VESTAL, N.Y. - Visiting UMBC (9-10, 4-4 America East) was granted two free throws with 1.8 seconds left after a loose ball scramble and the ensuing charity points were the difference in a 70-68 win over Binghamton men's basketball (8-10, 5-3 AE) in front of 2,113 Saturday afternoon at the Events Center. 

With the game tied at 68-68, UMBC held the ball for the final possession and point guard Darnell Rogers' 12-foot shot was off the mark with four seconds left. But the 5-foot-2 Rogers got his own rebound in the lane and as he tossed up a desperation shot, the whistle blew for BU's 20th foul of the game. Darnell made both free throws before a last second 3-point attempt from junior Tyler Bertram was off the front iron. 

"You put yourself in that position when you don't rebound," head coach Levell Sanders said of the final sequence. "No matter what kind of call it is, it's our job to get the defensive rebound."

The game was a back-and-forth affair with nine ties and 16 lead changes. The Retrievers led for just seven minutes but used a BU dry spell midway through the second half to forge ahead. Junior guard Dan Petcash drilled a 3-pointer with 12:03 left that gave the Bearcats a 53-47 lead. But then BU went without a field goal for 6+ minutes and UMBC responded with a 15-5 run that was aided considerably by six fouls called against Binghamton.  

"Both teams played a pretty good game ... we knew it was going to be evenly matched in terms of size and way we both play," Sanders said. "We just didn't get timely defensive stops when we needed to and when you give up 32 points in the paint, it's hard to win, especially when we didn't make free throws. I thought we shared the ball well in the first half, especially our guards early on." 

Junior Jacob Falko led the Bearcats with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Falko scored 13 of his points in the second half. Bertram hit 5-of-12 3-pointers for his 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Junior Christian Hinckson added 13 points, nine coming in the first half before he was limited to 13 minutes in the second half with foul trouble. Sophomore John McGriff added nine points and three assists. 

The first half was a well-played period for both teams. The Bearcats shot 56 percent and hit 10-of-16 from 3-point range. Binghamton led by four before Rogers canned a deep 3-pointer at the halftime horn, bringing UMBC to within one, 39-38. The defensive pressure increased in the second period and the shots didn't fall as frequently for either team. The teams shot a combined 4-of-17 from deep and both were below 36% for the period. 

The Bearcats hit the road for their next game Wednesday at Stony Brook.