BOX SCORE
WEST HARTFORD, CT - The University of Hartford men's basketball team fell to UMBC by an 80-63 final on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
Hartford (6-21 overall, 2-11 America East) trailed by only four at the half but was outscored 16-5 over the opening 5:20 of the second half. Once UMBC (12-13 overall, 6-7 America East) pushed its lead into double digits, the Hawks never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
UMBC's Jay Greene led all scorers with 22 points while teammate Darryl Proctor added 20. Greene was 5-of-6 from three-point range in the game and also finished with three assists. Junior David Bookman paced Hartford with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Both Greene and Bookman were named Nestle PurinaONE America East Players of the Game.
Bookman jump-started the Hawks in the opening minutes, scoring the team's first three field goals on a mix of post-up moves. UMBC stayed close, however, and took its first lead at the 15-minute mark on a jumper by Chauncey Gilliam. The lead changed hands four more times before the Retrievers went ahead for good on a jumper by Proctor that made it 13-12 with 11:07 remaining in the half.
Hartford trailed 19-18 before UMBC opened up a 10-point lead behind an 11-2 run with 2:11 left to play in the half. Five different Retrievers scored during the spurt, led by Greene's fourth three-pointer of the stanza.
The Hawks answered right back behind a three-point play by freshman Clayton Brothers. After another basket by Proctor, senior Jaret von Rosenberg hit a three to cut the margin to six with under a minute to play. The Hawks then converted on four straight free throws?the final two courtesy of a UMBC foul on a block-out?with four seconds to go to cut the lead to two.
Greene was able to push the ball up the court following the free throws to get Bakari Smith a look in the lane. Smith drew a foul and made both freebies to give UMBC a 34-30 edge heading into the break. The Retrievers shot 50 percent for the half while the Hawks checked in at 31 percent.
The start of the second half was the difference in the game. Each team hit a three-pointer on their first possession of the half, and the Hawks trailed by only five following a lay-up by Bookman. The Retrievers then scored 10 straight points to take control of the game. Greene was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to start the run. Gilliam followed with a trey, and Rich Flemming and Proctor each added lay-ins to cap the stretch. Hartford didn't help its own cause, going scoreless on five straight possessions to fall behind 50-35 with 14:40 to go.
UMBC, which led by as many as 19 points in the second half, shot 51 percent in the contest and went 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Retrievers also got to the charity stripe 37 times for 27 makes. Gilliam finished with 18 points and seven rebounds while Matt Spadafora added 11 points.
Hartford shot 36 percent for the contest and went 15-of-20 from the line. Von Rosenberg and Brothers each finished with 12 points while senior Michael Turner chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Von Rosenberg also added six boards and a game-high seven assists.
Hartford will next host Binghamton University on Wednesday, February 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on NESN.
