UMBC proved again it is one of the toughest teams in the America East to beat at home as it held off Boston University, 76-73, on Sunday.
The Retrievers (18-7, 10-2 America East) are 11-1 at RAC Arena, but for UMBC to capture its first conference regular season title and keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, the Retrievers must be equally dominating outside of Catonsville.
UMBC plays three of its last four regular season games on the road, beginning on Wednesday night at 7 in upstate New York against third-place Albany (13-12, 8-5). The Retrievers, who are 7-6 on the road, defeated the Great Danes in their first meeting, 69-65, on Jan. 30 in Catonsville. UMBC has a 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Hartford (15-13, 9-4), which the Retrievers play in their regular-season finale on March 2 in Connecticut.
“You?ve got to play the games somewhere,” UMBC coach Randy Monroe said. “We?ve certainly proved we can win on the road. We?ve won some back-to-back games on the road. When you go into a hostile environment like Vermont or Boston, we?ve shown we can win in some tough places. That?s a credit to the men in our program. It?s what we have to do. We?re certainly not afraid of that opportunity. We welcome that opportunity and that challenge.”
Monroe said his players understand they control their own destiny as they try to build on a six-game winning streak, matching its longest since the 2001-02 season. UMBC already has recorded the third-most wins in its 22-year history as a Division I school, as the Retrievers went 20-9 during the 2001-02 season and 19-9 in 1998-99.
But making UMBC?s run even more impressive is it continues to win without leading scorer Brian Hodges (16.5 ppg), who missed his fourth straight game with a high left ankle sprain suffered against Albany. The senior is questionable for Wednesday?s game, according to Monroe.
“It?s another confidence boost for us,” UMBC point guard Jay Greene said. “We?re on a roll right now. We?re just fighting through some adversity with Brian being out, but we?re finding a way to win.”
