BALTIMORE- UMBC freshman attackman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) tallied a team season-best six points and sophomore netminder Wes DiRito  (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) collected 15 saves in his first home start as the host Retrievers defeated High Point, 16-11, at UMBC Stadium.

UMBC improved to 2-4 on the season, including 2-0 at home, while High Point, in its first year of NCAA Division I varsity competition, fell to 2-6.

UMBC’s special teams were outstanding as the Retrievers scored on all four of its extra-man chances, while denying High Point on all six of the Panthers’ opportunities.

Lewnes scored two goals and added four assists to pace the attack for UMBC. Senior attackman Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) scored three goals for the Retrievers and added a pair of assists. Four Retrievers- freshman Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch (Va.), junior Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul’s), senior Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) and junior David Campbell (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)- each scored two goals for UMBC.

High Point freshman attackmen Dan Lomas and Adam Seal each scored three goals.

The Retrievers had not scored the game’s first goal in 2013, but burst from the gates and took a 4-0 advantage by the 9:03 mark of the first quarter. Campbell opened the scoring on an unassisted goal 4:14 into the proceedings ,getting to the inside and beating HPU netminder Austin Geisler. Lewnes made it 2-0, converting a Zach Linkous feed at the 5:39 mark and Retriever junior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) won the ensuing draw and scored six seconds later to push the margin to 3-0. Young capped the run before Panther sophomore attackman Matt Thistle closed the scoring for the quarter with 1:35 remaining.

Thistle’s goal started a 5-2 response by High Point as the visitors cut the Retriever advantage to 6-5 on Lomas’ 20th goal of the season
at the 8:43 mark of the second stanza. But UMBC answered with a 3-0 surge in a span of 2:04 on goals by Campbell, Linkous and Gregoire to take a 9-5 advantage. Lomas scored the final goal of the half with 1:51 to play in the quarter and UMBC took  a9-6 advantage to the locker room .

The Panthers closed to within a pair of goals twice in the third quarter, outscoring the Retrievers, 3-2, in the stanza.

UMBC led, 11-9, after 45 minutes, but scored twice in the first 3:24 of the fourth quarter and added two more in a 34-second span in the
middle of the stanza to take control. Senior attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) caught the High Point defense off-guard and came from behind the net to score a man-up goal 73 seconds into the quarter to give the Retrievers a 12-9 advantage and Jones finished a Young feed to push the advantage to 13-9. Gregoire, Linkous  and Young recorded the final three scores for the Retrievers as the team tallied a season-high in goals.

DiRito made 10 of his 15 saves in the second and fourth quarters. Geisler stopped 10 UMBC shots as the visitors outshot the hosts,
41-35.

Jones scored three or more goals in a game for the 15th time in his career.

UMBC continues its three-game homestand when the squad welcomes Towson to UMBC Stadium on Tuesday evening. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

UMBC Men’s Lacrosse
Game 6: UMBC vs. High Point, Sat., March 16, 2013, 1:00 p.m.

UMBC returns home for the first time since Feb. 26 to begin a three-game homestand before America East play begins on March 30. The
Retrievers face High Point (2-5) University on Sat., March 16 in the first of three games in an eight-day span. Don Zimmerman fs squad will welcome local rivals Towson (March 19) and Mount St. Mary’s (March 23) before opening league play at Hartford on March 30. The contest vs. a young, talented Panther squad faces off at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday. All UMBC home lacrosse games are streamed in high definition on www.umbcretrievers.tv.

UMBC is coming off a 13-7 setback at No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Friday evening at Homewood Field. The Retrievers fell behind 5-0 after one quarter before going toe-to-toe with the Blue Jays for the final 45 minutes. In an eleven-day span, UMBC faced No. 4 Loyola (Feb. 26), No. 13 Fairfield, and No. 6 Johns Hopkins (March 8)- all on the road.

Senior attackman Scott Jones leads UMBC with nine goals and ten points scored. Freshman Pat Young posted his second two-goal game vs. Johns Hopkins and has seven goals in 2013. Sophomore Wes DiRito made his first collegiate start against the Blue Jays and went the distance, making nine stops.

TOP DOG: Head Coach Don Zimmerman enters his 20th season at UMBC in 2013. The Retriever mentor stood eighth in victories (213) and 15th in winning percentage (60.7%) amongst active Division I coaches after the 2012 campaign. The win over Binghamton on April 10, 2010 was the 200th in the career of UMBC head coach Don Zimmerman. He is now 214-139 in his 27th year as a collegiate mentor. He coached his 250th game at UMBC vs. Hartford on May 4, 2011.

The UMBC men’s lacrosse team has selected seniors Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox), Neill Lewnes (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s), and Ethan Murphy (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) as its captains or the 2012-13 academic year. Jones and Murphy will serve as team captains for the second consecutive year.

In addition, senior attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) has been tabbed by the coaching staff as a 2013 team captain.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: Freshman Dan Lomas scored six goals to lead the High Point University (2-5) men’s lacrosse team to 13-10 win over Michigan in their last action on Wednesday, March 6 at Vert Stadium. Sophomore Matt Thistle added three goals and three assists in the win. Lomas (19g, 2a) and Thistle (10g, 11a) are tied for the team lead with 21 points apiece. Goalkeeper Austin Geisler Tis ranked sixth in the nation with 14.14 saves per game and 13th with a save percentage of 58.2. The first-year program’s other win occurred vs. Towson at Vert Stadium, a 9-7 victory on Feb. 8. Three of their five losses have been by three goals or less to Delaware (12-10), St. Joseph’s (8-5) and Jacksonville (9-8).

ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the first meeting between UMBC and High Point.

NOTE: High Point associate head coach Pat Tracy was an assistant coach at UMBC for four seasons (2008-2011).

UP NEXT: UMBC has a quick turnaround and will play its final mid-week game of the season on Tues., March 19 when they welcome the Towson Tigers to UMBC Stadium. The opening face-off is set for 7:35 p.m.

Honorable Mention: Golf-PGA Tour Tampa Bay Championship (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel Saturday 1:30pm live on Golf Channel 3pm live on NBC Sunday 1pm live on Golf Channel 3pm live on NBC), Champions Tour Toshiba Classic (Saturday 2:30pm Sunday 3pm from Newport Beach, CA live on Golf Channel), LPGA Tour RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup (Thursday & Friday 6:30pm Saturday & Sunday 4pm from Phoenix, AZ live on Golf Channel); Auto Racing: NASCAR Food City 500 (Sunday 12pm from Bristol, TN live on FOX); Tennis: ATP Tour WTA Tour BNP Paribas Open (Tuesday & Wednesday 1:30pm Thursday 1:30pm & 10pm live on Tennis Channel Friday 6:30pm & 9:30pm live on Tennis Channel 4:30pm & 11:30pm live on ESPN2 Saturday 3pm & 5pm live on ESPNNews 8:30pm live on Tennis Channel Sunday 3pm & 5pm live on ESPN2); College Football: Towson Pro Day (Tuesday Unitas Stadium), Maryland Pro Day (Wednesday Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium); Boxing: Timothy Bradly vs. Ruslan Provodnikov (Saturday 10:15pm from Carson, CA live on HBO); Women’s College Basketball: NCAA Tournament Selection Monday (Monday 7pm live on ESPN)

10. Rihanna (Tuesday 7:30pm 1st Mariner Arena); P!nk (Thursday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Trapt (Tuesday 8pm Rams Head Live), Drive By Truckers (Sunday 8pm Rams Head Live); Better Than Ezra (Saturday 7pm Power Plant Live); Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Wednesday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage); Dr. John (Tuesday 8pm Rams Head on Stage), Average White Band (Thursday 8pm Rams Head on Stage), Marshall Tucker Band (Sunday 7:30pm Rams Head on Stage); Finch (Thursday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Dropkick Murphys/Carbon Leaf (Friday 7am 9:30 Club), Citizen Cope (Friday 8pm 9:30 Club); George Thorogood & The Destroyers (Tuesday 7:30pm Birchmere); Slick Rick/Rakim (Friday 8pm Howard Theatre); Shamrockfest feat. Sublime with Rome/Virginia Coalition/Carbon Leaf (Saturday 12:45pm RFK Stadium); Sound City: Real to Reel soundtrack available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

You already know damn well I’ll be wandering over to see Better Than Ezra after the Blast game Saturday night.

Despite not particularly enjoying much of anything else in the genre, I really flipping loved “What It Is To Burn” by Finch. I’d go see this show.

Spending a day in the parking lot at RFK Stadium? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Unless Virginia Coalition is involved. (Sorry for the video quality.)

I legitimately CANNOT get enough Sound City in my life. Dave Grohl is a rock God, but you already knew that.

9. Lewis Black (Saturday 8pm Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric); Bill Bellamy (Thursday-Saturday  Baltimore Comedy Factory); Pablo Francisco (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); “Life of Pi” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 25th Anniversary Edition” available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday); “Spring Breakers” and “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” out in theaters (Friday); Glenn Clark’s St. Patrick’s Day plans (Sunday parts unknown)

Yes. We ALL feel the same way about Jessica Rabbit. We just agree not to talk about it so that people don’t talk about us behind our backs.

We CAN however discuss the cast of Spring Breakers if you’d like.

And before we leave this part of the show, BANGERS AND EFFING MASH! ERIN GO BRAGH!

(Continued on Page 2…)

Game Dates: Saturday, Feb. 23 2013
Opponent: High Point Panthers
Site: Millis Center, High Point, N.C.
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Record:  MSU 9-14 (6-6 MEAC); HPU 16-10 (11-3 Big South)
Series Record: First meeting
MSU Coach: Todd Bozeman (119-99 – 7th yr)
Websites: MorganStateBears.com/HighPointPanthers.com

Morgan State will head to High Point (N.C.) to face the High Point Panthers in an ESPN Bracketbusters matchup on Saturday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Millis Center. The Bears had its three-game winning streak snapped following a 52-50 conference loss at Delaware State on Monday night in Dover. DeWayne Jackson and Justin Black were held to 10 points apiece. High Point defeated VMI 78-67 in Lexington on Tuesday night. John Brown led the Panthers with 21 points (10-16 FG) and nine rebounds. The meeting with High Point will be the first between the schools.

Bear Bits:

• Coach Todd Bozeman has directed the Bears to the most regular-season conference wins with 101.

• Senior forward DeWayne Jackson eclipsed the 500 rebound mark – he recorded seven boards at UMES and currently ranks No. 10 in school history with 515 career rebounds.

• After opening the season with a 71 point effort in a win against UTSA, the Bears have gone 9-14 while averaging 67 points and 44 percent shooting.

• Morgan State, who shot 67.6 percent from the line last season, continues to have hard times from the stripe … through the first 23 games the Bears are ranked last in the conference by shooting 58 percent (302-518 FT).

• The Bears, who held UMES to 4 of 22 from 3-point range, have allowed an average of 68 points and opponents are shooting 30 percent from 3-point territory.

• Morgan State shot a season-high 59.7 percent against Md.-Eastern Shore, including a season best 63.6 percent from 3-point territory, with 12 steals and nine blocked shots.

• DeWayne Jackson has scored 322 points in 23 games and ranks among the MEAC’s scoring leaders ranked No. 5 (14.0 ppg).

• Justin Black was just shy of posting a triple-double at Liberty. The junior guard finished with a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points and nine assists … he has been the Bears leading scorer in 10 of the last 15 games scoring at 13.9 ppg.

• DeWayne Jackson is ranked among the top theft artists in school history. Jackson has collected 160 steals with the Bears and currently ranks No. 3 (No. 2 in the MEAC). The school record for career steals is held by Terrence Wright (1992-96) with 186 career steals … Jackson is 27 steals away from becoming the school’s new leader.

• Shaquille Duncan leads the Bears in blocked shots. The sophomore ranks T-No. 5 (40) in the MEAC by averaging 2.1 blocks per game.

• The combination of DeWayne Jackson, Anthony Hubbard and Justin Black have provided almost 60 percent of the scoring for the Bears so far this season.

• The Bears’ first 10 games of the 2012-13 season were on the road where they finished 3-7.

• The Bears used seven different lineups this season, but Coach Bozeman has used a lineup 11 times this season that puts DeWayne Jackson at forward with Justin Black, Blake Bozeman, Anthony Hubbard and Ian Chiles.

• Redshirt junior Ian Chiles, who stands at 7-foot-2, 270-pounds, enters Saturday’s contest with 484 career points and 88 blocked shots … he’s currently averaging 9.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg.

LAST TIME IN BRACKETBUSTERS
February, 28, 2012 — Senior swingman Aric Brooks scored 18 points and hot-shooting Morgan State coasted to an 81-69 win over Liberty. The Bears, who came into the game shooting 41.4 percent from the field, made 55.1 percent (27 of 49) of their shots, including 8 of 13 from 3-point range. DeWayne Jackson and Justin Black each added 15 points for the Bears (6-18), who snapped five-game losing streak. It was Morgan State’s most points scored in regulation this season.
Morgan State built its biggest lead of 22 points with 3:15 to play in the first half of the Bracket Busters game on the strength of 15-of-24 shooting during the first 20 minutes.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Panthers welcome back six veterans, including two starters, from a squad that posted a 13-18 overall record, finished T-6th in the Big South with a 8-10 ledger. John Moore, a 6-7 redshirt-freshman, leads the Panthers in scoring and blocks by averaging 16.6 points and 1.3 assists per game. Allan Chaney (14.3 ppg) leads High Point on the glass averaging 7.9 rpg. Head coach Scott Cherry (North Carolina ’93) enters his 4th season as the Panthers’ head coach and he currently holds a 56-62 (.474) record.

MORGAN STATE TABBED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Morgan State was picked to finish third in the 2012-13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s basketball preseason poll behind Savannah State and Delaware State.

JACKSON AND CHILES EARN PRESEASON HONORS
Morgan State senior DeWayne Jackson was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Junior center Ian Chiles was selected to the Second Team.

UNFAMILIAR FOES
Morgan State will face six teams this season that the program has never met in its basketball history. The first time opponents are: UTSA, Old Dominion, Holy Cross, South Carolina, Illinois State and San Diego. The Bears do not see a familiar foe until the Nov. 29 matchup at Liberty (MSU leads, 1-0), their fifth game of the season. The other five opponents MSU previously has played are University of Virginia (trails, 0-1), Loyola Marymount (leads, 2-0), and Saint Joseph’s (trails, 0-1).

JACKSON SET TO LEAD
DeWayne Jackson is the lone returning senior who saw action for Morgan State last year. There are seven (7) juniors, four (4) sophomores and two (2) freshmen on the Bears roster.

RECOVERING THE SWAG
The Bears will look to rebound from last year’s dismal season in which the Bears recorded a 9-20 finish. It marked Todd Bozeman‘s worst season as a head coach, and it was Morgan State’s worst season since going 4-26 in 2005-06.

JACKSON AND CHILES EARN PRESEASON HONORS
Morgan State senior DeWayne Jackson was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Junior center Ian Chiles was selected to the Second Team.

JACKSON CLIMBING THE MSU RECORD BOOK
DeWayne Jackson (1,478, 515 rebs., 162 asts) needs 33 points to surpass Harry Johnson (1,500 points – 1958-62) to become the school’s No. 8 all-time leading scorer. Jackson is one of three Bears on MSU’s all-time scoring list who have been coached by Todd Bozeman. Kevin Thompson(2009-12) ranks No. 9 (1,487 points) and Reggie Holmes (2007-10) is the school’s all-time scoring leader with 2,051 points.

HOME GROWN
Morgan State has eight players from the Metropolitan-D.C. area, including one from Baltimore. Senior DeWayne Jackson (Bowie High) and sophomore Blake Bozeman (Solebury Prep) are both from Bowie. Transfer guard Daryl Traynham is from Melwood (Wise High), walk-on Daon Riley is from Severn (Old Mill High), and Cedric Blossom is from Columbia (Montrose Christian). Anthony Hubbard is a product of Woodbridge (Va.), while junior Justin Black attended DeMatha High, Willis Turnipseed played at City High, and Donte Pretlow was a standout at Dunbar High in Baltimore.

BOZEMAN WIN PERCENTAGE AT MSU
Todd Bozeman, now in his seventh season as head coach of the Bears, has an overall win percentage of .548 (119-98) after 217 games at Morgan State. That winning mean is the second highest among 15 head coaches in the history of the Morgan State men’s basketball program. Nathaniel Frazier’s winning percentage of .578 (166-121) is the highest percentage in Morgan State history.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS UNDER BOZEMAN
During his tenure in Baltimore, Todd Bozeman has coached seven (7) different players to All-Conference honors, including four Players of the Year selections: Ron Timus (2007 2nd Team), Boubacar Coly (2008 Defensive POTY, 1st Team), Jamar Smith (2008 Offensive POTY, 1st Team), Marquise Kately (2008 & 2009 2nd Team), Reggie Holmes (2007 All-Rookie, 2008 2nd Team, 2009 Offensive POTY, 2009 & 2010 1st Team), Kevin Thompson (2009 All-Rookie, 2010 Defensive POTY, 2010 1st Team, 2011 2nd Team), DeWayne Jackson (Rookie of the Year, 2011 1st Team).

THREE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
In the first 22 games of the season, three Bears average more than 12 points a game DeWayne Jackson leads with 14.0 points per game, while Justin Black is averaging 13.9 ppg. Anthony Hubbard is averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds on the boards.

JACKSON DOING A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING 
Senior DeWayne Jackson is filling the stat sheet this season, averaging 14.0 points (ranked No. 5), 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals (ranked No. 2) per game. Jackson has also registered 18 blocks. He has recorded 21 double-digit scoring games, including a season-high 32-point effort at Virginia (Dec. 19).

HIGH CLASS ON THE GLASS
Morgan State ranks No. 1 in the MEAC averaging 15 offensive rebounds per game and has recorded double-digit offensive boards in 19 of 22 games. MSU averaged 12.1 offensive rebounds per game last season.

Opening Face-Off
Towson men’s lacrosse opens the 2013 season at High Point. Last season the Tigers lost in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament, 10-3, to No. 1 UMass after finishing the regular season 7-7, 2-4 CAA.  Opening faceoff is set for 3 p.m. and all the action can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Towson Lacrosse finished 2012 with a 7-8 overall record, 2-4 in the CAA. The Tigers lost to No. 1 UMass, 10-3, in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. Towson improved its record from 3-10 overall and 1-5 in league games in 2011. The Tigers return junior Thomas DeNapoli, who started all 15 games and scored 15 goals and posted 13 assists for 28 points. Senior Matt Hughes is also back for the Tigers. He played in all 15 games, scoring 14 goals and tallying 10 assists for 24 points. Senior Andrew Wascavage is returns in goal for Towson. He started 13 games last year, posting a 9.57 goals-against-average and making 159 saves.

Scouting the Panthers
High Point men’s lacrosse came up short in its program opener against Delaware on Feb. 2 at home. The Panthers outscored Delaware in the fourth quarter, but fell to the Blue Hens, 12-10. Freshman Dan Lomas led High Point with five goals, and sophomore Matt Thistle had a team-high three assists. Redshirt sophomore goalie Austin Geisler made 14 saves in the loss.

Towson-High Point Series History
This is the first-ever meeting between the teams.