West Hartford, Conn.- Ninth-seeded Binghamton defeated
No. 8 UMBC, 73-67, in overtime in the first round of the America
East Tournament.
UMBC rallied from 11 points down with less than eight minutes
remaining and sent the game to overtime, but could not
defeat Binghamton for the third time this season.
With the loss, the Retrievers finish the season at
4-26. Binghamton (2-28) advances to face No. 1 Stony
Brook in the quarterfinals.
Junior guard Brian Neller (Red
Bank, N.J.) led UMBC with 18 points. Sophomore forward Chase Plummer
(Plainview, N.J.) added 17 points and four steals and junior
guard Ryan
Cook (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) added 15 points and a
season-high 10 rebounds.
Binghamton freshman post Ben Dickinson led all scorers with
21 points and added 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocked
shots.
The Bearcats led, 55-44, with 7:58 remaining, but the Retrievers
outscored Binghamton, 14-3 down the stretch. Trailing 58-57
inside the final minute, Plummer was fouled after collecting a
steal on the defensive end, but converted only the first of two
free throws to tie the score. After a Bearcat missed jumper, the
Retrievers had the final chance in regulation, but a wildJarell
Lane shot was off the mark and a Jake Wasco tip
attempt missed at the buzzer.
In overtime, Neller gave UMBC a 63-62 lead with a three-pointer
with 3:32 remaining, but put-backs by Dickinson and Jabrille
Williams on the next two possessions put the Bearcats ahead to
stay.
UMBC did have one last chance, as the Retrievers got possession
down by 70-67 with 34 seconds remaining. But a Joey Getz
three-point attempt was off the mark with 20 ticks left and the
Bearcats sealed the win with three free throws in the final
seconds.
The Retrievers shot poorly from the field and the charity stripe
throughout the 45 minutes of play. UMBC hit 26 of 75 shots from the
floor (34.7 percent), just 6-of-26 from behind the arc and missed 7
of 16 free throw attempts.
Binghamton hit the same number of field goals (26) in 14
fewer attempts than UMBC (42.6%) and hit 17 of 25 shots from the
line. They outscored UMBC, 20-15, in second-chance points.
The first half was tightly-contested with six ties and five lead
changes in the first 20 minutes. With the score tied at 13-all
midway through the stanza, Cook scored three consecutive field
goals to give UMBC 19-13 advantage with 8:42 remaining. UMBC led,
23-17, but Binghamtoncountered with a 9-0 surge and
took 26-23 advantage at the 3:50 mark of the half. The Bearcats
dominated in the paint and took 31-30 lead into intermission.
Wasco is the lone senior on the UMBC squad, while the Bearcat
squad featured no seniors.
UMBC lost all three overtime contests they were involved in
during the 2011-12 campaign.
