Men's Basketball Rally Falls Short in 69-65 America East Loss to Conference-Leader UMBC

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Baltimore, Md. -- Cavell Johnson had 18 points and Darryl Proctor added 15 as UMBC held off UAlbany, 69-65, in America East Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Retriever Activities Center. The Retrievers remained in a virtual first-place tie in the conference standings.

UMBC (14-7, AE 6-2) led 38-30 early in the second half, but then tallied nine of the game's next 11 points. Proctor, who grabbed eight rebounds, hit a reverse layup, before Justin Fry canned a three-point field goal from the left corner. Johnson later made a jump hook for a 47-32 margin with 13:33 remaining.

UAlbany (9-11, AE 4-4) trailed by as much as 17 points in the period and were still behind, 58-44, with less than four minutes left. However, the Great Danes scored 10 unanswered to get back into the contest. Brian Lillis, who had 17 of his 19 points after halftime, drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to close the gap to 58-54.

The Great Danes, who had won six straight in this series, got within four on two other occasions in the stretch. Tim Ambrose was fouled while converting a drive in the lane that got his team within 64-60 with 38.6 seconds to play. But that was as close as UAlbany would get when Ambrose missed the subsequent free throw. UMBC's Johnson split a pair of foul shots and Proctor made two from the line to seal the outcome.

Ray Barbosa finished with 14 points for the Retrievers, who are having their best season since 2002 and have won eight of nine home games. UAlbany's Jon Iati and Brian Connelly scored 14 and 10, respectively. The Great Danes had their three-game road winning streak halted.

"I thought we played well for about 10 minutes,” said UAlbany head coach Will Brown, whose team fell into a tie for fifth place in the America East standings. “It was a little too late against a very talented offensive team. I was proud of the way we came back, but we can't break down like we did on defense. The only way we can improve on that end of the floor is to communicate better."

Proctor helped the Retrievers get out to a 16-8 lead in the opening seven-plus minutes. Proctor made a conventional three-point play when he was fouled on a fastbreak layup. He followed with a jumper from right of the lane in transition. UMBC extended its advantage to 29-17 when Barbosa tipped in his own miss. The Great Danes, who shot just 33 percent in the period, stayed within striking distance at halftime behind the play of Iati, who had 11 points off the bench.

"Our offense is not our problem,” explained Lillis, who has scored in double figures in 19 of 20 games this season. “Our defense drives our offense which is the way it should be. We got back into the game because we had more energy and played with a sense of urgency on defense."