If UMBC ever was going to break the Towson Center hex, last night marked its best chance.
The Retrievers faced a Towson State team that has been inconsistent at best with its lineup intact, and last night the Tigers had a skeleton crew.
Their leading scorer, junior guard Ralph Blalock, sat on the bench with his hand in a cast, after learning that the sore thumb he took home from Monday's loss to Charleston Southern was fractured.
Their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, junior forward Stevie Thomas, sat next to Blalock with an eye injury he had suffered in the same game.
To their credit, the Tigers took charge for a half, before guards Tony Thompson and Eric Wyatt and the Retrievers' dependable defense took over.
UMBC overcame a 13-point halftime deficit, took command behind Thompson midway through the second half, then used Wyatt's terrific free-throw shooting to hold off a late Towson State rally and win, 77-69, before 1,233.
The victory moved the Retrievers (11-12, 8-5) into a third-place tie with Radford in the Big South standings, and it marked a milestone in their cross-town rivalry with Towson State (10-12, 4-9).
UMBC earned its first victory as a Division I team at the Towson Center, and now has beaten the Tigers twice in one season for the first time since 1988-89. The Retrievers last swept the Tigers on opposing home floors in 1979, when both schools were at Division II.
"It's nice to exorcise that demon," UMBC coach Earl Hawkins said. "They must like to hear me yell and get all over them at halftime. Whatever it takes. We started a little passive. Without Blalock and Thomas on the floor, they didn't think Towson's offense would be that good. I had no doubts about them [the Tigers]."
The Retrievers left no doubts about their toughness, after
erasing a 39-26 halftime deficit. For the sixth time this season, UMBC won after trailing at the break.
The Retrievers rallied behind the conference's top defense, which held the Tigers to 10-for-32 shooting (31.3 percent) in the second half, after allowing numerous baskets in transition in Towson State's 39-point first half. Senior center Pascal Fleury led the defense with a game-high 11 rebounds and six blocks to go with 10 points.
They rallied with grit on the boards, where UMBC out-rebounded the Tigers 24-12 in the second half. And they rallied behind Thompson and Wyatt.
Thompson, who scored a career-high 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting, accounted for nearly half of UMBC's offense in the first half and fueled the Retrievers' comeback early in the second half. Down the stretch, Wyatt, who scored 17 of his 19 points after the break, took over the UMBC attack, hitting his final 11 foul shots to hold off the Tigers, who needed only two minutes to cut a 64-51 deficit to 67-63 on a 12-foot jumper by sophomore guard DeRon Robinson with 1:15 left.
Robinson and freshman forward Ralph Biggs, who normally come off the bench for Towson State, were forced into the starting lineup by the injuries to Blalock and Thomas. Robinson matched his career high with 20 points. Biggs added 19 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Trouble was, they got little help from the rest of the Tigers after the first half. Robinson and Biggs combined for 24 of Towson State's 30 second-half points.
"We should have been prepared for them to elevate their defensive pressure in the second half. They are tough," Towson State coach Terry Truax said of the Retrievers. "They were more aggressive. They were hungrier, going after loose balls harder. We didn't get the defensive stops we needed."
The Retrievers did most of the stopping when it mattered. They held the Tigers to three field goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half, opening the half with a 16-3 run to tie the score at 42 with 11:33 left. Thompson scored six points during that run.
Quinton Moody temporarily gave the Tigers a 45-42 lead with a three-pointer, but UMBC reassumed control. Three-point plays by Artie Walker and Thompson gave the Retrievers a 48-45 lead, and a 13-6 run after that, featuring a fadeaway 10- footer and a layup by Thompson, made it 61-51 with 3:56 to go.
Robinson then scored seven straight points to cut the lead to 64-58. Biggs followed with a three-point play, and when Robinson followed that with a 12-footer, Towson State pulled within 67-63.
Blalock, who will be re-examined next weekend, could be lost for the season. Thomas could return Saturday at North Carolina-Greensboro.