BALTIMORE – The UMBC men's basketball team defeated the Maine Black Bears, 69-62, on Thursday evening in the America East Conference opener for the Retrievers at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
Junior guard
Jah'Likai King led four Retrievers in double-figures in scoring with 15 points and added six rebounds to pace the hosts. Junior guard
Ace Valentine (14 points, two steals), sophomore forward
Caden Diggs (13 points, six rebounds), and freshman forward
Riley Jacobs (10 points, seven boards) provided the Dawgs with a balanced scoring performance.
UMBC (8-6, 1-0 AE) trailed 7-2 after the first 3:42 of the contest but scored six straight to take their first lead of the night after a thunderous dunk by Jacobs with 14:35 left in the opening stanza. The game was deadlocked for the final time at 16-16 at the 8:14 mark, but the Retrievers went on a 9-2 burst to grab a 25-18 advantage with 5:55 remaining. Fifth-year guard
Cougar Downing ignited the stretch with a left-wing triple, and King hit a pair of long-distance bombs from the same spot to give UMBC some separation.
The Retrievers continued to build their lead and took a 32-20 advantage at intermission as they held the Black Bears to just five points over the final 8:41 of the stanza.
The hosts took their largest lead of 14 points on three occasions over the first nine minutes of the second half, the latest coming on a nifty layup by junior forward
Daylon Dickerson.
Maine (2-15, 0-2 AE) managed to get the game back into single-digits, 50-41, after a fast break layup by Mabrey at the 9:33 mark. Valentine answered with a layup on the next possession, but the visitors went on a 9-4 spurt to inch within 54-50 with 5:30 remaining in the contest.
King then converted two attempts from the line, and Valentine added another freebie to make it 57-50 at the 4:36 mark. Maine got a layup from Ace Flagg to close within 59-54 with 3:14 left, but were unable to get any closer. Diggs provided UMBC with a layup, and Jacobs rocked the rim with another jam to spot the Dawgs a 63-54 advantage with 2:24 left. The Retrievers hit four free throws, and Diggs added a dunk to put the game away.
TJ Biel scored a game-high 27 points and added 10 boards to pace the Black Bears.
UMBC will host New Hampshire on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
