The UMBC Retrievers put four players in double figures on Saturday afternoon, and rallied from a 14 point deficit to defeat the Maine Black Bears 85-77 at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland in America East men’s basketball action.
Maine used 65% shooting (17-26), and 61% from the three-point arc (8-13) to build a 14 point lead in the first half. One from behind the arc by Lechaun DuHart made it 37-23 Black Bears with 6:04 left. The guests would lead 45-34 at halftime. They had another 14 point advantage on a three-pointer by Gedi Juozapaitis at 60-46 with 14:51 to play. But then things started to change, as the shots would stop going in and UMBC would rally back. A 15-4 run over a span of 5:37 capped off by a jumper in the paint by Yaw Obeng-Mensah gave the Retrievers a 70-69 lead with 5:26 remaining. After trailing by seven, Maine got within two on a three-pointer by Jaden Clayton with 57 seconds to go. UMBC though would wrap up the victory by going 6-6 from the line in those final seconds, sending the Black Bears to their seventh straight loss as they still remain winless in America East play. The Retrievers got to the free throw line 32 times, compared to just 11 for their opponent.
Juozapaitis had 24 points in the loss for Maine, that included 5 three-pointers. Clayton finished with 13 points, and Ja’Shon Wright-McLeish chipped in 11 points. Kristians Feierbergs and DuHart both had nine points off the bench, while Kellen Tynes was held to seven points and six rebounds. The Black Bears shot 31% (10-32), and 29% (5-17) from three-point range in the second half after the hot start. Tra’Von Fagan led UMBC in the win with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Obeng-Mensah had 20 points and nine boards. Craig Beaudion had 15 points, and Colton Lawrence also had 10 for the Retrievers who improve to 12-6 and 3-1 in America East. Maine is now 6-11, 0-4 in conference play and will head to Vermont to battle the Catamounts next Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Recap written by Chris Lessner
MAI (6-11, 0-4) 45 32- 77
UMB (12-6, 3-1) 34 51- 85
Rebounds- Maine 24, UMBC 35
Free throws- Maine 10-11, UMBC 25-32
Three-point goals- Maine: Juozapaitis 5, Clayton 3, DuHart 3, Wright-McLeish, Feierbergs/ UMBC: Beaudion 2, Fagan 2, Doles, Picarelli
