UMBC coach Randy Monroe described it best when he called his Retrievers? game against Boston University a dog fight.
The Retrievers and visiting Terriers went back in forth in a game that featured seven ties and 19 lead changes before UMBC pulled out a 76-73 victory in front of a crowd of 3,492 at RAC Arena, the third-largest in the school?s 40-year history.
Senior guard Ray Barbosa scored 26 points and had four rebounds, junior guard Jay Greene finished with 14 points and five assists and senior forward Cavell Johnson had 19 points last night for UMBC (18-7, 10-2 America East), which has a 1 1/2 -game lead over second-place Hartford (15-13, 9-4) with four games remaining.
UMBC, which secured the victory by making four free throws in the final nine seconds, extended its winning streak to six games by ending Terriers? five-game winning streak. The game was a stark contrast from the last meeting between the teams, when UMBC cruised to a 62-40 over the Terriers (10-15, 7-6) on Jan. 22 in Boston.
“This was a dog fight, figuratively and literally,” Monroe said. “This was just a gut-it-out, grind-it-out kind of game, which we expected with BU. They are a well-coached team and are much better since the last time we played them.”
Trailing by six in the final seconds on the first half, freshman guard John Holland connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer, pulling Boston to within 38-35 at intermission. The Terriers opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 44-40 lead after a three-pointer from guard Corey Lowe with 18:21 remaining. Boston finished the game making 12-of-23 three-point attempts.
Boston?s last lead came at 67-65 with 3:39 remaining following a layup from Lowe, who finished with a team-high 21 points. The Terriers, however, had trouble taking care of the ball down the stretch as they had four turnovers in the final 3:11.
Holland had 15 points, Tyler Morris, a sophomore guard, added 14 points and sophomore forward Scott Brittain posted 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds for Boston.
UMBC can move one step closer to earning its first America East regular season title ? and the top seed in next month?s conference tournament ? when it plays at Albany (13-12, 8-5) on Wednesday night at 7. UMBC defeated the Great Danes, 69-65, on Jan. 30.
“We just found a way to win,” Greene said following his team?s latest victory. “That?s all we have to do. We fought hard and in the end we were fortunate enough to come away with a win.”
