC Retrievers delivered some clutch shots down the stretch and held on for a big, 81-73, America East Conference victory over the Bryant Bulldogs at the Chase Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
UMBC (11-6, 2-1 AE) graduate student guard Colton Lawrence scored a game-high 19 points and senior wing Jacob Boonyasith added all 15 of his points in the second half to pace the Retrievers on the offensive end. Graduate student forward Tra'Von Fagan chipped in with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds while freshman guard Dion Brown had 11 points.
 
Bryant (10-6, 1-2 AE) was led by conference leading scorer Sherif Gross-Bullock's 18 points while Antwan Walker recorded 17 points and 11 boards.
 
How It Happened
First Half
- The game got off to a frenetic start as incredibly there was no stoppage of play for the first 8:31.
- The Retrievers trailed 5-4 after a jumper by Gross-Bullock but Lawrence converted a jumper and then followed with a layup to spot UMBC an 8-5 edge.
- Bryant went ahead for the final time in the game as they used an 8-4 spurt to grab a 13-12 edge at the 12:06 mark. Bullock and Walker knocked down treys and Chauncey Hawkins gave the hosts the lead with a jumper.
- UMBC regained the lead for good at 17-14 after Brown drained his first trey with 11:13 left in the stanza. Brown splashed another long-range bomb less than three minutes later to make it 22-16 at the 8:43 mark.
- The hosts closed to within 24-22 after a jumper by Tyler Brelsford with 6:55 remaining but UMBC answered with a 9-2 run to claim their largest lead of the half at 33-24 with 3:22 on the clock. Lawrence scored five points during the stretch and Fagan added the other four points.
- The Retrievers settled for a 35-30 halftime edge as they held the hosts to 33.3 percent shooting overall.
 
Second Half
- Bryant trimmed the deficit to 37-36 after Charles Pride connected on a trifecta but UMBC continued to hold the Bulldogs off the rest of the way.
- Boonyasith hit the first of his four second-half treys on the very next possession to make it 40-36.
-The Retrievers widened their lead to 49-42 after Fagan's bucket in the paint at the 13:37 mark but Bryant battled back to inch within two again after they ran off five straight.
- Brown then delivered a key jumper in the paint and Fagan finished a conventional 3-point play to extend the lead to 54-47 with 11:40 left.
- The Retrievers led 69-61 after Boonyasith hit another triple at the 5:35 mark but Bryant continued to battle.
- Pride sliced the lead in half with a jumper in the paint to make it 69-65 with 4:27 remaining but Brown answered with a clutch triple from the top of the key to make it 72-65 just 12 seconds later.
-The hosts then went on a 6-0 run to close within 72-71 after Gross-Bullock hit two free throws at the 3:02 mark.
-The Bulldogs had an opportunity to go ahead but misfired on a jumper and then Boonyasith hit a pair from the charity stripe to give his team a 74-71 lead with 1:36 left.
- After another Bryant 3-point miss, junior guard Matteo Picarelli delivered a dagger three-pointer with a minute left to give the Dawgs a 77-71 lead.
- UMBC hit 4-of-6 free throws to put the game away.

Notes
- UMBC shot 47.1 percent (32-of-68) and were 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from deep. Bryant shot 43.5 percent overall (27-of-62) and were 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from long-range.
- The Retrievers held a slight 38-36 edge on the boards.
- Graduate student forward Jarvis Doles grabbed eight rebounds.
- Graduate student guard Craig Beaudion II distributed a game-high six helpers and went over 600 career points.
- UMBC is now 11-1 when they shoot 40 percent or higher.
- UMBC committed just five turnovers.

Up Next
UMBC will host Maine on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.