For Immediate Release: January 27, 2010
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU men's basketball rolls past UMBC on road 80-63
Talley, Wright ignite season-high offensive output

Box score

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Freshman guard Dylan Talley scored a season-high 22 points to lead four players in double figures and visiting Binghamton (9-13, 4-3 AE) used a 20-9 second-half run to pull away from UMBC (1-20, 0-8 AE) 80-63 Wednesday night from the Retriever Activities Center. The win was BU's fifth in eight games and gave the young Bearcats something last year's championship team didn't have - a win in Baltimore.

Talley hit 8-of-17 from the field and 6-of-8 free throws to reach double-figures for the 11th game this season. Junior forward Greer Wright continued to punish conference opponents with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi recorded his second-straight double-double with 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Jabbi, who leads the America East in blocks in league play, added four more rejections. Junior forward Moussa Camara chipped in 17 points.

"It was a good win for us," interim head coach Mark Macon said. "I still thought we didn't play as well defensively as we could have. But we did a nice job rebounding (39-27 advantage)."

Ahead 47-41 at the 13:17 mark of the second half, the Bearcats scored eight straight points to begin a 20-9 run. Jabbi hit back-to-back 17-foot jumpers from each corner and Talley added a rebound and layup to push the lead to 55-41. The Retrievers cut the margin to 12, 67-55, with 4:17 to play before BU netted 11 of its final 13 points from the free throw line (11-of-12 FT).

The Bearcats were slow from the start, missing eight of their first 11 shots, including all five three-point attempts. But Wright sparked a 12-2 run with eight of his 10 points in a 2:04 span that turned an 11-6 deficit into an 18-13 lead with 11:28 to play. With Binghamton up 18-17, Talley took a turn, scoring seven of BU's next 12 points. His scooping layup with 30 seconds left finished off a 13-6 run to end the period and stake BU to a 34-27 intermission lead. Jabbi led a sizeable advantage on the glass (22-14) with nine boards and three blocks in the first half.

The Bearcats return home to host New Hampshire Saturday night.

NOTES
Jabbi and Chauncy Gilliam were named the America East Players of the Game... the win BU pulls to within a half-game of Vermont for fourth place in the America East standings... the 80 points were a season-high, surpassing the 77 against South Dakota on Dec. 13.