Nov. 21, 2006

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. - For the second straight game, junior forward Matt Betley poured in a career-high in scoring, but Lafayette could not get on track on Tuesday night, as UMBC notched an 86-51 victory over the Leopards in non-conference men's basketball action.

Betley scored 18 points and made three three-pointers in 22 minutes of action, but he was the only player in double figures for Lafayette (1-4). UMBC's Jay Greene led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, all on three-pointers, as one of four players in double figures for the Retrievers (2-2).

Both teams came out slow at the opening tap, with neither team scoring in the first three minutes. Lafayette's slow start continued, however, and the Leopards were never able to recover. UMBC opened with a 15-3 run through the first six and a half minutes on eight points from Chris Pugh.

Paul Cummins' three-pointer at the 16-minute mark was the lone score in the first seven minutes for Lafayette. UMBC extended its lead to as many as 15 points in the first half, but Lafayette managed to cut the margin to five points with 1:30 remaining before intermission. Pugh hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, one of eight for UMBC in the first half, that extended the lead to 36-25 lead at halftime.

In the second half, UMBC built on its lead with a combination of hot shooting by its own players and a 30-percent shooting effort by the Leopards in the second half. Conversely, UMBC shot 67 percent from the floor in the second stanza and 58 percent for the game. In the opening minutes of the second half, Lafayette worked to cut the lead under double digits. Cummins' three-pointer at 12:25 sliced the deficit back to nine points, 53-44.

Greene's three-pointer with the shot clock winding down ignited an 18-3 UMBC run over the next six and a half minutes that gave it a 71-47 margin at 5:52. Meanwhile, Lafayette did not make a field goal after Cummins' final three-pointer until the three-minute mark when freshman Marek Koltun put in a layup. During that span, Lafayette scored five points on eight free throw attempts.

Pugh (17), Tom Young (16) and Mike Housman (14) also reached double figures for UMBC. Lafayette turned the ball over a season-low 13 times, equaling UMBC's turnover mark in the game, but the Retrievers held a 39-17 advantage on the boards

Lafayette returns to action on Saturday when the Leopards travel to Miami, Fla. for a 1 p.m. tip-off.

NOTES:
Tuesday's meeting with UMBC (University of Maryland-Baltimore County) was Lafayette first-ever with the America East Conference school. Lafayette is now 15-9 all-time against current America East Conference schools.

Lafayette faced a player familiar to basketball fans in the Lehigh Valley. Whitehall, Pa. native Jay Greene was at the point for UMBC, scoring 18 points, all on three-pointers. Greene played at Whitehall High School and led his squad to a District XI AAAA championship as a junior.

UMBC left its starters in the game until under the three-minute mark, despite leading by as many as 28 points. Lafayette played the final five minutes with its four freshmen and one senior on the floor. UMBC took three timeouts in the final two minutes and three seconds.