Men's Basketball Drops Third Straight in 88-75 Loss

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Vestal, N.Y. – D.J. Rivera had 27 points and Emanuel Mayben added 25 as Binghamton handed UAlbany its third consecutive loss in an 88-75 victory on Monday, Feb. 9 before a capacity crowd of 5,142 at the Events Center. The Bearcats played before a regular-season sellout for the second time in the facility’s history.

Binghamton (16-8, AE 9-3) took control early with an 11-2 run. Mayben, a 6-foot-3 junior, canned two of his five 3-point field goals in that stretch, including a long-range shot from left of the key. The Bearcats later extended their lead to double figures. Reggie Fuller, who had 17 points and eight rebounds, converted a reverse layup on the right baseline. Mayben delivered another three-pointer, before Moussa Camara drilled a jumper in transition for a 24-12 advantage.

The Bearcats, who have won nine of 11 at home this season, used another string of eight points to build a 32-14 margin. Fuller, who made 7 of 9 field goals, had a pair of baskets. Brandon Herbert nailed a 3-point shot from the left wing. Binghamton took a commanding 48-32 lead to the intermission.

In the second half, Fuller hit two close-range shots and Rivera connected on a fastbreak layup that pushed the lead to 59-39 with 16:15 remaining. Binghamton held that working margin for much of the next ten minutes. UAlbany (13-11, AE 5-6) still trailed 77-60, but then ran off nine unanswered to make things interesting. Will Harris, a 6-foot-6 senior, made a conventional three-point play. Tim Ambrose, a 6-foot sophomore who had 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, converted a driving layup to slice the deficit to 77-69 with 2:20 to play.

The Bearcats, who avenged a 72-66 loss in the first meeting this season on Jan. 14, held off the visitors when Rivera and Mayben combined for eight points from the foul line. Mayben, who made 8 of 17 from the field, added seven assists and four rebounds to his scoring total.

“They shot the ball well and we had too many unforced turnovers,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team allowed its most points in conference play since Feb. 2, 2003 in an 89-80 overtime loss to Northeastern. “It’s real simple when you see that they scored 26 points off our turnovers. We lost that game in the first half, but we fought in the second half.”

Rivera, the conference’s leading scorer, made 9-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line, as the Bearcats have won six of their last seven contests to stay in a tie for second place in the league standings. Mayben completed a terrific week of performances, as he beat Stony Brook with a last-second shot two days ago after previously netting 31 points in a come-from behind win against Vermont.

Ambrose, who added eight rebounds and a career-high four steals, reached the 20-point mark for the sixth time this year. He had a career-best 29 in his last outing against Vermont. Harris totaled 17 points and nine rebounds for the Great Danes, who played their third game in the last five days. Scotty McRae was the third UAlbany player in double figures with 12.