UMBC

, Kan.—The UMBC men’s basketball team saw its three-game winning streak halted as host Wichita State (5-2) held off the Retrievers (6-2) down the stretch to win, 77-68.

The Retrievers received dynamic performances by guards Brian Hodges and Jay Greene, who combined to score 45 of UMBC’s 68 points. Hodges scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, while Greene buried 15 of his 20 points to lead a second-half rally.

Hodges moved into the school’s top ten in all-time scoring with 1,226 points.

But UMBC was undone by a late first half run by the Shockers. The Retrievers sprinted ahead, 9-2, but WSU then went on a 17-2 run of its own to lead 19-11 at the 12:22 mark of the first half. Hodges would rally UMBC, hitting two 3-pt. field goals and another bucket on the Retrievers’ next three possessions to tie the game at 23-all. But the hosts scored the next 10 points and outscored UMBC, 20-5 in the final 6:49 of the half to take a commanding 43-28 halftime advantage. The Shockers hit six of eight from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes, including J.T. Durley’s long three at the horn to take all the momentum into intermission.

The Retrievers were 3-0 when trailing at halftime this season, but could not erase their largest deficit of the season. WSU led by as many as 18 points on three occasions early in the second half, grabbing a 57-39 advantage with 15:06 remaining. But UMBC would rally, spurred by back-to-back 3-pt. field goals by Greene to start a furious 20-6 run. Hodges capped the run by hitting all three free throw attempts with 5:33 remaining.

But WSU’s Phil Thomasson hit a layup inside and after a charging foul of Hodges, the hosts built the advantage to 69-59 on two free throws by Gal Mekel with 4:27 to play. Greene cut the gap back to six points at 71-65 on a driving layup and free throw with 1:25 to play. Shocker forward Ramon Clemente hit one of two free throws with 1:08 to play, and Ray Barbosa’s three-point attempt to get UMBC within four points was off the mark, ending the Retrievers’ chances.  

Hodges hit eight of 13 shots from the floor, three of five from behind the arc and six of seven from the charity stripe. Greene made seven of his 11 attempts, including five of eight from three-point range. Darryl Proctor was the only other Retriever in double figures with 10 points, as UMBC did not score 70 or more points for the first time this season.

UMBC did manage to shoot season highs from the floor (24/49, 49.0%) and from three-point range (9/17, 52.9%). But the Retrievers were outrebounded, 33-23, and gave Wichita State numerous second-chance opportunities.

The Retrievers, ranked 29^th in today’s mid-major poll (60 votes) return to action on Saturday night when they host Goucher (Md.) at the RAC Arena.