Troy, N.Y. – Junior guard Matteo Picarelli scored a career-high 24 points but the visiting UMBC Retrievers dropped an 81-74 decision against the UAlbany Great Danes, Wednesday evening at McDonough Field House on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College.
 
UMBC (17-11, 7-6 America East) lost their fifth straight road league contest while UAlbany (7-21, 2-11 AE) stopped a nine-game losing streak.
 
Freshman center Jonathan Beagle recorded a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to pace the hosts.

The Retrievers shot just 35 percent overall (21-of-59) and were 6-of-25 (24 percent) from behind the arc.  The Great Danes finished at 46 percent overall (29-of-63) and made 10-of-30 (33.3 percent) attempts from distance.

UAlbany also outrebounded the Retrievers by a 41-32 margin.
 
How It Happened (First Half)
- UMBC scored the first seven points of the game, five by Picarelli, and forced the hosts to take a timeout just 1:30 into the contest.
- UAlbany answered with a 10-2 spurt to grab their first lead after two free throws from forward Trey Hutchenson (14 points).
- The Retrievers took their final lead of the evening, 23-22, after a follow-up layup by senior forward Yaw Obeng-Mensah with 7:12 left in the stanza.
- The Great Danes went on a 12-4 run to take a 34-27 advantage at the 3:25 mark.
- Freshman guard Dion Brown beat the halftime buzzer with a tip-in to bring the visitors within 37-35 at the break.

How it Happeened (Second Half)
- UMBC was within 49-45 at the 16:42 mark after a trey by Picarelli but guard Sarju Patel (13 points) scored back-to-back buckets, extending UAlbany's lead to 53-45 with 16:06 left.
- UAlbany increased their lead to double-figure for the first time at 58-48 following another driving layup by Patel at the 12:58 mark.
- The lead reached a game-high of 13 points, 75-62, after a conventional 3-point play by Da'Kquan Davis (12 points) with 3:27 left.
- UMBC then scored seven straight points, the last five by Picarelli, to close within 75-69 with 2:03 remaining but were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.

Notes
- UMBC hit 26-of-27 free throws for a 96.3 percent clip, the second-most free throws by a conference team this season.
- Picarelli, who made his second start of the season, went 7-of-16 overall from the floor, swished 5-of-14 treys and was 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. It was the third time this season that he's reached 20 or more points.
-Graduate student Craig Beaudion II was the only other Retriever in double-figures as the guard scored 14 points and added a game-high six assists. Beaudion went 10-for-10 from the line, tying his career-best in made free throws. He also went over the 700-point mark in his career.
- Graduate student forward Tra'Von Fagan led UMBC with 10 rebounds, the third time this season that he's reached double-figures in the category.
- Brown added eight points and six rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Brown played in front of a large contingent of family and friends who made the trip from his native Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
-The Retrievers are now tied for fourth with Bryant in the conference standings with three games remaining.
 
Up Next
- UMBC will travel to New Hampshire on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.