University of Maine
Binghamton
Maine Men's Hoops Upended by Binghamton, 65-46
1/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The University of Maine men's basketball team fell victim to a scoreless streak that spanned nearly nine minutes in the second half, as the squad was upended by Binghamton, 65-46, at the Bighamton Events Center Saturday afternoon. The squad drops to 1-14 and 0-3 in conference while Binghamton improves to 2-16 and 1-2 in America East play.
With the squad trailing by just five points, the offense went cold from the field as the Bearcats went on an 11-0 run that the Black Bears failed to recover from.
Till Gloger was once again the Black Bears leading scorer as he tallied 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the squad in both categories. Zarko Valjarevic was the only other Black Bear to record double-figures with 19 points, one rebound and one assist.
The Bearcats had three players tally double-figures as all three scored over 15 points. Willie Rodriguez led the way with 19 points and six rebounds while Romello Walker (18 points) and Justin McFadden (16 points) also had strong days.
As a team the Black Bears struggled with ball control as the squad committed 17 turnovers and only forced eight from the Bearcats. Binghamton dominated the glass as well, coming down with 41 boards to Maine's 27.
Maine opened strong as Gloger tallied the first five points for the visiting squad, as the Black Bears jumped out 8-2.
Bighamton came out of the 16:00 media timeout with some fire as they cut the deficit to 10-7 before the Black Bears took over again to stretch that lead back out to 26-13 headed into the under 8:00 media timeout.
After the break Binghamton began to stem the tide as they went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 26-20 and forcing a Maine timeout with 4:45 left in the half.
Binghamton continued to press the Black Bears, finishing the half on a 10-3 run to head to halftime down by just one, 30-29.
In the second half it didn't take long for Binghamton take its first lead, from which it would never look back, as Walker drained a 3-pointer to make it 32-30.
Valjarevic answered to retake the lead but that was the last lead the Black Bears would have in the game.
After getting the game out to 45-39, Lawton was fouled and cashed in on 1-of-2 of his free throw chances at the 11:22 mark. That point was the last that would go in Maine's favor for nearly nine minutes as Binghamton scored 11 unanswered points.
Valjarevic broke the trend at the 3:11 mark hitting on a long-range bucket but it wasn't enough as Binghamton went on to outscore the Black Bears 36-16 in the final frame.
The win snapped a 14 game losing streak for Binghamton and was the first time this season that they've defeated a Division I opponent.
This also marks the fifth-straight time that the home team has won the game in this series as Binghamton now leads, 15-14 overall.
The Black Bears now get set for a four-game homestand beginning with UMass Lowell, next Tuesday. That game will be played at the Cross Insurance Center and is slated for a 7 p.m. tip.
