VESTAL, N.Y. - Senior guard Jacob Falko scored nine points in the final 3:15 and sank the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left to lift Binghamton men's basketball (7-10, 3-1 America East) to a 66-65 win over visiting UMass Lowell (15-4, 3-2 AE) Saturday afternoon in front of 2,014 at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

The win, BU's third in a row, moved the Bearcats into a tie for first place in the America East standings.

The game featured seven ties and five lead changes and the entire second half was played within six points. 

With the score tied at 65-65 and BU holding for the final shot, Falko tried to drive the lane, was denied and lost the ball for a moment. He recollected, drove toward the paint and rose for a 13-footer but was fouled with 1.6 seconds left. After missing the first, Falko made the second free throw to give BU the winning margin. The River Hawks inbounded to half court, called timeout and ran a lob play to the left of the bucket with 1.4 seconds left. But the catch and eight-foot shot from the baseline was off the side of the rim as the horn sounded.  

Binghamton trailed 60-55 with 3:33 left before Falko went to work. He drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 3:15 to play despite being fouled, and converted the free throw for a four-point play that trimmed the deficit to one, 60-59. On the next UML possession, Falko knocked the ball away in the lane and at the other end, drove to the rim for a layup that gave BU a 61-60 lead with 2:31 remaining. Falko then had a 3-pointer go around the rim and out on BU's next possession. But on defense, graduate Miles Gibson deflected away a UML dribble into the lane to give the Bearcats the ball back. Falko then drove to the basket for a layup with 1:02 left to give BU a 63-60 lead. UMass Lowell countered with a 3-pointer to tie it. A Gibson layup (from Falko) with 34 seconds left was countered by two UML free throws with 22 seconds left to set the stage for the decisive BU possession. 

"Every win you get in the conference is very important," head coach Levell Sanders said. "Lowell came out early on and were way more aggressive and kind of punched us in the mouth. But we felt lucky only being down three at the half. In the second half we came out and were more aggressive and made plays. Everyone stepped up and of course, Jake brought us home. It's a really good team win for us. It gives our team confidence that we can play with the teams that are supposed to be the better teams in the conference. It gives us motivation for the next job ... the next game."

Falko wound up with 19 points - 14 in the second half. Junior center Tariq Balogun added 16 points (4-of-4 FG) and seven rebounds in 21 minutes. Junior forward Armon Harried added 13 points.

The physical game featured 36 combined fouls and 47 free throws. 

UMass Lowell opened the game with a 10-2 run and at one point held a 20-4 margin in rebounds. The Bearcats chipped away and used an 8-2 late-half run to draw even before the River Hawks hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half to take a 33-30 lead into break. Balogun scored 13 of his points in the first half and Harried contributed seven points. 

In the second half, BU held UML to just 30 percent shooting (8-for-27).

Binghamton next heads on a two-game, four-day road trip to Albany and Maine. The Bearcats face Albany on Thursday in Troy, N.Y.