Dayton, OH – The undermanned UMBC men's basketball team held a second-half lead against the Dayton Flyers late in the game but ultimately lost by a score of 77-71 in front of a sellout crowd of 13,407 fans at UD Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
Junior center Jose Roberto Tanchyn led five Retrievers in double figures with 16 points and also contributed a team-high six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
 
Tanchyn made all four of his attempts from behind the arc and finished 6-for-7 from the floor overall. DJ Armstrong Jr. added 15 points, while Jah'Likai King scored 14, Ace Valentine contributed 12 points, and Daylon Dickerson rounded out the scoring with another solid performance.
 
UMBC (1-1) trailed 41-37 at halftime but outscored Dayton 12-3 in the first 3:46 of the second half to take a 49-44 lead.
 
The Retrievers achieved their largest lead of the game at 52-46 after Armstrong hit a transition 3-pointer from the left wing with 14:48 remaining.
 
UMBC maintained a 57-52 lead after a layup by Tanchyn with 11:59 left, but Dayton responded with seven consecutive points to gain a 59-57 advantage with 10:17 remaining.
 
The score was tied for the last time at 59-59 after Armstrong converted a pair of free throws with 8:18 left.
 
Trailing 64-59, Valentine made a difficult three-pointer from the right corner, bringing UMBC within 64-62 at the 6:25 mark. However, Dayton extended their lead to 69-62 with the next five points scored.
 
The Retrievers made a final push to stay in the game, as King made two free throws, and Armstrong Jr. hit a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 73-71 with just 1:04 left.
 
Despite the spurt, Dayton secured two offensive rebounds, and guard Javon Bennett made two free throws after being fouled, putting Dayton up by four points with 22 seconds remaining.
 
UMBC missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds, and Dayton capped the game with two more free throws.
 
Bennett led the Flyers with 16 points.
 
The Retrievers played without their starting forwards, Josh Odunowo and Caden Diggs.
 
UMBC travels to Morgan State on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.