UMBC

Harrisonburg, VA--The UMBC men's basketball team played 34 minutes of good basketball at James Madison on Saturday. Unfortunetely, a basketball game is 40 minutes long, as the Retrievers dropped their second straight, 82-70, at James Madison.

The Retrievers trailed host JMU just 22-18 with 6 1/2 minutes left to play in the first half, when UMBC broke down on both ends of the court, and the Dukes hit 8 of their final 10 shots of the half to go on a 24-5 run and grab a 46-23 lead in the final minute of the half. UMBC freshman guard Michael Knight hit a three at the halftime horn, but UMBC still trailed by 20.

The Retrievers displayed tremendous determination in the second half, using 7 three-point goals and a more aggressive defense to eventually climb back into the game. After senior guard Rob Gogerty's fourth three-pointer of the night, the Retrievers were within six points at 70-64 with 2:51 to play. But the Dukes drove right down the court after Gogerty's three, and sophomore guard Ray Barbosa drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws, starting a 9-0 Duke run and ending UMBC's hopes of a miraculous comeback.

Gogerty led UMBC with 16 points, and got ample help from freshman guards Michael Knight (14 points) and Rashad Bilal (13 points). Senior center Andrew Feeley recorded his tenth career "double-double" and tied his career best with 16 rebounds to go along with 10 points.

The Retriever comeback might have gotten even closer had UMBC not produced another poor effort from the free throw line. UMBC hit just 15 of 28, compared to 22 of 29 from the hosts, and missed six straight to start the second half. UMBC did record season highs for points (70) and three-point goals (9),