Smithfield, Rhode Island - Senior Marcus Banks Jr. scored a game-high 24 points, but the No. 8 seeded UMBC men's basketball squad had their season end with an 85-74 defeat against top-seeded Bryant in the America East Conference Jersey Mike's quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Chace Athletic Center.
Banks Jr. exploded for 19 points in the second half and hit six of his seven threes in the stanza. The guard finished the season with 107 triples, the second-most ever in America East single-season history. Banks Jr. also corralled a team-high nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Ace Valentine scored 14 points off the bench and added a pair of steals. Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo contributed 13 points, while senior forward Marlon Short added 13 points.
UMBC trailed just 24-20 with 8:21 left in the opening half after a jumper by Short, but the hosts went on an 11-2 run to grab their largest lead of the game at 35-22 with 4:24 left in the stanza,
Bryant settled for a 41-31 advantage at intermission despite the Retrievers holding the hosts to just 39.5 percent shooting.
The visitors pulled within 49-43 on a trifecta from Banks Jr. with 15:19 left in the contest, but the Bulldogs used a 14-6 spurt to extend their lead to 61-49 with 11:15 left.
The Retrievers, who were without their leading scorer Bryce Johnson, continued to hang around and trimmed the deficit to 70-64 with 6:44 left. Banks Jr. capped a 15-9 stretch with a trifecta and forced the hosts to call a timeout.
UMBC inched within 76-71 after Odunowo converted two free throws with 2:01 remaining, but that was as close as they could get. Bryant answered with six straight points to push the lead back to double digits, and the Retrievers could only manage a field goal the rest of the way.
Guard Rafael Pinzon led Bryant (21-11) with 22 points, while AE Player of the Year Earl Timberlake added 18 points, seven boards, and eight assists. Kvonn Cramer also added a double-double of 12 points and 12 caroms.
The Retrievers (13-19) were outrebounded by a 49-32 margin and were outscored 22-6 in second-chance points.
