PressBox: Retrievers Fetch Rare Road Win

Retrievers Fetch Rare Road Win

By Barrett Neale

It was a weekend of close games for local men's college basketball teams, with one game going into overtime and four others decided by four points or fewer.

COPPIN STATE EAGLES: Coppin State won for the fifth time during its past six games with a 90-79 overtime victory against Bethune-Cookman Feb. 5. The Wildcats entered the game first in the conference, but the Eagles (11-10, 6-3 Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference) secured their road victory with a career-high 21 points from junior forward Akeem Ellis. Coppin State stays on the road for its next matchup, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 against Florida A&M.

UMBC RETRIEVERS: Standout performances from junior Chris De La Rosa and graduate student Justin Fry led UMBC to an 83-79 road victory against Maine, the second-best team in the America East. De La Rosa scored 24 points, tied with Maine's Gerald McLemore for the game high, and had 13 assists, a career high, while Fry's 20 points were a career high. The Retrievers trailed by as many as 17, but closed that margin during the second half. Next up, UMBC hosts Vermont at 7 p.m. Feb. 9.

MORGAN STATE BEARS: Morgan State lost at Florida A&M, 63-59, in a game featuring four ties and five lead changes. Junior forward Ameer Ali led the Bears with 15 points. The team's second-leading scorer was another junior forward, Kevin Thompson, whose contributions off the bench included 13 points, 12 rebounds and two steals. It was Thompson's ninth double-double this season. Morgan State (10-10, 6-3 MEAC) continues its road trip at Bethune-Cookman with a 7:30 p.m. game Feb. 7.

LOYOLA GREYHOUNDS: Sophomore guard Robert Olson's two free throws gave Loyola a 59-52 lead with 3:19 left in the game, the Greyhounds' largest lead of the second half, but Rider went on a 9-1 run to win, 61-60, Feb. 4. The Broncos' Danny Stewart hit the game-winning free throw with 3.5 seconds remaining. Loyola (11-11, 7-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) has its second-straight road game at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7, against Siena, when the Greyhounds will try to avenge their 76-59 home loss to the Saints Jan. 28.

TOWSON TIGERS: Towson rallied from a 13-point deficit, but never managed to take the lead and ended up with a 63-60 home loss to Georgia State on Feb. 5. Senior guard Josh Brown led the Tigers (4-19, 0-13 Colonial Athletic Association) with 18 points, but could not convert his last-second 3-point shot that would have tied the game. During its next game, Towson will have one of its best chances for a conference win as it takes on Northeastern, which has the third-worst record in the CAA, at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN: Navy's three-game winning streak came to a close Feb. 5 with a 75-49 loss to Bucknell, the first-place team in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen trailed the entire game, and by a double-digit margin during the final 32 minutes. The one bright spot for Navy was the play of senior guard Greg Brown, who had 17 points, four rebounds, four blocks and three steals. The Midshipmen (8-16, 3-5 Patriot) face Lehigh at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.

Posted Feb. 7, 2011