Another day, another Houdini act for the UMBC Retrievers.
Their big men, Darryl Proctor and Justin Fry, were in serious foul trouble. They were weathering a storm of threes from visiting Boston University. Ray Barbosa's three-point shot wasn't falling.
And still the Retrievers found a way to outlast the Terriers, 76-73, yesterday for their sixth straight win to maintain a 1 1/2 -game lead in the America East.
Still missing sharpshooter Brian Hodges - out for a fourth straight game with a high ankle sprain - things got worse for the Retrievers (18-7, 10-2) before they got better.
When Fry fouled out with 5:12 to play, UMBC fell behind 65-63. Its six-man rotation was down to five - and the fab five not only finished the game but also managed to pull it out.
They won because it was Barbosa's turn to step up. The senior guard scored seven of his game-high 26 points in the final five minutes, two on a jump hook, and added a huge steal.
"My three wasn't falling, so I tried to attack the basket and get to the foul line," Barbosa said. "The team was finding me on cuts."
In a game of matching five-game winning streaks, there were 19 lead changes and seven ties. There were 12 lead changes in the frantic second half when Boston (10-15, 7-6) led by as many as four points and as late as the 3:42 mark after Corey Lowe (21 points, six assists) delivered a put-back of his own miss.
Barbosa's jump hook got a tie, and after a steal by Cavell Johnson, he dropped a bank shot for a 69-67 lead. A dunk by Johnson (19 points) off a pass from Proctor sent Boston into chase mode.
The Retrievers got their last five points at the foul line, three from Barbosa and two from Johnson. The Terriers committed four turnovers in the final three minutes.
After beating the Terriers by 22 points Jan. 22, UMBC was able to survive the Terriers' 12-for-23 shooting from the arc.
"It was a gut-it-out, grind-it-out kind of game," UMBC coach Randy Monroe said. "Lowe definitely makes a difference. I thought Jay Greene played as well as you could play him."
Greene delivered a 14-point, five-assist, two-steal game.
"Any team's mind-set is you want to get crucial stops and make plays," he said. "We deserve to be where we're at right now."
ken.murray@baltsun.com
BOSTON UNIVERSITY-Wolff 3-4 1-3 8, Brittain 3-10 7-8 13, Lowe 8-16 1-2 21, Holland 6-15 0-0 15, Morris 5-7 0-0 14, Sirutis 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Gotzler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 9-13 73. UMBC-Fry 1-5 1-2 3, Proctor 1-7 4-7 6, Greene 5-6 0-0 14, Spadafora 3-4 1-2 8, Barbosa 7-13 11-13 26, Johnson 8-11 2-2 19. Totals 25-46 19-26 76. Half-U 38-35. 3-point goals-B 12-23 (Morris 4-5, Lowe 4-8, Holland 3-9, Wolff 1-1), U 7-14 (Greene 4-5, Spadafora 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Barbosa 1-5). Fouled out-Fry. Rebounds-B 27 (Brittain 8), U 24 (Fry, Johnson 5). Assists-B 15 (Lowe 6), U 14 (Greene 5). Total Fouls-B 21, U 16. A-3,492.