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News Release

Men's Basketball Misfires at West Virginia; Mountaineers Triumph, 86-62

12/15/2007

  • Box Score

    Cavell Johnson scored 10 points in his return to the lineup vs. WVU.

    Morgantown, WV—The UMBC men’s basketball team misfired on 15 of 18 shots from behind the arc, and host West Virginia hit 50 percent from the field as the Mountaineers defeated the Retrievers, 86-62 before 7,026 fans at WVU Coliseum.

     

    UMBC has dropped two straight for the first time since early February of last season and fell to 7-4 overall. West Virginia, receiving the 29th most votes in this week’s Associated Press poll, improved to 8-1.

     

    Senior guard Brian Hodges led UMBC with 18 points, although he was just 5 of 13 from the floor. Backcourt mate Ray Barbosa added 14 points, but missed eight of 10 from behind the arc, and senior forward Cavell Johnson scored 10 points upon his return to the lineup.

     

    WVU forward Joe Alexander led all scorers with 20 points, hitting nine of 11 shots from the floor.

     

    After falling behind 5-0, the Retrievers took their first lead with seven straight points to take a 7-5 lead on a Brian Hodges three-point field goal at the 16:03 mark. But after Cavell Johnson’s lay-in put UMBC ahead, 16-14 with 11:30 remaining the Mountaineers seemed to score at will and went on a 22-7 run to gain a 36-23 lead with 7:51 to play in the half. The Retrievers made a dent in the lead as a Ray Barbosa jumper trimmed it back to 36-29 with 2:45 to play, but WVU scored the final seven points of the half to take a 43-29 halftime advantage.

     

    Alexander hit six of eight first half field goals and scored 14 points, as the Mountaineers hit 13 of 20 shots inside the three-point arc. UMBC allowed eight offensive rebounds and committed eight first half turnovers.

     

    The Retrievers looked like they would hang in as Hodges and Johnson scored the first two buckets of the second half, but West Virginia scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a commanding 56-35 advantage with 15:14 to play.

     

    UMBC entered the week ranked 16th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (44.4%), but could not convert with some open looks in the contest. WVU hit 30 of 60 from the floor and outrebounded UMBC, 39-24, including 15 offensive rebounds.

     

    The Retrievers have exams throughout the coming week and return to action on Saturday, Dec. 22 when they host Hampton.