River Hawks Fall To Binghamton, 66-65, in Final Minute

Read Time:2 Minute, 45 Second

VESTAL, N.Y. – Graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) tallied 16 points, as the UMass Lowell men’s basketball team (15-4, 3-2 AE) fell in the final seconds of a closely-contested battle on the road at Binghamton (7-10, 3-1 AE), 66-65, on Sunday.

Although a three by senior Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) gave the River Hawks a five-point lead with 3:30 remaining in the game, Binghamton found its rhythm on offense, going on an 8-0 spurt to take a 63-60 lead with only a minute to play. The River Hawks fired right back, as Hammond drilled a shot from beyond the arc, knotting up the game with 54 seconds on the clock. The home team jumped back in front with another basket, but Hammond converted on two free throw attempts, once again tying the game, this time with 20 seconds to play. A free throw made by Jacob Falko with just over a second remaining proved to be the difference, as the Bearcats claimed the one-point victory.

“Tough loss today,” said head coach Pat Duquette. “We didn’t shoot the ball well and fouled too much down the stretch. Credit to Binghamton and their guys for making play and credit their home crowd. Looked like about 3,000-4,000 strong and loud which created a great home court and atmosphere for them when they needed it.”

Along with leading the team in points, Hammond tied a team-high with six rebounds. Junior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) was all over the box score with 12 points, and four rebounds, while leading the squad with two assists, two blocks and two steals. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the River Hawks were graduate student Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) and Withers, who chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Brooks sparked the River Hawk offense early, tallying six points as part of a 10-2 run by the River Hawks to open the game. Binghamton responded, scoring 11 of the game’s next 15 points to cut the visitors’ lead down to one with 12:03 remaining in the first. Minutes later, the River Hawks regained a six-point lead thanks to a 7-2 burst, capped off by five straight points from Blunt.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Bearcats used a quick, 9-2 burst to take their first lead of the day. In the final 40 seconds, though, Blunt landed his second trey of the night, followed by a corner three from Hammond at the buzzer, giving UMass Lowell a 33-30 lead at the break.

After a layup from senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) gave the River Hawks a five-point cushion early in the second, the Bearcats put together a 14-3 run to take a six-point lead, their largest lead of the afternoon, with 9:51 to play. However, UMass Lowell would not back down, and in under two minutes scored six unanswered, including four from Hammond, to tie the game once again. From there, UMass Lowell outscored the Bearcats, 9-2, ahead of the tight finish that took all of regulation to decide.

The River Hawks return home to host UMBC on Wednesday, January 18 at 6 p.m.