For Immediate Release: January 21, 2007
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU men's basketball comes up short against Vermont 65-61
Bearcats lose for fifth time in last six games, fall to 2-6 in league play

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. - Sophomore guard Mike Trimboli broke a 58-58 tie on a jumper with 2:18 remaining and Kyle Cieplicki added a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to lift visiting Vermont (13-6, 5-1 America East) to a 65-61 men's basketball victory over Binghamton (9-11, 2-6 AE) Sunday afternoon from the Events Center.

The see-saw game was tied eight times in the second half and neither team led by more than five points until Cieplicki's jumper gave the Catamounts a 65-58 cushion. On that play, his first three-point attempt was blocked by BU junior guard Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y.). Vermont forward Martin Klimes grabbed the rebound, however, and kicked it back out to Cieplicki, who was good the second time around. Earlier, Trimboli sank a pair of free throws with 1:18 left to stretch the lead to 62-58. Trimboli scored all nine of his points in the second half.

The league-leading Catamounts shot 50% and executed down the stretch in front of season-high crowd of 3,941. Binghamton launched 27 three-point attempts (33%) and misfired on four of its last five shots after tying the game in the closing three minutes.

"We had a couple of looks," head coach Al Walker said of the narrow defeat. "I don't know what to say ...we didn't get it done. we had our chances."

Forbes, who started for the first time as a Bearcat, led the team with 17 points and four assists. Sophomore guard Dwayne Jackson (Akron, Ohio) added a career-high 13 points with five rebounds in a collegiate-best 31 minutes.

Vermont used a 23-7 run midway through the first half to build a 13-point lead before Binghamton closed out the period on a 8-0 run to trail 34-29 at intermission.

Binghamton travels to Baltimore to face UMBC on January 28.

NOTES:
Nick Vier and Forbes were selected as the America East Players of the Game... the 3,941 attendance was a season-high ... Jackson scored a career-high 13 points in his third start of the season.