VESTAL, N.Y. – The University of Maine Black Bears took a seven-point second half lead, but the Binghamton Bearcats clawed back, and finished the contest on a 19-7 run to take a 78-66 contest at the Events Center on Saturday afternoon.
Three Black Bears (3-18, 1-5 AE) reached double-figures, led by
Vilgot Larsson's 14 points.
Isaiah White and
Andrew Fleming both tallied 12 points in the contest, with Fleming and
Sergio El Darwich grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. El Darwich distributed six assists, and was held the seven points, snapping a eight-game double-figure scoring streak.
Binghamton struck first, as Larsson fired back with a triple to tie the game at 3-3. The Bearcats (6-15, 2-4 AE) scored the next nine points, to take a 11-3 advantage at the first media timeout of the contest. The Bearcats started strong from long distance, sinking seven of their first 11 shots in the first 15 minutes.
After Maine trailed by a first-half high of 12 points at 23-11, the Black Bears outscored Binghamton 25-15 over the final 9:54, as Maine trailed by just two points at 38-36 at the break. Larsson recorded 13 of his 14 points in the first half, draining five of seven shots from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
The Black Bears came out of the locker room red hot, climbing to a seven-point lead at 51-44 with 12:18 left in the second half. Maine used a 15-6 scoring run to start the second half to take the lead, as Fleming registered eight points in the run. Binghamton responded, tying the contest at 56-56 on a 12-5 run.
With the game tied at 59-59, the Bearcats outscored Maine 19-7 over the final 6:57, to earn the 78-66 victory at the Events Center.
The Black Bears cleaned the glass outrebounding the Bearcats 37-32 on the boards, including a 17-5 margin on the offensive end. Maine tallied 15 second chance points off the offensive boards and outscored the Bearcats in the paint by a 38-22 margin.
Caleb Stewart led Binghamton with 26 points (9-11 FG, 5-6 3PT), reaching 1,000 career points in the closing seconds. Sam Sessions added 14 points, while J.C. Show tallied 11 points.
Maine will stay on the road, heading to UMass Lowell on Wednesday. The opening tip at the Tsongas Center is set for 7:00 p.m.
-UMaine-
