STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Junior guard Emanuel Mayben swished in a 12-footer in the lane with 3.8 seconds left in overtime to lift visiting Binghamton (15-8, 8-3 AE) to a 63-61 win over Stony Brook (13-11, 5-6 AE) Saturday afternoon at Pritchard Gym. The win was BU's fifth in the last six games and keeps the team within striking distance of first place Boston University (9-2) in the America East standings.
Mayben 's heroics came after junior guard
D.J. Rivera forced overtime with his own clutch shot - a 12-foot jumper from the left side with 3.7 seconds left in regulation. Rivera, the leading scorer in the America East (20.4 ppg.), scored five points in the final 38 seconds of regulation to rally the Bearcats, who trailed 51-47 with 39 seconds left.
In overtime, Rivera grabbed an offensive rebound off his own miss and his short jumper in the lane gave BU a 61-58 lead with 51 seconds left. After the Seawolves converted a layup to trim their deficit to 61-60, BU had a chance to stretch the lead but missed on two free throws with 27 seconds left. Stony Brook then went to the line and with several hundred BU fans roaring in the road venue, SBU's Tommy Brenton made 1-of-2 to tie the game with 9.6 seconds remaining. Mayben then dribbled into the frontcourt and pulled up for his game-winner.
"We grinded it out for 45 minutes," head coach Kevin Broadus said. "That's the kind of game we seem to play against Stony Brook."
The fantastic finish allowed BU to escape after a difficult shooting performance. The Bearcats missed their first 13 three-point attempts and finished just 2-for-17 from beyond the arc. Late in the second half, BU went scoreless for a 7:08 span and turned the ball over twice in the final 1:26 of regulation. In addition, Stony Brook held a 52-33 rebound advantage, which led to 17 more shots for the Seawolves.
Rivera led all scorers with 22 points, including 12 in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime. He hit 10-of-21 from the floor and added seven rebounds. Senior forward
Reggie Fuller had an outstanding game with a career-high 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals. He also took three charges on the defensive end, including two late in the game. Mayben wound up with 12 points, a season-high 10 assists and five boards in 43 minutes of work. His points-assists double-double was just the second in BU's Division I era.
In the first half, BU fell behind 18-10 halfway through the period before embarking on a 15-4 run that featured seven points from Fuller and six from Rivera. With Mayben racking up a season-high eight assists, Fuller threw down three jams and Rivera added two dunks in the opening frame. Binghamton led 25-22 with 3:59 left before the teams traded baskets until BU settled on a 30-28 lead at intermission. Fuller had 14 points and Rivera added 10 in the half. Stony Brook grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and attempted 10 more shots to keep the score tight.
The Bearcats host rival Albany Monday night at the Events Center.
