UMBC remained the top dog in local college basketball last night.
With their supporters chanting "Threepeat," the Retrievers were still standing after a slugfest with Loyola to take their third straight Battle of Baltimore championship, 57-43, before a sparse crowd at Morgan State's Hill Field House.
It was the third consecutive season-opening tournament championship for UMBC (2-0), which rationed the Greyhounds to 21.8 percent shooting from the floor, a school record that eclipsed the 26 percent Detroit managed last December.
The game was not a candidate for an art exhibition. Play was rough and tough, particularly around the baskets, as defense ruled.
"This was kind of an ugly game, one of the most physical I've seen since the Sunday NFL games," said an irritated Loyola coach Scott Hicks. "But UMBC's trademark is defense; they did a great job against our offense."
Loyola (1-1) fell behind 7-1 at the start, then scored 12 consecutive points before UMBC retaliated with a 17-4 run to seize a seven-point lead. With their woeful shooting, the Greyhounds were unable to launch a meaningful counter-offensive.
With their transition game clicking and the Greyhounds unable to pierce their inside defense, the Retrievers pulled away to a 44-24 cushion. Loyola managed only two second-half field goals until 4:38 remained in the game, when the deficit was 18.
"We played pretty tight on defense," said UMBC's Kareem Washington, the tourney's most valuable player. "We made some stops and took a couple charges, picking it up when we needed to."
Washington had 17 points in the finale, giving him 40 in two tournament games.
The result of the defensive blanket thrown over Loyola was enough transition baskets to offset a miserable, 2-for-18 performance from three-point range by UMBC. Combined, the teams went 3-for-33 from beyond the arc.
"At halftime, I felt we were in control of the game," said Retrievers coach Tom Sullivan. "There was a lot of body contact, but we absorbed the body punches well."
"It was pretty tough out there," added UMBC center Andrew Feeley, who was also named to the all-tournament team with Loyola's Lucious Jordan and Bernard Allen, Morgan's Douglas Sims and Towson's Brian Allen.
"You just have to play through it. We're fortunate because we're a pretty well-rounded team."
UMBC is 7-3 with a five-game winning streak in the Battle of Baltimore, which will be staged at Towson next season. The Retrievers have beaten Loyola four straight times.
They will reprise their meeting Dec. 10 when UMBC visits Reitz Arena for a regular-season game.
"We competed hard," Hicks said. "But we didn't finish when we went to the basket and they got a lot of loose balls. We're looking forward to the next game because UMBC has beaten us a few times in recent years."
UMBC-Washington 6-14 4-6 17, Gogerty 3-12 3-4 9, Wilson 3-12 3-4 10, Dinkins 1-1 0-0 2, Snyder 0-1 0-0 0, Zito 1-1 2-2 4, Hatcher 3-5 0-0 6, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Feeley 3-6 3-4 9. Totals 20-54 15-20 57. LOYOLA-Chatman 0-3 1-2 1, Jordan 3-12 6-9 12, Bell 2-8 4-5 8, Thomas 1-6 0-0 2, Allen 3-12 1-1 7, Bossman 2-7 4-4 9, Hinds 0-3 0-0 0, Nijaradze 0-1 0-0 0, Southall 1-1 2-2 4, Chivers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-55 18-23 43. Halftime-UMBC, 26-19. 3-point-goals-UMBC 2-18 (Wilson 1-4, Washington 1-6, Hatcher 0-2, Gogerty 0-6); Loyola 1-15 (Bossman 1-5, Chatman 0-2, Jordan 0-2, Bell 0-2, Thomas 0-2, Allen 0-2). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-UMBC 37 (Feeley 6); Loyola 42 (Allen 11). Assists-UMBC 9 (Wilson 4); Loyola 2 (Jordan, Bell). Total fouls-UMBC 21; Loyola 19. A-na.