CATONSVILLE, Md. (AP) Chris Pugh's 3-pointer erased a Navy lead with 1:13 remaining in the second half as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County rallied past the Midshipmen 67-61 Friday night.
The Retrievers (1-0) won their sixth consecutive season opener and gave Randy Monroe, a UMBC assistant coach for 10 seasons, his first victory as a head coach.
David Hooper led Navy (0-1) with 16 points and Laramie Mergerson added 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Midshipmen lost in the debut of coach Billy Lange, the former Villanova assistant who replaced Don DeVoe after last season.
Cory McJimson scored 14 points for the Retrievers, who wasted a 10-point second-half lead and were 15-for-32 from the foul line. Rob Gogerty had 12 points and Pugh added 11.
Navy took a 60-58 lead on Mergerson's 12-foot jumper with 1:43 left in the game, but Pugh was fouled on a 3-pointer, giving UMBC the lead and a chance to add to it. Pugh missed the ensuing free throw, but Andrew Feeley's baseline layup off Gogerty's feed made it 63-60 with 47.8 seconds left.
The Midshipmen started 4-for-19 from the field, committed 16 first-half turnovers and trailed 33-26 at halftime despite 11 points from Hooper.
UMBC broke open a sloppy but close game with a 14-2 run midway through the first half. Chris Pugh scored the first five points of the spree on a right-wing 3-pointer and a transition layup off a steal.
Taj Matthews' 3-pointer cut the lead to 33-29 to open the second half, but UMBC scored three straight transition baskets to go up by 10.
Midway through the second half, Matt Fannin scored four unanswered points, sparking a 12-1 Navy burst. Consecutive 3-pointers by Matthews ended the run and provided a 46-44 lead, the Midshipmen's first of the night.
