Men's basketball blown out in dismal performance

The energy in the Lundholm Gymnasium for Wednesday night's men's basketball game was all but absent, as the Retrievers of UMBC overpowered the Wildcats in a 79-50 rout.
UNH now must look to recover in their final regular season matchup in a game against conference-leading Stony Brook, who defeated Vermont on Wednesday for their 21st win of the season.
With the loss, New Hampshire falls to 11-16 on the season, with a 5-10 mark in America East. UMBC, who still remains in the basement of the AE standings at 4-15 (3-13 AE), showed that their record does not reflect their talent and depth by taking it to the Wildcats on Wednesday.
The Retrievers won only two conference games before the matchup with the Wildcats, but those two were crucial wins over Maine in Orono (where the Wildcats lost by 14, 56-42) and in Hartford, where UNH fell 56-53.
And with one game left against a Stony Brook team that is now 13-2 in America East, the Wildcats have little time to straighten out any uncertainties before it comes time for first round America East tournament action.
UNH head coach Bill Herrion was unavailable for comment after the game.
The Wildcats jumped out ahead very early in the game on a pair of free throws by sophomore Russell Graham. That would be the only lead UNH would enjoy for the duration of the contest.
A layup from sophomore Chauncey Gilliam and a 3-pointer by the lone Retriever senior Matt Spadafora would give UMBC the lead.
Untimely turnovers and missed layup chances by the Wildcats resulted in fast break opportunities and offensive possessions that ultimately were the deciding factor in the blowout.
The Retrievers went into halftime with a commanding 44-26 lead. Sophomore point guard Chris De La Rosa of UMBC had 16 points to lead all scorers in the first half on 5-8 shooting from the floor. Freshman Ferg Myrick had seven points off the bench to lead the Wildcats.
De La Rosa picked up in the second half right where he left off, knocking down a long two-point jumper and giving UMBC a 20-point lead.      
Junior Tyrone Conley tried to will the crowd back to life by receiving several high-flying alley-oops from junior Alvin Abreu and Graham. Although the dunks awakened the crowd for the time being, the damage had already been done, and any comeback attempts were foiled by UMBC's 16 made field goals in the second half.
Junior forward Dane DiLiegro struggled offensively, shooting 2-10 from the floor and 0-2 from the free-throw line. After starting the game, he played just four minutes in the second half.
The Retrievers continued to pull ahead by greater and greater margins on 55.2 percent shooting for the game. De La Rosa ended his night with 23 points, seven assists and three rebounds. Conley led the Wildcats with 17 points and six rebounds, while Myrick followed right behind him with 15 points and five rebounds.
In the end, the Retrievers proved themselves to the rest of the conference by entering Durham and handing the Wildcats their worst loss since last year's Lundholm matchup against Vermont.
The Wildcats return to action Sunday at the Lundholm against the Seawolves of Stony Brook. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
After the Wildcats game, UNH graduates and former players Tyrece Gibbs and Eric Gilchrese return to the Lundholm with the Manchester Millrats, a Premiere Basketball League team, to play the Rochester Razorsharks.