UMBC fell behind Vermont fast. They fell behind 13-2 just four minutes into the game and UMBC was just trying too hard and forcing shots, passes, and were over pursuing on defense.

They were down 40-26 at the half and could not get back into the game in the second half. Chris De La Rosa was playing the game on a sprained ankle and scored 10 points and had six assists.

Further coverage of this game will be featured in the March 9 Issue of The Retriever Weekly.

After an inconsistent start to the season Cassidy scored in double figures in 11 of 16 regular season conference games.

Cassidy also was recognized for her academic success. As a sociology and Media and Communications double major, she accumulated a 3.35 GPA and earned a spot on the 2010 women’s basketball all-academic team.

On the men’s side, Chauncey Gilliam earned third-team all-conference honors while Adrian Satchell was named to the all-rookie team.

Gilliam led UMBC with 13.5 points and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 41.8% from the field. He also had 3.7 rebounds per game.

Gilliam shined in conference play, scoring in his final 12 games and averaging 15.3 points and 4.1 rebounds against America East opponents.

Satchell started all of the teams 29 games in his freshman season and averaged 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He led the team with a 50.7 field goal percentage, which also lead all freshman in the America East Conference.

Twelve days after Corey Lowe, John Holland, and Jake O’Brien each had 20 points to lead Boston U past the Retrievers in Chase Gym, the two teams met up again, this time in the RAC. But the result was no different than before as the Terriers shot 54.9% from the field and made 11 three-pointers to hand the men’s basketball team their 19th loss of the season, 79-61.

“They’re just really good, point blank,” said coach Randy Monroe. “They’re picked to win the league and they’re certainly good enough to do that.”

Holland matched his 25 points effort last game with the help of five three-pointers. He also had 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. O’Brien added 18 points and six rebounds with three blocks while Lowe packed the stat sheet with 10 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two three-pointers, and a steal. While those three were expected to have big games against UMBC again, Carlos Strong stepped up to add 13 points in their effort, hitting three three’s.

“I thought our kids gave a tremendous effort but it didn’t matter what defense we were playing, those guys are flat out good shooters,” Monroe said.

After going into the half down by 14 points UMBC looked to be done and just a walkover for the rest of the game. But the Retrievers went on a 19-7 run in the first five minutes of the second half to cut the Terrier lead to just five points.

“I was a gut check,” said sophomore point guard Chris De La Rosa who led the team with 18 points and six assists. “We could have just easily given up and called it quits and gone through the motions, but we didn’t and fought.”

After Robbie Jackson made two free throws to cut the Terrier lead to just five, on the ensuing possession John Holland went to the basket and was fouled by the seven-footer, sending him to the line to shoot two. He made both shots, ended UMBC’s run, and took away all the momentum and life UMBC had in them as his two shots started a 17-1 Boston U run over the next five minutes of the game.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” De La Rosa explained. “They made there and we didn’t respond. All we can do is come in tomorrow and practice and watch film.”

While De La Rosa led the team in points, only one other Retriever could get their total into double figures as Chauncey Gilliam had 10 points with five rebounds, four steals and three assists. That guard duo combined for five of the teams their three pointers.

Freshman swingman Adrian Satchell did not score in double figures but had a very solid game with seven points off a 3-9 shooting effort, and 10 rebounds. This season Satchell has started every game and is averaging 6.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. In conference play he has increased both of those totals to 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

“Adrian is really developing and really growing,” Monroe said. “Those shots he missed today are shots he usually makes; it just wasn’t his day today. But he gave a tremendous effort and he’s getting better and better. His best days are certainly ahead of him.”

UMBC may not have been expected to contend for a championship this season, but nobody expected a 1-19 record 20 games into the season. But the team is still fighting and giving it everything they have to get wins even though they are not coming.

“These kids could have quit 10 games ago but they didn’t,” Monroe said. “They hang in and fight and keep scrapping. I’m proud of them. Obviously you’d like to have a better record but that will take care of itself in time.

“They’re a competitive group of young men and it does bother them to be in this situation and I wish I had a magic want to sooth some of the ills but this is our team…you take seven new faces, five freshman and I even consider Robbie [Jackson] and Chris [De La Rosa] freshman because they’re new and still figuring out how to play. Chris sat out for a year and Robbie sat out for a year and a half and just started playing basketball when he was in 10th grade. They’re learning and getting better but sometimes you have to go through some Rocky Roads to get where you want to go.”

Despite and 0-7 conference record the Retrievers still have an outside shot at a winning America East record with nine games left but in order to do that, “we have to scrap on everything,” De La Rosa said. “We have to play D, dive for loose balls, everything. We can’t take possessions off and can’t let [opponents] get comfortable. We have to jump on them from the beginning.

“I see improvement but we have to do it at a consistent basis and keep reminding [ourselves] all it takes is one good weekend at the end of the season.”

UMBC returns to action when classes resume on Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00 when they will take on Binghamton, who despite losing their top four scorers from last season, and having six players kicked off the team and replaced by walk-ons, have been a surprise with an 8-13 record, with a recent 73-67 upset of conference leading Vermont.

Just two years ago UMBC and Hartford were battling it out in the RAC to claim the America East Conference championship, but how the mighty have fallen. The two conference foes met up for the first time this season, but not for a championship crown, this time it was to stay out of last place in the conference. Going into the game the teams had a combined 3-27 record, and were both severely struggling on the defensive end.

But in a close battle the youth and inexperience of the UMBC basketball team just wasn’t enough to beat the high powered Hawks offense which has four players scoring in double figures, hit eight three pointers and shot 44.4% from the field as UMBC lost the game, 74-68.

“You have to come out and pay with some energy, and enthusiasm, and some passion, and love for the game of basketball,” said coach Randy Monroe. “Hartford was not going to come down and give us a win and until you play with an attitude you’re not going to beat teams you need to beat.”

“We have to do a better job defensively,” Monroe said. “We have to get key stops when we need to get them and that’s been our Achilles’ heal as well as rebounding.”

UMBC was out-rebounded 33-26 and 19-8 on shots they took. They forced Hartford to turn the ball over just nine times, and allowed Hartford to score 15 second chance points.

With the continuous struggles for UMBC this season Monroe has started to adjust his player rotation and even starting lineup in recent games to attempt get a spark out of the team. The most notable change has been Jake Wasco, who made his second straight start over Robbie Jackson. While he only scored two points, he hustled, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists, had two steals, and blocked a shot.

“Jake’s an aggressive kid [and] plays hard,” Monroe said. “I want Jackson to play hard like that too. [He] will play because he plays aggressive and he plays hard and he’ll get after it. He may not be the most gifted guy but he gives everything he has when he’s out there on the floor. He’s going to get those minutes until somebody proves they are worthy to get them.”

While the defense continued to struggle the offense continued to score enough to win games. Four Retrievers scored in double figures, lead by freshman Adrian Satchell, who scored 16 points while shooting 70% from the field (7-10) and added five rebounds. Chris De La Rosa scored 12 points and Matt Spadafora and Shawn Grant each added 10 points.

“The offense is fine,” Monroe said. “Sixty-eight points is enough to win a college basketball game. We had out chances but we need an attitude, a swagger about us. There’s got to be a toughness factor that we need to compete and we just don’t have that.”

With 13 more games left the team is guaranteed a losing record during the regular season, but all of those games left are against conference opponents, which means the season is far from over, but in order to win Monroe said the team has to do a few simple things.

“We have to block out, we can’t give up second chance stops, and we have to get key stops when we need to get them. It’s not rocket science what we’re doing here but we played with no energy and no enthusiasm at all,” Monroe said.

Despite having four players score in double figures, the men’s basketball team continued on their losing ways this season as they well to pre-season favorites Boston U in a 75-63 road loss.

The Boston three-party of senior Corey Lowe, junior John Holland, and sophomore Jake O’Brien outscored the entire UMBC team as Holland scored 25 points while Lowe and O’Brien scored 20, totaling 65 points between the trio.

While UMBC got off to a hot start, scoring the first seven points of the game, a 16-6 run by the Terriers in the drivers seat for the rest of the game as they did not trail after the first 10 minutes of the game.

In a surprise game-time decision Jake Wasco was called to start his second career game as 7’0” center Robbie Jackson was moved to the bench. Wasco certainly proved for it to be a good move as he recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, both of which are career highs.

Leading UMBC in scoring were guard duo Chris De La Rosa and Chauncey Gilliam, who each scored 13 points. Gilliam recorded the only three three-pointers of the game for UMBC. The fourth Retriever to score in double figures was Adrian Satchell, who scored 10 while shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

The Terriers just had their way with the Retrievers’ perimeter defense as they scored 33 points from three point range, going 11-of-32 (34.4%). The trio of Holland, Lowe, and O’Brien made 10 of those attempts. Holland led the group with five.

At 1-14 the team has certainly struggled, but in all honesty they may just not have the talent to compete this year. The team only has four returning players available, only two of whom saw significant action last season. While one of the freshmen should have the game figured out by now as they have played 15 games, the rebuilding process may take longer than expected. It may be a completely different story next year but as of right now the team is just going through growing pains and fighting to stay out of the bottom of the America East.

They will return to action in just two days when they will take on the 2-13 Hartford Hawks in the RAC on January 14 at 7:00 p.m. Hartford certainly has plenty of experience and a trio of scorers, led by sharp shooting guard Joe Zeglinski who is averaging 15.5 points per game and 3.4 three-pointers per game, but the former UMBC championship opponent has fallen harder than UMBC. They are struggling on the defensive end and have been the worst rebounding team in the conference the last two seasons, but their experience and scoring ability still make them a big threat to any team who plays them.

UMBC kept the game close very early by fell behind by 11 points in the first half when Robbie Jackson, Adrian Satchell, and Shawn Grant were all seated with two fouls early in the game. When that happened neither side of the floor could get things going to UMBC. Chauncey Gilliam scored 13 points and shot 50% from the field for the Retrievers but was met with a constant double team because of the lack of offensive options UMBC had available.

Defensively, UMBC was forced to switch out of their 2-3 zone that was working very effectively because they did not have the inside presence needed to keep the ball on the outside.

The 2-3 zone of the Retrievers kept them in the game for the early part because Vermont was forced to take three-point shots where were not falling. After both Jackson and Satchell were put on the bench the Catamounts worked the ball inside and took advantage of the lack of size on the court for UMBC.

UMBC trailed by 11 points at intermission but when those three players; Jackson, Satchall, and Grant, all made it back on the floor in the second half, UMBC managed to cut the Vermont lead to just five points with 10 minutes remaining in the game, but all three players picked up another early foul, and Jackson eventually fouled out, allowing Vermont to go on a 21-8 run over the next seven minutes, putting the game out of reach for UMBC.

Despite only playing 23 minutes, Jackson led UMBC with 15 points. Satchell recorded an impressive six points and five rebounds for the 16 minutes he was in, and Grant scored nine points and shot 50% from the field in just 19 minutes.

While UMBC may have lost their conference opener by 15 points to the team with the best overall record in the conference, they showed they have the ability to be a little bit of a factor in the America East if they keep players out of foul trouble and have other good scoring options on the floor to open up Chauncey Gilliam.

The Retriever will have a slight break from conference play as they return home on January 6 to play their final non-conference game of the season against the winless Ivy League team Pennsylvania at 7:30.

“I’d have to lie if I say it didn’t hurt but everybody is being positive,” said Matt Spadafora. “We still have 20 games left and there is a lot of basketball to be played. It hurts right now but we’re going through from adverse situations but it’s only going to help us in the end.”

While they lost their final home game of 2009 to Rider, 79-67, the team played their best game of the season. While the team was without 7’0” center Robbie Jackson, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury, and had a injured Chauncey Gilliam limited with time because of an ankle injury, the team was just outmatched but the Broncs who used their big size advantage on UMBC to get things going inside.

UMBC shot an astounding 50% from the field and hit just on less three-pointer than Rider, but once again the defense did not play well as they allowed their opponents to scored 79 points and also shoot 50% from the field.

“On the defensive side we just have to do a better job overall as a team,” said Matt Spadafora. “If one guy gets beat we have to have guys slide over and step up. Then to finish we have to rebound and keep guys off the glass.”

With Jackson out of action, and Gilliam playing with an ankle injury, Spadafora stepped up and played on of his best games of his career as he scored 16 points with a career high nine rebounds.

“I was really proud of Matt. He really stepped up and made some key baskets, played hard, and gutted it out,” said coach Randy Monroe.

Two other Retrievers finished the games in double digits in scoring, freshman Adrian Satchell, who scored 10 points, and sophomore Chris De La Rosa, who scored 11 points with five assists and three rebounds.

Because of the injuries Gilliam came off the bench, and filling to two gaps in the starting lineup were Shawn Grant, who made his second straight start, and Nick Groce. Whiel Grant struggled to get anything going as he scored just three points, Groce excelled both defensively and offensively. He scored eight points, went perfect from the field, and missed just one free throw.

Also because of the injuries, Bakari Smith, Brian Neller, and Jake Wasco all saw significant minutes off the bench. Smith went 2-2 from the floor for four points while Neller, who hit two threes, and Wasco, each scored six points.

“I think these guys are definitively growing,” Monroe said. “They are very coachable and they have a very bright future. They have a chance to be very good, but they are learning what college basketball is all about now. It’s a true lesson but it’s something I think that will make them very good players down the road.”

With that 0-9 record, the team has just three more games before beginning conference play. All three games are on the road and after a conference challenge at Vermont, they return to the RAC for one final tune-up game against Pennsylvania.

“Each game we just want to get better as a team,” Spadafora said. “Once conference starts our team is going to be rolling and we hopefully will be coming up on the other side of these games.”

Ten minutes into the game that number went down even more when leading scorer Chauncey Gilliam was taken out of the game with a sprained ankle and did not return.

With the injuries UMBC was left with eight players, only one of whom was taller than 6’5″. That lack of players and size did not add up for a victory over the Nittany Lions, who had the size, depth, and talent to outmatch any set of players UMBC put on the court.

For the majority of the game UMBC ran a five guard set with six players: Chris De La Rosa, Shawn Grant, Matt Spadafora, Brian Neller, Adrian Satchell, and Nick Groce.

De La Rosa and Neller led the team with 10 points each. De La Rosa also matched his season average, dishing out six assists, while adding four steals. Neller stole three Penn State possessions but more importantly scored two of UMBC’s four three-pointers. The other two were from Groce who scored six points. Grant and Satchell also scored six points while Satchell grabbed a team high five rebounds.

As fatigue set in down the stretch the offense failed to get going and only shot 32.11% from the field and 18.2% from three-point range in a 42 point effort.

But defensively UMBC played their best game of the season. While they have given up 74.1 points per game, they held Penn State to just 58 points.

With the five guards in a 2-3 zone the Nittany Lions shot poor from the field, going just 39.1% from the field and 19.0% from three-point range.

For the first half of action UMBC kept the game close. They went into the intermission down just four points, but could not hold up the effort and were outscored 31-19 in the second half.

UMBC is now 0-8 and will take on Rider on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

In that span of seven minutes UMBC was out scored 18-5 with a three by Matt Spadafora with 13 seconds left breaking a 5:29 scoring drought, but the damage was still down and the woes carried over into the second half.  Nine minutes into the second half UMBC trailed Coppin State by 19 points and while they got within four points with under two minutes remaining, it proved to be too much as the Golden Eagles scored 16 points after than, 14 of which came from the free throw line as UMBC attempted to preserve the clock, but they could not match a score from Coppin State as they only tallied four points.

“Guys have to understand you have to execute,” coach Randy Monroe said. “When teams get into you and teams force you and try and take you out of your stuff you have to execute.”

Despite out-rebounding the Golden Eagles, UMBC trailed in every other key statistical category, took too many bad shots, and gave up 17 turnovers.

“You can’t get out hustled and outworked by other teams and I think Coppin came in and did that,” Monroe said. “I think they came in and did the tough things you need to do to win game. They came up with second effort shots. They came up with loose balls. They came up with offensive rebounds. Our guys have to understand winning entails all of those teams.

“340 Division I teams want to win, but are they going to do the things or are they going to make the commitment, or are they going to be dedicated to doing the things they need to do in order to win. Right now I don’t see that in this group.”

While Monroe that some of the struggles are because it is a team with seven new players that are still gelling, he said he does not see a “passion” or “burning desire” in his team to get those wins.

Despite the loss there were two bright spots for UMBC: Robbie Jackson and Chris De La Rosa, as each set multiple career highs.

Jackson, the seven-foot transfer center from Marshall, set career highs in six categories; points (17), rebounds (11), field goals (six), free throws (five), and minutes (32) as he recorded his first career double-double.  He also only recorded two personal fouls which kept in him in the game and despite the loss now, if he continues to do that it could be key for UMBC later in the season.

“I was very happy with Robbie’s progression today,” Monroe said as he felt his performance was one of the few good moments of the game. “He really settled in today. I think he’s shown this is something he’s capable of doing and I think his best basketball is ahead of him.”

De La Rosa, the transfer point guard from Siena, also set multiple career highs in the game; points (12), assists (11), and field goals (five), as he also recorded a double-double.

“I think Chris De La Rosa was much better in the second half than he was in the first half,” Monroe said. “In the second half he did a pretty good job and had a pretty good floor game.”

While two other Retrievers scored in double-digits, Chauncey Gilliam with 20 and Shawn Grant with 11, only six Retrievers scored in the game as the other two were Spadafora with four and Adrian Satchell with two.

One of the big reasons for UMBC’s loss though was the constant attempts at three point shots. While Gilliam and Grant combined for five, the team went 7-22 from beyond the arc and lost a lot of processions on the misses.

“It was too much,” Monroe said. “We were out of sync. We were taking bad shots. The second half we were a little better but in the first half we were all over the place and when things like that happen we need a leader to step up and settle us down and do the job that we need to do.”

The other big area of concern was the defense, which Monroe has said has been a major issue all season.  The Golden Eagles scored 26 points in the paint and it was the third game UMBC gave up 70 points while Loyola came up just one point short.

“I still think my team is good, I just think they have to understand how to play the game and we have to understand on that on the defensive end we can’t just give up 77 points, or 90 points,” Monroe said.

Now with a 0-4 record it will definitely be tougher to get that first win as their next four games are all on the road with games against James Madison, Towson, Toledo, and Penn State.

“It’s college basketball. Whether you’re playing home or your playing on the road, teams have to find a way to get the job done.” Monroe said.