BU Men fall in A-East Tourney

3/9/2013 (Updated 10:42:09 PM)

ALBANY -- The Binghamton mens basketball team fell to top-seeded Stony Brook 72-49 in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament, Saturday night at Albanys SEFCU Arena. The Seawolves shot 53 percent and forced 15 Bearcat turnovers en route to the 23-point victory. Binghamton was led by freshman Jordan Reeds game-high 16 points.

First of all congratulations to Stony Brook for moving on to the next round, head coach Tommy Dempsey said. They are a great team and were hitting on all cylinders tonight. I think we just dug ourselves too big of a hole early when our shots werent falling. But my kids fought hard and did what theyve done all year and thats represent Binghamton with pride. Im very proud of my guys, but the better team won tonight.

Stony Brook, who is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, stymied the Bearcats to 40 percent shooting while committing just five turnovers. The Seawolves were in command throughout as Binghamton valiantly tried to chip away at the large halftime deficit. However, Stony Brook exceed its first half shooting percentage by pouring in 58 percent of its shots in the second half. The Seawolves lead grew to as many as 31 in the final 30 minutes of play.

Seniors Jimmy Gray and Taylor Johnston added 13 and 11, respectively for the Bearcats. Johnston scored all 13 of his points in the second half, as the duo combined for six second-half three pointers.

In the first half Binghamton shot 30 percent (7-for-23) from the floor scoring just 14 points. The Bearcats failed to hit a single three-pointer, going 0-for-8 from downtown, while Stony Brook connected from beyond the arc four times to shoot 48 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Seawolves opened a 10-point lead midway through the half, but a Reed jumper cut the lead to eight, the closest BU would get.

Stony Brook stepped up its defensive pressure holding the Bearcats scoreless for over seven minutes while extending its lead to 20 (32-12) at the 2:03 mark. The highlight of the half for Binghamton was an alley-oop from Gray to Reed, which ended the Binghamton drought with 48 seconds left in the half. Stony Brook used 10 second-chance points to close the half on a 15-2 run and take a 37-14 lead in to the break.The Seawolves made 13 trips to the free throw line while Binghamton did not take one attempt. Reed scored 10 of Binghamtons 14 first-half points.
Stony Brook put four players in double figures led by Anthony Jacksons 16.

Binghamtons all-time America East Tournament record fell to 7-8 in nine appearances and 0-2 against Stony Brook. The two teams also met in last years quarterfinal round with the Seawolves prevailing 78-69.

(Courtesy Binghamton Athletics)

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