UMBC men's basketball coach Aki Thomas is understandably worried about the team's four-game losing skid, which includes a 0-2 start in the America East. The way the Retrievers (2-13) have dropped back-to-back games to UMass Lowell and New Hampshire has been particularly disconcerting.
In a 73-61 overtime loss to Lowell on Wednesday and a 63-60 loss to New Hampshire on Sunday, UMBC struggled in the second half.
Trailing 36-34 at halftime Wednesday, the Retrievers scored just 27 points in the second half and overtime, and UMass Lowell scored 37.
UMBC held a slim 23-22 halftime lead against New Hampshire, but the Wildcats shot 57.1 percent from the floor – including 45.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc – to outscore the Retrievers, 41-37.
"We've come out flat in both games after the half," Thomas said Monday. "It's something I've talked about with my staff, and it's something I talked about with the guys last night. We'll make some adjustments with some of the things that we do. But we have to figure out how to come out of the half ready to play. Those first four minutes of the second half, we always talk about being really crucial points of the game. When other teams make their run, we need to make our run so that we can finish off games strong."
Thomas said he and the coaches are reviewing everything from how much time the players spend in the locker room at halftime to what in-game adjustments the team is trying to implement.
"So we're looking at a little bit of everything right now to try to find out what the issue is," he said. "We'll find it, and once we do, hopefully, we'll be a better team for it."
UMBC is digging a hole behind conference leaders Albany (8-7, 3-0 America East) and Vermont (7-8, 3-0), which would seem to ramp up the importance of Wednesday night's game at Stony Brook (10-7, 1-1).
"Now we're headed up to Stony Brook, and we've got to continue to play well and get this group better as a unit," Thomas said. "I think the wins will come. I think we're doing things better than we were to end our non-conference [schedule]. So we'll keep working hard, and things will work out."