Vestal, N.Y. - Greer Wright had 19 points to pace four players in double figures, as Binghamton pulled away in the final four minutes for a 78-73 America East Conference victory over UAlbany on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at the Events Center. The Bearcats have won four in a row.
UAlbany (6-19, AE 1-9) trailed 53-45, but then ripped off seven unanswered to get back into the contest. Tim Ambrose, who had 16 points, including the 1,000th of his career, off the bench, converted a drive from right of the lane to finish off that spurt. Binghamton (11-13, AE 6-3) regrouped with its own string of seven points. Wright buried a three-point field goal from the right side after Mahamoud Jabbi collected an offensive rebound. A junior college transfer, Wright added a conventional three-point play when he was fouled while scoring in transition for a 60-52 advantage with 6:14 to play.
Still leading 64-60 three minutes later, the Bearcats exploded with nine of the game's next 11 points. Dylan Talley, who had 17 points, jump-started that outburst with a three-point play. The 6-foot-5 freshman scored in the lane after receiving a pass from Greer out of a double-team. Moussa Camara, who did all of scoring after halftime with 14 points, later hit a layup following a turnover and set up Taylor Johnston on a fastbreak basket for a 73-62 cushion.
"We played hard and did some good things on offense and defense," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team dropped its ninth straight on the road. "Their quickness and length hurt us on the offensive glass and got them some loose balls. They turned those plays into points and that was the difference."
The Bearcats used a 14-2 run to build a 17-9 lead in the first half. Jabbi, a 6'7" junior who had his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, tallied three consecutive baskets to end that stretch, including a left baseline jumper and a 17-footer from the right side after breaking pressure.
The Great Danes still trailed 26-20 after Talley made a three-point play when he was fouled on a spin move in the lane. UAlbany then ripped off seven straight points by working the offensive glass. Fran Urli (9 points) followed his own miss and Scotty McRae (8 points, 8 rebounds) put back Logan Aronhalt's missed three-point shot.
The teams went back and forth over the final two minutes of the period. Jabbi, who had all of his points in the opening half, sank a pair of free throws to put his team ahead, before Jake Lindfors tied the contest at 31 apiece with two foul shots. Talley beat the buzzer team with a 25-footer from the top of the arc to give his team the lead at the intermission.
The Bearcats, who swept the season series for the second consecutive year by shooting 59.5 percent from the field after the break, took that momentum and built an eight-point margin early in the second half. Camara, who netted a career-high 24 in the first meeting between these teams, made a one-hander off an inbounds pass and drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to begin the stanza.
"There were a lot of loose balls that we didn't get our hands on and they hit the glass hard on the offensive end," Aronhalt explained. "They hit a lot of tough shots over us. We keep giving up little parts of the game. Early on (this season) we were giving up whole halves, but now it's just small parts. If we stop doing that we'll be okay."
Aronhalt, a redshirt freshman, had a career-high 16 points for the Great Danes, who suffered their sixth consecutive setback. Freshman guard Mike Black was the third player in twin figures with 11.
Paw Prints: Tim Ambrose became the 30th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points when he nailed a three-point field goal from the left corner in the final 30 seconds ... Ambrose scored in double figures for the 49th time as a collegian ... Logan Aronhalt's career-high total was his fourth time in double digits over the last eight games ... UAlbany has dropped six in a row, its longest losing skid since the 2003-04 campaign.
Binghamton 78, UAlbany 73 (2/3/10 at Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.)
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score
Albany vs Binghamton
2/3/10 7 p.m. at Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.
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VISITORS: Albany 6-19, 1-9 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Urli, Fran.......... f 2-4 0-0 5-6 4 0 4 3 9 1 1 0 0 28
33 Allen, Billy........ f 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 8
21 Metcalf, Blake...... c 3-4 0-0 1-2 3 1 4 2 7 0 1 1 0 23
02 Aronhalt, Logan..... g 5-12 3-7 3-4 1 3 4 2 16 1 1 0 0 31
10 Black, Mike......... g 3-8 1-5 4-4 0 1 1 1 11 4 1 0 0 30
03 Harris, Will........ 2-6 0-3 0-0 1 2 3 2 4 0 2 0 1 25
05 Tartt, Derrek....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
12 McRae, Scotty....... 2-7 0-0 4-4 4 4 8 4 8 2 0 1 1 24
23 Ambrose, Tim........ 6-13 3-4 1-2 3 5 8 2 16 0 1 0 0 28
24 Lindfors, Jake...... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
TEAM................ 2 2 1
Totals.............. 23-54 7-19 20-24 16 20 36 17 73 8 8 3 2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-24 41.7% 2nd Half: 13-30 43.3% Game: 42.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 36.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-10 80.0% 2nd Half: 12-14 85.7% Game: 83.3% 2
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HOME TEAM: Binghamton 11-13, 6-3 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Camara, Moussa...... f 6-12 2-7 0-0 3 5 8 2 14 2 0 0 0 38
05 Wright, Greer....... f 6-13 3-7 4-4 0 0 0 3 19 1 1 0 1 24
20 Jabbi, Mahamoud..... f 5-7 0-0 2-4 6 4 10 3 12 2 1 1 1 36
42 Peten, Umur......... c 4-4 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 3 9 0 1 0 1 20
34 Lukusa, Chretien.... g 0-4 0-2 1-2 1 1 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 25
10 Talley, Dylan....... 5-16 2-6 5-6 1 3 4 1 17 5 1 2 0 33
12 Johnston, Taylor.... 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 7
44 Guillaume, Pina..... 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 4 4 0 1 2 0 17
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 29-61 8-23 12-17 15 17 32 16 78 16 5 5 3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-34 38.2% 2nd Half: 16-27 59.3% Game: 47.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 34.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 8-13 61.5% Game: 70.6% 2
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Officials: Paul Faia, Chris Ogden, Jack Sweeney
Technical fouls: Albany-None. Binghamton-None.
Attendance: 3991
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Albany........................ 31 42 - 73
Binghamton.................... 34 44 - 78
