UMBC

Vestal, N.Y.—Top-seeded Albany (19-10) got a game-high 22 points from senior Lucious Jordan and the Great Danes defeated eighth-seeded UMBC, 79-65 in the America East quarter-finals.

The Retrievers’ season ends at 10-19.

UMBC led briefly in the first half as Jay Greene’s three-point field goal gave the Retrievers their first edge at 17-16 with 9:36 remaining. Brian Hodges’ three free throws extended the lead to 22-20 at the 7:43 mark, but the Great Danes went on an 11-0 run over the next 3:32 to take a 31-22 advantage with 4:11 remaining. They extended the lead to double digits, but a Jerrell Dinkins slam dunk and free throw made the score 39-30 at intermission. Albany hit 13 of 19 shots (76.9%) from the floor, including 10 of 10 from inside the arc.

Outstanding free throw shooting kept UMBC in the game in the second half as the Retrievers only managed eight second half field goals. The Retrievers hit 24 of 29 shots from the stripe, but the Great Danes were nearly as proficient, making 26 of 34. UMBC was within 66-56 with 6:38 remaining The Retrievers missed a pair of three-point attempts by Brian Hodges and Chris Pugh and a pair of free throws by John Zito and never had another opportunity to seriously cut into the lead after that.

Dinkins led UMBC with 14 points, Greene added 11 and Pugh had 10. UMBC hit only 36 percent for the game, hitting 18 of 50 attempts. Hodges, who scored a career high 33 points last night in the quarter-finals, missed all five three-point attempts and finished with nine points.