UMBC

Orono, Maine—Host Maine jumped on UMBC early in the game and led from start to finish as the Black Bears defeated the Retrievers, 70-56 at Alfond Arena.

UMBC dropped its third straight game and fell to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in the America East Conference, while Maine won its second in a row and improved to 7-11, 2-4.

Junior guard Brian Hodges accounted for the bulk of UMBC’s offense throughout much of the game. He finished with 26 points, but at one point, he had 22 of UMBC’s first 35 points. Hodges, UMBC’s America East Player of the Game, posted his personal best ninth straight game in double figures. Sophomore guard Thomas Young also scored in double figures for the fifth straight league game, scoring 13 points.

Maine jumped out to a 17-7 lead as UMBC hit just one field goal in the first six minutes of play. The Black Bears built the lead to as many as 13 points at 34-21 with 4:35 to play in the half, but a Hodges three-point field goal in the final seconds of the half got the visitors to within 37-28 at intermission.

Mike Housman opened the second half with a driving layup for UMBC, cutting the lead to 37-30 and UMBC had another possession to close the gap further, but Jay Greene’s three-pointer was off the mark. Hodges, who started the second half for the first time since he has been coming off the bench, kept UMBC within nine points on two occasions, but an 8-0 Black Bear run pushed the margin to 52-35 with 12:16 remaining. UMBC would never be within single digits the rest of the way.

Maine hit 27 of 52 shots from the field (51.9%) as they are the third league team to hit better than 50 percent in game vs. UMBC. They also buried 10 of 19 three-point field goals and Retriever conference opponents are now 41 of 81 from long distance in five league games.

Kevin Reed led Maine with 18 points and Jon Sheets added 17.

The Retrievers have a quick turnaround as they make the long trip home and must entertain surprising Hartford on Thursday night.