Retrievers

VESTAL, N.Y. -After Binghamton grabbed the game's final rebound, UMBC guard Jay Greene slowly turned and started walking off the court. His teammates soon fell in line, and by the time the final buzzer sounded 12 seconds later, the Retrievers were gone. Their time as champions was done. Sixth seed UMBC tried to pull a surprise in yesterday's America East championship game against top seed Binghamton, but mistakes foiled the Retrievers' attempt at a second straight title. Binghamton took advantage of those miscues and held off a UMBC rally for a 61-51 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 5,342 at the Events Center.

LOS ANGELES -- UMBC entered its NCAA playoff match with host Southern California last night with the highest of hopes, but, the end, saw them dashed.Even though the Retrievers had never before participated in the playoffs, they had faced four teams that advanced to the elite tournament.And with the exception of a three-game sweep by Texas Tech in September, UMBC had more than held its own against some worthy opponents, defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee and extending Georgetown and American to the limit before losing.

The UMBC defense made one of its loudest season-opening statements by creating silence.Behind goalkeeper Andrew Hampson's 20 saves, the No. 10 Retrievers ended an 11-game skid to Navy by allowing just one goal in the final 39 minutes to quiet the No. 9 Midshipmen, 9-3, yesterday afternoon before 1,465 at Rip Miller Field in Annapolis.UMBC (1-0) limited Navy (0-1) to its lowest offensive output in seven years on 7 percent shooting.It's the first season-opening victory for the Retrievers since 1994.

Slow starts and inconsistent offensive play have dogged UMBC all season. The Retrievers experienced the same problems again last night against Stony Brook in the America East opener. UMBC quickly fell behind by 14, caught up in the second half, then made just one basket in the final five minutes as the Seawolves pulled out a 69-61 victory before an announced 2,058 at RAC Arena. UMBC (6-7, 0-1 league) has struggled in the early minutes of several games, being forced to spend long stretches playing catch-up.

New Hampshire 65, UMBC 47 - Tyrece Gibbs, a senior guard, scored 22 points last night to match his career high and lead New Hampshire past UMBC in Durham, N.H., in an America East game. UMBC senior guard Jay Greene had 11 points and seven assists, with his final assist giving him 600 for his career. He is the school's all-time leader in assists. Darryl Proctor led the Retrievers (7-8, 1-2) with 16 points and nine rebounds and extended his school-record streak to 23 straight games of scoring in double figures.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Greg Jackson scored five goals, including back-to-back goals to break a 14-14 tie, to to lead No. BTC 10 Penn State to an 18-14 victory over UMBC at Jeffrey Field.Chad Henry scored nine goals, one off the school record, to lead the Retrievers (2-4), who have lost six straight on the road.Jackson, the Nittany Lions' leading scorer, also had three assists.The Nittany Lions (7-1) took a 14-11 lead into the fourth quarter, but UMBC drew even at 14 on Henry's final goal of the game with 8: 26 to play.

MIAMI -- For the second straight game, UMBC got outstanding pitching at the NCAA Atlantic Regional baseball tournament. For the second straight game, it didn't matter.Delaware's Bill DiIenno, hitless in his first four at-bats, lined a two-out run-scoring single to left in the 10th inning yesterday to give the Blue Hens a 6-5 victory over the Retrievers at Mark Light Stadium.The loss, coupled with Friday's loss to Miami, eliminated the Retrievers from their first NCAA tournament appearance.

It seems like UMBC might be learning.After failing to hold its composure in back-to-back three-point losses, the host Retrievers displayed poise down the stretch last night to hold off Charleston Southern, 71-59, for its first Big South Conference win of the season.UMBC (6-7, 1-2), which starts four freshmen and a sophomore, converted seven of its last 10 free throws and limited the Buccaneers (1-13, 0-2) to one field goal in the final minute.Isaac Green scored a career-best 18 points and Terence Ward added 17 points and six assists for the Retrievers, who won at home for the first time since Dec. 23."

In an outcome that no one at the Retriever Activities Center could have predicted, the UMBC women's basketball team routed Northeast Conference co-leader Mount St. Mary's, 78-50, last night. If the result wasn't understandable, the reason was. A Mountaineers team (16-7, 11-3 NEC) that had scored 94 points in each of its past two games and hadn't lost to the Retrievers (7-16, 4-10) since 1990 saw its opponent as an easy mark -- and paid dearly. "Because we blew out Long Island and St. Francis [N.Y.

For much of last night, host UMBC seemed destined to wipe clean the bitter memory of last month's embarrassingly one-sided loss to America East leader Vermont. Then came the second half. Leading by nine, the Retrievers at once began to succumb to the Catamounts' potent inside-outside scoring attack, giving up 11 straight points and never regaining the lead in a 77-65 loss, ending their season-best three-game winning streak. It marked the first time all season that UMBC lost after leading at the half.