BALTIMORE – Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. scored a game-high 24 points, but the short-handed UMBC men's basketball team fell to the UAlbany Great Danes, 78-74, in an America East Conference contest on Thursday evening at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.

Banks Jr. grabbed seven rebounds, drilled four three-pointers, and added to his UMBC single-season record total, which now stands at 97.

Senior guard Marlon Short went 9-for-16 from the floor en route to 20 points and seven caroms. Sophomore guard Ace Valentine added 10 points and a pair of steals off the bench.

The Retrievers (13-17, 5-10 AE) trailed 43-36 at halftime and were down 50-40 with 15:03 remaining in the game but continued to claw their way back.

UMBC went on an 18-8 burst to even score 58-58 on a triple by Banks Jr with 8:43 left in the contest. Junior forward Louie Jordan ignited the stretch with a triple, and freshman forward Tim Eze came off the bench to score five points as well.

UAlbany (15-14, 7-7) answered with a 15-6 spurt to take a 73-64 advantage with just four minutes remaining, but the Retrievers continued to fight.  Banks Jr. led a 10-1 charge with two consecutive treys, Short converted a fast-break layup, and Eze threw down a spectacular alley-oop dunk off a feed from Valentine to even the game at 74-74 with forty-three ticks left.

However, the visitors managed to pull it out down the stretch. Klaczek hit a free throw with twenty-two seconds left to put the Great Danes ahead for good, and UAlbany extended their lead to 77-74 with 18 seconds left.

UMBC had two opportunities to tie the game in the closing seconds but misfired on long-range attempts. The visitors added a free throw to ice the game with less than a second remaining.

Byron Joshua paced the Great Danes with 22 points while Justin Nelly added 13 points and 11 boards.

The Retrievers will close the regular season on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against Vermont. UMBC will honor six seniors before the contest.