UMBC falls short in final

Top-seeded Vermont dashes NCAA hopes

The offense that had fueled the UMBC men’s basketball team’s success this winter disappeared, and so too did the program’s hope of reaching the NCAA tournament.

The No. 2 seed Retrievers’ shooting touch was as frigid as the weather around Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont, as they were trounced by top-seeded Vermont, 82-43, on Saturday afternoon before an announced 3,266 in the America East tournament final.

The 39-point difference is the largest in a conference championship since 1989 when South Alabama defeated Jacksonville by 46, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

The Catamounts (28-5), who had lost to only one conference opponent this season and captured their sixth consecutive regular-season title, earned their third tournament championship in the past four years and ninth overall.

UMBC (18-14) fell short of its third tournament championship after victories in 2008 and 2018. The loss prevented coach Jim Ferry from joining Becker and Northeastern’s Karl Fogel as firstyear coaches who guided their respective teams to the title.

Senior point guard Darnell Rogers Jr. was the only Retrievers player to reach double digits in points with 10.

Women

Delaware 56, Towson 55: Tyi Skinner hit two free throws with four-tenths of a second left to lift Delaware women’s basketball over Towson, 56-55, in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Tigers (24-7) trailed for most of the game but threatened to make another fourth-quarter comeback.

After beating Northeastern, 58-49, behind a 23-4 run in Friday’s quarterfinal, the Tigers outscored the Blue Hens 17-14 in the final period.

Tarriyonna Gary hit a 3-pointer to give Towson a 55-54 lead with 11 seconds left, but she was whistled for a loose-ball foul while trying to secure a rebound just before time expired after a missed layup by Ty Battle. The officials reviewed the play and determined the foul occurred before the final buzzer sounded.

Gary and Kylie Kornegay-Lucas each finished with 15 points for the Tigers, who won the CAA tournament title in 2019.

Jasmine Dickey (Catonsville), who ranks third nationally with 25.1 points per game, had a game-high 22 points for Delaware (23-7), which advances to face Drexel (26-4) in Sunday’s championship at 1 p.m.