Newark, NJ – The UMBC men's basketball team clinched a berth in the upcoming America East Conference Tournament after defeating the host NJIT Highlanders, 79-60, on Thursday evening at the Wellness & Events Center.
 
UMBC (11-19, 6-9 AE) Junior guard Marcus Banks Jr. (team-high nine rebounds) and graduate student forward Kyhdarius Smith both produced a team-high 18 points to pace the Retrievers. Junior guard Dion Brown (15 points, eight rebounds) and freshman guard Ace Valentine (10 points, six rebounds) were also in double-digits.
 
The Retrievers, who have won four of their last five contests, held NJIT to just 28.6 percent shooting (season-low for UMBC) as the hosts converted just 20-of-70 field goal attempts. The Highlanders also hit just 5-of-29 attempts (17.2 percent) from behind the arc.
 
The score was deadlocked at 12-12 after Brown hit a jumper in the lane with 11:16 left in the opening half. Brown then put the Retrievers up for good with a pull up jumper on the next possession down the floor.
 
NjIT (7-18, 3-10 AE) was within just a point, 16-15, with 8:13 left but Banks and Smith recorded consecutive buckets to make it 20-15 at the 6:46 mark.
 
The Retrievers settled for a 32-25 halftime advantage.
 
UMBC extended their lead to 40-26 with 17:17 left in the contest as Banks scored six quick points.
 
Banks gave the visitors a 54-39 advantage at the 10:41 mark with a pair of free throws, however, NJIT scored seven straight to trim the deficit to 54-46 with 8:22 left.
 
The visitors were still within eight, 59-51, at the 6:53 mark but UMBC went on a 6-1 mini run to extend their lead to 65-52 with just 5:29 left.
 
UMBC continued to build on their lead as the Highlanders never threatened again.
 
Freshman guard Tariq Francis led NJIT with a game-high 22 points.

The Retrievers will close out the regular-season against Binghamton at The Peake on Tuesday evening.