BALTIMORE – UMBC senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. and graduate student forward Josh Odunowo combined for 39 points, but the Retrievers lost a 78-68 decision against the Hampton Pirates at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Tuesday evening.

"I thought our kids fought and never gave up, but we just didn't play very well," said UMBC Head Coach Jim Ferry. "Give credit to Hampton. They are a talented team and very physical. We really struggled on the glass, and we must rebound the basketball better. The late shot clock baskets we've allowed the last couple of games have hurt us."

Banks Jr. (21 points) shot 8-for-15 from the floor, including 5-for-10 from long-distance, while Odunowo scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. "Josh was fantastic tonight," Ferry added. "He's going to be an outstanding player in the America East and is a great leader for our program."

UMBC (3-3) fell behind 24-15 midway through the opening half but went on a 15-5 run to grab a 30-29 edge with 5:12 left in the stanza.  Banks Jr. (11 first-half points) splashed back-to-back treys to punctuate the spurt,  ignited by a pair of buckets in the paint by sophomore forward Daylon Dickerson. 

It was the host's final lead as Hampton took a 40-36 lead at the break. Graduate student guard Noah Farrakhan recorded 15 of his 19 points in the opening half to spark the visitors.

The Retrievers trailed just 50-48 with 14:28 remaining after Banks Jr. stuck a jumper, but the Pirates rattled off ten straight points to extend their lead to 60-48 at the 12-minute mark.

UMBC never went away and fought back to inch within 67-62 with 6:10 left after a layup by Banks Jr. following a turnover. However, the Pirates scored the next five points to widen their lead to 72-62 at 4:17, and the Retrievers could not recover.

Junior guard George Beale Jr. scored 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting to pace the visitors. Junior forward Kyrese Mullen produced a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Graduate student guard Wayne Bristol chipped in with 15 points and nine caroms.

Hampton (2-3) held a 36-22 advantage on the glass and shot an even 50 percent from the floor (26-of-52). The Pirates also made 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) of their long-range attempts and converted 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) of their free throws.

The Retrievers shot 48.1 percent overall (26-of-54) and made 8-of-23 attempts (34.8 percent) of their 3-point tries.

UMBC will host Boston University on Saturday at noon.