University of Maine
Binghamton
Men's Basketball Comes Back to Win Seventh-Straight
1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
VESTAL, N.Y.--The University of Maine men's basketball team came back from a 22-point deficit in the first half to defeat Binghamton 77-74 on Saturday night at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. With the win, Maine's seventh-straight, the Black Bears are now 14-7 overall and 8-1 in America East while Binghamton falls to 6-16 and 3-6 in league play.
The Bearcats came out on fire, taking a 13-4 lead just over four minutes into the game. They would push the lead to 25-10 with 11:34 left in the first half.
A Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif.) three-pointer would make it 31-17 with just over eight minutes to play, but the hot-shooting Bearcats would take a 39-17 lead with just under seven minutes to play.
The Black Bears chipped away, and would make it 42-24 on a McLemore three-pointer with 4:22 left in the half.
Maine would close the half on an 8-to-3 run to cut it to 45-32 at halftime.
McLemore had 11 points and three rebounds to lead Maine in the first half while Troy Barnies (Auburn, Maine) added five points and three rebounds.
McLemore made a deep three to open the second half for Maine, and Maine continued to chip away, closing the gap to 54-43, before the Bearcats made a three tough three after going into a Black Bear defender.
A Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario) tip-in and Raheem Singleton (Boston, Mass.) fast break layup off a steal made it 57-48 with 15 minutes left.
The Black Bears got a stop, and Barnies made a nice pass from the block to Burnatowski for a ferocious dunk with 14:19 left that made it 57-50 Binghamton.
Two Singleton free throws made it a five-point game, but the Bearcats answered to regain a seven-point edge.
The teams traded baskets, and with 11 minutes left Binghamton held a 61-54 lead. The teams again traded baskets, but the Black Bears were able to get a stop and a Barnies dunk made it a 63-58 game.
Maine got a defensive rebound, and Singleton raced down the court to make it 63-60 with nine minutes left. Terrance Mitchell (Milton, Fla.) answered a Bearcat three-pointer to make it 66-63, and the teams traded jumpers to remain a three-point game with 6:20 left.
Barnies made it a 71-69 game with just over four minutes to play on a fastbreak layup from Singleton. Singleton then tied it with 3:20 to play with a tough shot through the lane.
Mike Allison (Lynden, Ontario) had two blocks on the defensive end, and after another stop, an Allison dunk gave Maine a two-point edge. Singleton then drove down the lane and got fouled, and made one-of-two free throws to make it 74-71 Maine with 32 seconds left.
The Black Bears got a stop, and Singleton grabbed the rebound before making two free throws to seal the win.
McLemore earned America East Player of the Game honors as he finished with 23 points and seven rebounds while Singleton had 17 points and seven assists. Barnies had 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Burnatowski finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Allison had seven points and four key blocks.
The Black Bears shot 48.1 percent for the game while holding Binghamton to 43.5 percent, including 34.3 percent in the second half. The Black Bears won the rebounding battle 39-34.
Maine return to action on Tuesday at Boston University. Tip-off for the game to be aired on Comcast SportsNet New England is schedule for 7:30 p.m.
-U-M-
