Benimon, who shot 4-for-8 from the field, added three assists, two blocks and two steals to his stat line. Junior Mike Burwell and freshman Jerome Hairston led the team in scoring with 14 points each. Burwell shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and Hairston dished out a team-high five assists in the loss.
Playing in its seventh straight game away from home, Towson (3-4) tied the score in the second half after giving up the first nine points of the contest to dig itself an early hole.
A Burwell three-pointer at the 13:16 mark of the second half brought the score even for the first time since the opening tip. After a UMBC (2-5) bucket on the ensuing possession, Burwell would drive the lane to tie the game once again at 36 less than a minute later.
UMBC, which shot 14-for-29 (48.3%) in the second half, never let the Tigers take the lead though, netting the games next six points to go up 42-36 midway through the second stanza.
The Retriever lead ballooned to 10 with 5:13 remaining, but Towson fought back once again to make it a one-possession game with 28 seconds remaining. However, UMBC’s Ryan Cook made four free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the win for the home team.
Cook led UMBC with a game-high 22 points, including 10-for-10 shooting from the free throw line. Chase Plummer and Brett Roseboro each recorded double-doubles for the Retrievers.
Towson, which leads the Colonial Athletic Association in rebounding margin and has not lost the battle of the boards since the first game of the season, held a 43-34 edge on the glass against UMBC. The Tigers were hurt though by 17 turnovers, matching a season-high in the category.
Towson was without the services of junior forward Marcus Damas Saturday due to injury. Entering the game, Damas was Towson’s third leading scorer (8.8 ppg) and rebounder (4.8 rpg).
The Tigers remain on the road, next playing at the University of Vermont on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
-TowsonTigers.com-
