UMBC

Washington, D.C.—Junior guard Jay Greene tied career highs with six 3-pt. field goals and 21 points as UMBC won for the sixth time in seven outings in an 83-68 victory over host American.

UMBC’s 6-1 start is its best-ever in 22 years of Division I competition. The Retrievers’ lone setback was a 87-84 overtime setback at Lafayette.

The Retrievers won for the third time this season when trailing at halftime. The Eagles erased an early 7-0 lead with a 14-2 run and hit 15 of 29 first half shots in building a 41-34 halftime advantage. But the UMBC zone defense frustrated American for much of the second half and the Retrievers quickly overtook their hosts.

With the game tied at 45-all, Greene hit a three-pointer at the 13:56 mark which gave the Retrievers a lead they would not relinquish. UMBC built the lead to eight points, but back-to-back 3-pt. field goals by American’s Derrick Mercer and Garrison cut trimmed the lead to 55-53 with 10:26 remaining.

But junior forward Darryl Proctor scored five straight points to start a 13-0 run which gave UMBC a comfortable 68-53 advantage with 7:22 to play. Greene buried a pair of three’s, including one which capped the surge and American never got within 11 points the rest of the way.

Greene, who had not scored in double figures this season, but had averaged 7.8 assists per game through the first six games, hit six of 10 from behind the arc, including four of six in the final 20 minutes. He added five helpers and committed just one turnover. For the fifth straight game, four Retrievers scored in double figures, as senior guard Brian Hodges hit 10 of 11 from the free throw line in a 19-point effort. Junior forward Darryl Proctor and senior guard Ray Barbosa added 14 points each.

UMBC hit 24 of 28 free throws and were nine of 19 from behind the arc. They outrebounded American, 35-27 and committed only eight turnovers.

American junior guard Derrick Mercer led all scorers with 26 points on nine of 11 shooting.

UMBC has scored 70 or more points in its first seven games, also a new school Division I record. The Retrievers head to Wichita, Kan. on Monday for a Tuesday evening clash with the Shockers.