Consistently inconsistent is probably the best way to describe the University of Maryland, Baltimore County season through 11 games.
UMBC fell to 4-7 following Saturday?s 68-46 loss at No. 20 Marquette. The Retrievers, who have lost five of their last seven games after starting the season 2-2, are hoping to change their fortunes Friday at William & Mary. Their first home game in nearly a month will come Dec. 30 against Central Connecticut.
For UMBC to get back on track, it needs solid performances from leading scorers Brian Hodges and Jay Greene, who are averaging 13.9 and 11 points per game, respectively. Neither played in the loss at Marquette and it showed, as UMBC had its lowest offensive output of the season.
Greene, who is averaging 5.9 assists per game, sat out Saturday?s game with a sprained knee ligament, while Hodges served a one-game suspension for violating a team rule. Hodges, last week?s America East Conference player of the week, received an unsportsmanlike technical foul in last Tuesday?s game at George Washington, which led to the suspension by UMBC coach Randy Monroe.
“We have two seniors, two juniors and the rest are freshmen and sophomores,” Monroe said. “It is going to take some time for these guys to get used to playing together.”
Still, Monroe likes the team?s overall progress so far, especially from its youth. Freshman forward Justin Fry is averaging 5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game and played all 40 minutes at Marquette. Sophomore guard Tom Young is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game and scored a career-high 17 Saturday.
Senior forward Mike Housman said despite the Retrievers? recent struggles, including losses to two 2005-06 NCAA tournament teams (George Washington and Marquette), he expects them to be ready for the conference opener Jan. 3 at Binghamton.
“The hardest part about playing against us is that we have a lot of different guys capable of beating you,” Housman said. “When we start play in America East, we will be a hard team to scout because any one of us on the court can come up with a big play.”
UMBC NOTES
» The Retrievers? biggest problem this season is on offense, where they are scoring 61.7 points per game, ranking eighth in the nine-team America East. Defensively, UMBC allows 65.1 points per game, which is fifth in the conference.
» Jay Greene leads the conference in assists, while Brian Hodges and Justin Fry are currently third in scoring and block shots, respectively.
