UMBC has been practically invincible at RAC Arena this season, but last night subpar was a more fitting description.
Unable to restrict the efficiency of New Hampshire's three-point marksmen, the Retrievers fell behind late in the first half and never seriously countered in a 72-58 America East defeat before 1,042 fans.
New Hampshire (4-11, 2-3) thus registered its first two-game winning streak since December 2004 and remained unbeaten in three appearances on UMBC's home court. The Retrievers are 5-2 at RAC Arena, with the other loss coming against La Salle in their second game.
Blagoj Janev, the Wildcats' leading scorer, poured in 23 points and Mike Christensen added 17 in a dominating performance that included a 35-24 rebounding advantage, four blocked shots and a 50 percent shooting night.
"It's a disgrace the way we played," said UMBC coach Randy Monroe. "New Hampshire beat us in every phase. They came in and were tougher. Give them the credit. It was an old-fashioned butt-kicking."
UMBC (6-9, 2-2) had a 19-17 lead with four minutes remaining in the opening period before the Wildcats unleashed an 11-0 surge sparked by Christensen's two two-pointers and a dunk. They were never threatened thereafter.
Brian Hodges (team-high 16 points) sparked a short-lived run that brought UMBC to 46-39 midway through the second half before Janev scored the next five points. Two minutes later, New Hampshire had a 59-41 cushion.
"Coming off a win over Hartford at home gave us some confidence coming into this game," Janev said. "We knew it was going to be tough, but we shared the ball well and shot it well. And a big key was our rebounding."
"We had great pace and tempo to our game," New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion said. "We're not overly athletic or fast, so we have to control tempo. And we played with great effort."
UMBC, which got 13 points from Jay Greene and 12 from Jerrell Dinkins, beat New Hampshire in the league tournament last March for its only victory in the series since joining the league.
"Our guys weren't ready and I'll take the blame," said Monroe. "We're not experienced or talented enough to think we'll just beat somebody."
kent.baker@baltsun.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE-Janev 9-16 1-2 23, Christensen 5-7 4-5 17, Caterina 4-6 0-0 8, Vetrano 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 2-4 6-6 11, Gibbs 1-4 4-4 7, Karalis 1-3 2-2 4, Odom 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 22-44 19-21 72. UMBC-Dinkins 6-14 0-0 12, Zito 3-6 1-3 8, Housman 2-4 1-2 5, Greene 4-8 1-2 13, Pugh 1-4 0-0 2, Seaborn 0-3 0-0 0, Young 0-0 0-2 0, Hodges 6-15 3-3 16, Eshietedoho 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-55 6-12 58. Halftime-New Hampshire 28-20. 3-point goals-New Hampshire 9-21 (Janev 4-10, Christensen 3-3, Anderson 1-1, Gibbs 1-1, Caterina 0-1, Odom 0-1, Karalis 0-2, Vetrano 0-2), UMBC 6-21 (Greene 4-7, Zito 1-1, Hodges 1-7, Seaborn 0-1, Pugh 0-2, Dinkins 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New Hampshire 35 (Janev 8), UMBC 24 (Dinkins, Greene, Zito 4). Assists-New Hampshire 15 (Anderson 5), UMBC 9 (Hodges 3). Total fouls-New Hampshire 13, UMBC 18. A-1,042.
