Articles

Binghamton Stuns Vermont Men's Basketball 57-53

Details: Created on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 03:44; Written by George Commo

Win is 1st of Season for Bearcats ... Drops UVM out of 1st Place in America East

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

VESTAL, N.Y. – Robert Mansell scored a game-high 18 points to lead Binghamton to a 57-53 victory over the Vermont men's basketball team on Tuesday night in America East action. The win was the first of the season for the Bearcats (1-26, 1-13 America East), while the loss snaps a 10-game winning streak for the Catamounts, who fall to 19-11 overall and 12-3 in league play.

Vermont trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before making it a two-point game on a jumper from sophomore Sandro Carissimo with 49 seconds remaining. The Catamounts stopped Binghamton on the other end, but senior Matt Glass could not convert a contested 3-pointer with six seconds to go and the Bearcats wrapped it up with a pair of free throws with 4.8 ticks on the clock.

The loss is the first for the Cats since falling to New Hampshire on January 14, as they are now one game behind Stony Brook for the top spot in the league standings with one game to go. Glass led Vermont with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting on the night, as the only Catamount in double figures.

“We weren't ready to play tonight from the jump and credit to Binghamton, they were a tougher team and played harder,” said Vermont head coach John Becker. “They made a lot of shots tonight, tough ones with the shot clock winding down. We are a young team and I tried to emphasis how tough this game was going to be and I just thought that Binghamton was the tougher team and played better than us tonight.”

The Catamounts scored the opening points of the game on a jumper from Glass, but Binghamton answered with the next nine straight and would lead for the remainder of the game. The Bearcats started the contest by making their first five shots as they took an early 14-6 advantage. Vermont struggled from the floor in the opening half, which included missing its first seven attempts from 3-point range.

The Cats cut it to 23-18 on a free throw from junior Ben Crenca, but the Bearcats pushed their lead to as many as 10 at 31-21 with 2:46 to go in the stanza. Binghamton would take a 35-25 lead into intermission, as Vermont shot only 31.8 percent from the floor, went 1-for-8 from 3-point range and 10-for-16 from the line to go with 10 turnovers. The Bearcats shot 53.8 percent from the floor in the half.

Vermont had trouble making up ground in the second half after starting 3-for-11 from the floor. Trailing 49-37, the Catamounts used an 11-3 run to cut it to 52-48 with 2:42 to go after a pair of free throws from sophomore Luke Apfeld. Binghamton would hit one free throw on the other end before Glass added a 3-pointer to cut it to 53-51 with 2:13 remaining. The Bearcats even missed two front ends of one-and-one opportunities in the final 2:25 at the line to keep Vermont within striking distance. A jumper by Ben Dickinson pushed it back to 55-51 and then on the other end Carissimo made a shot that cut it to two for a final time.

Mansell went 6-for-10 from the floor, while Dickinson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats. Binghamton shot 44.7 percent for the game from the floor, but only 10-for-18 from the line.

Sophomore Brian Voelkel added 11 rebounds, while Carissimo handed out a game-high five assists. Apfeld was Vermont's second-leading scorer with nine points on the night, as UVM finished the game shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and 4-for-20 from 3-point range.

Vermont returns home on Saturday to host UMBC starting at 1 p.m. in a game that will be televised on WCAXtra. Saturday will be Senior Day for Glass and Pat Bergmann, as they will play their final regular season game at Patrick Gym. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.UVMathletics.com. Live video of the game is available for free via CatamounTV on www.UVMathletics.com.

NOTES: Vermont is 19-7 all-time against the Bearcats, as the loss snaps a five-game winning streak by the Catamounts in the series … Vermont has still won 13 of its last 15 overall … Vermont won the first meeting of the season 73-53 in Burlington on January 12 … Glass and Binghamton's Mansell were named the America East Players of the Game.