STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms keyed a 10-2 closing run with nine straight points to lift Binghamton (8-11, 2-4 America East) to an 83-79 win at league-leading Stony Brook (13-8, 4-2 AE) Wednesday night from Island Federal Arena.

Sessoms led four Bearcats in double figures as BU stung the Seawolves for the second straight time on their home floor. The first win came in the America East quarterfinals last March when seventh-seeded BU abruptly ended the title hopes of second-seeded Stony Brook.

After Binghamton led the entire first half, the teams traded blows throughout a second half that featured 10 lead changes.

Stony Brook led 77-73 with 2:11 remaining before Sessoms took over. He nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:10 left to cut the margin to one, 77-76. On the next possession, Sessoms hit a difficult scoop layup, was fouled and completed the 3-point play with 1:32 left to give BU the lead for good, 79-77. On Stony Brook's next possession, senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. extended to block a 3-point attempt and Sessoms cashed in a 25-footer on the other end, making it 82-77 with 0:51 left. The 9-0 Sessoms run spanned 1:19. The teams traded free throws in the closing 25 seconds to finish the scoring.

Sessoms wound up with a game-high 25 points (17 in second half), a career-high-tying seven assists and seven rebounds. Senior forward Pierre Sarr notched his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Caldwell (14 pts.) and freshman forward George Tinsley (14 pts., 10 in first half) joined the pair in double-digits.

"It was a heck of a win tonight," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "We haven't been playing real well but credit to our players. We had great practices Monday and Tuesday and our guys believed, were hungry and came in and delivered a great performance. It was balance for us tonight … we have a money guy down the stretch in Sam but along the way there were so many different contributions from players. Our energy and effort exerted on defense was terrific. They are the biggest team in the league by far and we were even on the glass tonight. I have so much respect for Stony Brook – that's why it feels so good. To get two in a row against a team with that much talent is special and I am very proud of our guys."
 
Much like the quarterfinal game last March, BU got off to a quick start. The Bearcats hit 5-of-7 to start the game and led 11-4 just four minutes in. They stretched the lead to as many as nine points twice and led 40-31 with under a minute left in the half before the Seawolves scored four points in the final 34 seconds to tighten the margin to five, 40-35, at intermission. In the half, BU shot 49 percent and despite an undersized frontcourt, outrebounded Stony Brook 20-17 and led from whistle to whistle.

Binghamton returns home to host New Hampshire at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Events Center.
 
NOTES
Binghamton improved to 8-1 when they score 70 or more points … Sessoms netted 20 or more points for the ninth time this season and 21st time in his career. He moved into sixth place on BU's career scoring list with 934 points, still less than halfway through his collegiate career ... Stony Brook was ranked No. 23 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, had won six of its last seven and was 6-1 on its home floor this season.