For Immediate Release: January 19, 2008
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU men's basketball holds off UMBC 62-59 for sixth straight home win
Fuller steals critical inbounds in closing seconds to secure win

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Junior forward Reggie Fuller (Missouri City, Texas) skied to steal an inbounds pass with three seconds left, sank a pair of ensuing free throws and Binghamton (8-10, 4-2 AE) extended its home win streak to six with a thrilling 62-59 win over visiting UMBC (12-6, 4-2 AE) in an America East game Saturday afternoon from the Events Center. With their seventh win in the last 10 games, BU moved into a first place tie with the Retrievers and Hartford.

With UMBC trailing 60-59 but on the verge of a second-straight buzzer-beating try, thanks to 62% shooting in the second half, Fuller timed his jump perfectly. He tipped the Retrievers' inbounds pass and grabbed the ball on the way down. Fuller was then quickly fouled and sank two free throws with 0:03 left for the final margin. A last ditch UMBC three-pointer was off the backboard at the buzzer.

"It was a great team effort," head coach Kevin Broadus said. "Even when we lost the lead we never gave in. We just kept working and it finally paid off. It was a great job by Reggie (Fuller). UMBC is a very good team."

The Bearcats nearly squandered an 18-point second half lead, and despite holding UMBC 21 points under its scoring average, BU seemed on its way to a heartbreaking loss when the Retrievers took a 59-56 lead with 0:48 remaining. But sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) sank a pair of free throws with 0:32 left to pull BU to within one, 59-58. Then the Bearcats fouled UMBC senior sharpshooter Brian Hodges, who missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 24 seconds left. After a timeout, BU went back to Trifunovic, whose jump-hook in the lane gave BU a 60-59 lead with seven seconds left, setting the stage for Fuller's heroics.

Fuller, BU's America East Player of the Game, wound up with career-highs of 11 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Trifunovic shook off a 5-for-18 afternoon and wound up with 12 points, with six of those coming in the final 5:44. Senior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) and junior guard Dwayne Jackson (Akron, Ohio) added 11 points apiece. It was Jackson's fourth straight game in double figures.

UMBC received a game-high 18 points from Darryl Proctor, its America East Player of the Game.

Binghamton, which led 29-18 at the break, used a 19-2 run spanning the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to build a commanding 36-18 lead with 17:57 remaining. But UMBC countered with a 15-3 run to get back into the game.

Binghamton travels to New Hampshire for a game on January 24.

Game notes:
With the win, Binghamton tied its Division-I era mark for longest home win streak previously set during the 2002-03 campaign...The Bearcats lead the all-time Division-I series with the Retrievers, 5-4...UMBC’s 18 first-half points marked the second lowest total by a Bearcat opponent this season. St. Bonaventure scored only 16 points in BU’s win on December 30...Fuller’s previous career-high in rebounds was set on Dec. 30 against St. Bonaventure. He had twice scored 10 points - last versus Boston on January 6...Gordon made his 90th consecutive start for the Bearcats...Senior Giovanni Olomo returned to the lineup for his first action since December 5 against Colgate after missing nine games. Olomo finished with five points, seven rebounds (six offensive), and three steals in 20 minutes of action...Gordon (7 gm), Jackson (4 gm), and Trifunovic (3 gm) all extended their respective double-figure scoring streaks...The Bearcats committed a season-low eight turnovers. The Retrievers lost the turnover battle for only the second time in eight games...Fuller is shooting 13-of-14 from the floor over the last five games. Against the Retrievers, he connected on his first three-pointer of the season. On the season, he is shooting a team-best 64.4 percent (38-59).