University of Maine
Binghamton
Men's Basketball Falls in Regular Season Finale at Binghamton
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
VESTAL, N.Y. -- The University of Maine a 76-68 decision at Binghamton in its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. The loss slips Maine to 8-21 on the year and 4-12 in America East play.
Freshman Issac Vann paced Maine's offense, besting 20 points for his second-straight outing after dropping a game-high 26 points against the Bearcats. Vann, who went 11-for-23 from the floor, also added eight rebounds and four assists. Aaron Calixte joined Vann in double-digits with 14 points and has now recorded double-figures in his last seven games.
Maine, which hit 15-of-31 shots in the second half, finished the game at 40.0 percent (26-for-65). The Bearcats pulled away in the second half after hitting 51.6% of their field goals in the final 20-minutes and were led by Willie Rodriguez's 24 points and nine boards.
Binghamton turned the ball over just 11 times and outscored the Black Bears 19-4 off turnovers.
A 7-0 run by the Bearcats midway through the first half elevated their lead out to eight, 13-5, with 12:53 on the clock.
Back-to-back jumpers by Shaun Lawton and Calixte came as part of a 7-2 Maine run, sealed on a 3-pointer by Vann, to cut the lead down to three.
Maine kept charging, chipping the lead down to a pair on a fastbreak bucket by Lawton with 4:58 to play in the half.
Binghamton took its advantage back to seven after a late 5-0 run and would carry a five-point edge into the break, 34-29.
Maine was able to manage the Binghamton advantage early in the second half, keeping the lead down to six. However, the Bearcats began to stretch the margin as a 7-0 run put them up by 13.
A jumper by Lawton stopped the bleeding but Binghamton jumped right back on the throttle, putting together an 11-2 run to push the lead to 19 with 8:53 remaining.
Like they've shown all season, there was no quit in the Black Bears. Trailing by 17 with just under eight minutes to play, Maine pieced together a 15-7 stretch, sinking the lead back under double-digits at 69-60.
However, the nine-point margin would be as close as Maine could get. Binghamton put the game way with free throws down the stretch, capturing a 78-66 win.
Maine will begin America East postseason action on Wednesday, March 2 when it travels for the quarterfinal round. All match-ups and times will be determined following Albany and Hartford's contest on Saturday night. Stay tuned to GoBlackBears.com and @BlackBearMBB on Twitter for all postseason news.
-UMaine-
