BALTIMORE – The UMBC men's basketball recovered from a slow start and defeated the Binghamton Bearcats, 81-77, in an America East Conference contest on Thursday evening at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The Retrievers improve to 12-14 overall and 4-7 in the league.
"I'm really proud of the guys' effort tonight. We got down pretty big early but didn't flinch," said UMBC Head Coach
Jim Ferry. "We know we are good enough, and we just have to make plays for each other. We came out of the zone and went to man, and I thought Josh's {Odunowo} energy set the tone for us defensively, and we got connected. Some of the guys off the bench like Marlon {Short| and RC {
Regimantas Ciunys} gave us a big boost."
Senior guard
Marcus Banks Jr. scored a game-high 21 points to pace four Retrievers in double-figures. Graduate student forward
Josh Odunowo contributed 17 points and corralled a team-high nine rebounds while tying his career-best with five rejections. Senior guard
Bryce Johnson and classmate
Marlon Short both contributed 14 points.
Binghamton (12-14, 4-7 AE) raced out to a 15-2 advantage over the first 5:11 of the contest as guard Chris Walker (team-high 17 points) drained a pair of treys to lead the charge.
UMBC went on a 13-2 run to close within 17-15 after Short's transition dunk with 7:44 left, and the hosts eventually evened the game at 21-21 after another bucket from Short just two and a half minutes later.
Odunowo staked the Dawgs to their first lead, 24-23, after completing a traditional three-point play with 3:11 left in the stanza. Banks Jr. then drilled his first trifecta of the game with twenty-seven ticks left to give the hosts a 31-27 edge at the break.
The Retrievers continued to build on their momentum, extending their lead to 48-38 after sophomore guard
Ace Valentine's triple with 15:41 left.
Banks Jr. spotted UMBC with a 55-41 advantage after completing a three-point play at the 13:07 mark.
The Bearcats cut the deficit to single figures at 58-49 after a layup by forward Tymu Chenery with 9:57 remaining. However, the hosts went on a 15-7 burst to capture their largest lead of the night at 73-56 with 4:13 to play. Banks Jr. ignited the stretch with a trifecta, and Short finished a dunk to cap it off.
The visitors made things interesting down the stretch, closing within three points on four different occasions in the final minute.
Banks Jr. hit one of two from the line with five seconds left to give UMBC an 81-77 edge, and Binghamton could not get off another shot.
Gavin Walsh recorded 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Bearcats.
The Retrievers travel to America East, leading Bryant on Saturday afternoon.
