College Basketball Preview: UMBC (14-9, 6-2) vs. Hartford (11-12, 4-4)
UMBC men’s basketball (14-9, 6-2) will be back in action Wednesday evening after being off for a week when they face the Hartford Hawks (11-12, 4-4) at the UMBC Event Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The Retrievers have won five-in-a-row and are coming off a nice win against the Stony Brook Seawolves (18-5, 6-2) last Wednesday. They were once again lead by graduate student forward Joe Sherburne who finished with a double-double, netting 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Junior forward Arkel Lamar and freshman guard R.J. Eytle-Rock each accounted for 10 points. But the game was won on the defensive end, with the Retrievers holding the Seawolves to 31% shooting from the floor.
The Retrievers currently sit in second place in the America East conference with eight league games remaining in the regular season.
Coincidentally, the Hawks are also coming off a game against the Seawolves, dropping an 86-77 decision at home on Saturday afternoon. Redshirt senior forward John Carroll leads the Hawks in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per contest. He has been a force in the paint all season. Senior guard J.R. Lynch checks in with an average of 15.2 points per game. Lynch also leads the team with 86 assists this season.
This will be a rematch from the game on January 9th when Harford won a thrilling game, 66-64, in overtime, on their floor. With that win, the Hawks extended their lead in the all-time series to 18-16.
