basketball hoop in basketball court
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (AP) —Rafael Pinzon had 22 points in Bryant’s 85-74 win over UMBC on Saturday in an opening-round, quarterfinal of the America East Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs secured the No. 1 seed for the first time since joining the league, snapping Vermont’s eight year run earning at least a share of the title. The bracket will be reseeded at the conclusion of quarterfinal play. The semis start Tuesday.

Pinzon shot 8 for 20 (3 for 10 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs (21-11). Earl Timberlake scored 18 points while finishing 8 of 15 from the floor and added seven rebounds and eight assists. Kvonn Cramer shot 5 of 6 from the field to finish with 12 points, while adding 12 rebounds.

Marcus Banks led the way for the eighth-seeded Retrievers (13-19) with 24 points and nine rebounds. UMBC also got 14 points and two steals from Anthony Valentine. Josh Odunowo finished with 13 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...