VESTAL, N.Y. - Visiting UMBC (18-13, 8-8 America East) made 6-of-8 free throws in overtime to push past Binghamton men's basketball (12-17, 8-8 AE) 70-67 in the regular season finale Tuesday night at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

With the loss, BU slipped into a three-way tie for fourth place in the final standings and will now head to UMBC for a quarterfinal matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds Saturday afternoon in Baltimore. It marks the Bearcats' highest conference finish since the 2008-09 team tied for first before winning the tournament title.

Despite trailing for most of regulation, Binghamton led 62-59 with 23 seconds left and still had two cracks to win the game in the closing seconds. But a potential winning layup with one second left was blocked and then a last gasp 15-foot jumper was off the mark as the regulation horn sounded. 

In overtime, BU misfired on eight of nine shots and UMBC grabbed the lead. Down 70-67 with the ball after a pair of Retrievers free throws, BU had two 3-point attempts in the final five seconds but couldn't convert.

"I thought we started super nervous tonight," head coach Levell Sanders said. "We were never out of the game, even though we were never able to score consistently. Defensively we were guarding and I thought we showed unbelievable energy chasing guys off screens. That was the key for us on defense - limiting their 3-pointers (6-for-25). We were one rebound away from securing a win ... one play away ... executing a foul when we needed to. But we have to pick ourselves up and be ready for Saturday." 

Senior guard Jacob Falko led the Bearcats with 19 points (12 after halftime) and his clutch floater in the lane with 23 seconds left gave BU its final lead of the game and also allowed him to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his NCAA career. He entered the game needing 17 points to become just the seventh Bearcat to reach the mark in the program's Division I era. Falko began his career with 1,143 points in two seasons at Cecil Junior College (Md.) before playing at Gardner-Webb and then his final two NCAA seasons at Binghamton. He added a career-high nine rebounds.

Senior guard Dan Petcash tallied 11 points and graduate center Ogheneyole Akuwovo added a game-high 12 rebounds and six points in 22 minutes of work. 

Both teams struggled through a cold-shooting first half that ended with BU up 24-23. UMBC jumped out to a 13-3 cushion before the Bearcats found some offensive rhythm. 

In the second half, the Retrievers led by eight, 47-39, with 11:02 left before BU rallied. Graduate forward Christian Hinckson scored five straight BU points on a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws and the 9-2 Bearcats run brought them back into the game.