VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (8-16, 2-9 America East) had two 3-point attempts rim out in the final 1:35, including a potential game-tying shot with five seconds left and visiting Stony Brook (17-9, 8-3 AE) escaped with a 75-70 win Wednesday night in front of a season-high 4,238 at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms scored a team-high 22 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his young career. Sessoms reached the 1K mark with a free throw with 14:33 left in the first half and in the process, became just the seventh player in America East history (41 years) to reach the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore. 

With BU down 73-70 with 16 seconds left, Sessoms drove the lane and dished back to freshman teammate Brenton Mill, whose good look at a 3-pointer went halfway down before spitting out with nine seconds left. The Seawolves made two free throws with five seconds left to close out the scoring.

"It's never easy to lose and we're in a position now where we need every one we can get," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "It's disappointing to not get it but I was pleased with how we played. I thought our effort was great and our execution against the zone was really good, especially in the second half. Our guys did what they needed to do to give us a chance to win ... so credit Stony Brook. They found a way to get out of here with a win, but it wasn't from a lack of effort on our part."

Senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. scored all 17 of his points in the second half as BU kept pace with second-place Stony Brook throughout. Caldwell hit 4-of-5 shots he took in the half and added 6-of-6 free throws. Twice in the game's final seven minutes, the Bearcats were within two - the last time coming after a Mills fast break bucket that pulled BU to within 70-68 with 2:21 left. But Stony Brook answered with a 3-pointer from Miles Latimer - his only basket of the game.

In addition to going over the 20-point mark for the 11th time this season and 23rd time in his career, Sessoms added seven assists. He continues to lead the America East in assists. Freshman forward George Tinsley added 11 points and three blocks and senior forward Pierre Sarr pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

The Seawolves led by 10 in the first half before BU used an 11-0 run to take a 24-23 lead with 5:29 left in the half. Sessoms had four of those points and four different players scored during the run. Stony Brook bumped its lead back up to eight before settling on a 34-31 halftime edge. 

Binghamton next travels to Burlington for a Saturday afternoon showdown with league-leading Vermont. 

 Courtesy: Binghamton University Athletics