Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – In a hard-fought showdown at McCann Arena, sophomore forward
Riley Jacobs erupted for a career-high 23 points, while redshirt senior guard
Devin Ceaser added his first career "double-double" (21 points, 10 rebounds). Despite their heroics, the UMBC men's basketball team battled valiantly but ultimately fell to the Marist Red Foxes, 88-80, on Thursday night in the America East/Metro Challenge.
After taking a 17-9 lead in the opening half, UMBC (0-2) trailed 38-33 at halftime but burst out of the locker room with energy, launching an 8-3 run, fueled by junior forward
Jovan Ristic's five quick points, to tie the game at 41-41 with 17:02 left.
The Retrievers clawed back to within 50-49 after a layup from junior forward
JP Ndong at the 12:30 mark, but Marist responded with a momentum-shifting 8-0 run to push their lead to nine with 10:56 left.
UMBC still trailed by nine with 8:44 to play, but the Retrievers refused to fold. Sophomore guard
Carlos Varela ignited the comeback with a conventional three-point play, and junior guard
Flash Burton (13 points, 4 steals) added a pair of clutch free throws, slicing the deficit to 62-58 with 7:52 left.
But Marist seized back the momentum, stringing together five points to restore a 67-58 edge with 6:11 left. Trailing 69-61, the Retrievers were dealt a double blow: a foul on Brady MacAdams' three-point attempt, followed by two straight technicals on head coach
Jim Ferry. MacAdams capitalized, going 6-for-7 from the line to balloon Marist's lead to 75-61 with 5:12 to play.
The Retrievers showed remarkable grit and refused to go quietly. Down 77-61 with just 4:33 left, UMBC roared back, unleashing a 12-1 run capped by a driving layup from Ceaser to cut the deficit to 78-73 with 1:30 remaining.
After falling behind by eight with under a minute to go, freshman guard
Aidan Able (10 points) buried a clutch three-pointer to pull UMBC within five at 81-76. The Dawgs kept coming, closing to 82-78 after two free throws from Ceaser with just 23 seconds left, but their furious rally came up just short.
Guard Dwayne Chess led four Marist (1-1) players in double digits with 20 points.
UMBC will host McDaniel for their home opener on Monday at 6:00 p.m.
