UMBC

The young UMBC men’s basketball team heads to Blacksburg, Va. in a much better frame of mind after coming up with a 59-57 win at American on Sunday. They will face a Virginia Tech team which has won six straight games and are a perfect 5-0 at home this season. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live by Fox 1370 Sports Radio (www.fox1370.com) with Paul Mittermeier on the call.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: After an extended eight-day layoff and final exams, UMBC snapped a season-opening nine-game losing streak with the heart-stopper in snow-bound Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Sophomore guard Chris De La Rosa (11 pts.) hit the game-winning field goal with 1.9 seconds remaining. Sophomore wing Chauncey Gilliam (17 pts.) and junior post Robbie Jackson (12 pts., 10 rebs.)returned from the injured list to key the victory.

HOKIES’ UPDATE: Virginia Tech won its sixth straight with a 73-50 win over visititng Charleston Southern on Saturday. The Hokies nipped host Penn State, 66-64 on Dec. 12, four days after the Retrievers suffered a 58-42 loss at the hands of the Nittany Lions. Senior guard and Baltimore native Malcolm Delaney is averaging 22.0 points per game for Tech.

UP NEXT: UMBC has another eight days away from competition before finishing 2009 with a Dec. 30 contest at Central Connecticut State University.