UMBC Retrieves America East Title
UMBC 82, Hartford 65
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Sunday, March 16, 2008; Page D09
CATONSVILLE, Md., March 15 -- Confetti began falling in the final minute and the sellout crowd came to its feet and began roaring.
The noise grew as UMBC players celebrated on the court Saturday while running out the final seconds of a victory that earned the team its first trip to the NCAA tournament.
Darryl Proctor led the way, scoring 23 points in UMBC's 82-65 victory over Hartford in the America East tournament championship game.
UMBC (24-8) was playing in its first title game since starting Division I play in 1986. The Retrievers, who won the America East regular season title, also set a school record for victories with the win.
"We have had our sights on this goal all season, and we weren't going to let Hartford or any other team get in the way of that," said UMBC guard Jay Greene, named the tournament's most valuable player.
Proctor went 10 for 14 from the field and made several tough shots in traffic. Ray Barbosa added 14 points and Greene had 12 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
Brian Hodges missed about a month after spraining his ankle late in the season and hadn't found his touch until Saturday. He went 5 for 10 from the field and finished with 13 points.
"We just came out pretty comfortable and loose," Hodges said. "We knocked down our shots."
The Retrievers took command early, going on a 20-point run to take a 28-6 lead with 9 minutes 20 seconds left in the first half. UMBC made 14 of its first 18 shots from the field as Hartford never recovered from a dry spell of more than seven minutes.
UMBC bounced back from a poor shooting performance in last weekend's semifinal victory over Vermont to make 68 percent from the field in the first half and 59 percent overall.
Hartford (18-16) was only 9 of 25 from the field (36 percent) as UMBC took a 41-23 halftime lead.
