Bearcats Keep Rolling, Albany & Maine Grab First Win On Wild Night

It was a pivotal night in America East for many reasons. First off, Binghamton kept rolling with a thrilling 91-83 overtime victory against Vermont the Bearcats' 6th straight win. The Bearcats (3-0 America East, 10-4 overall) led througout but the Catamounts (0-1, 9-5) were able to force the extra session. D.J. Rivera scored 6 of his 29 points in overtime. The America East's leading scorer (21.6 ppg) also grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds. Maurice Joseph led Vermont with a career-high 18.



Boston University, in the midst of a four-game losing skid, received more bad news that was confirmed before their conference opener at Albany. Key guards Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong are both out for the season with knee injures. If that wasn't enough, Corey Lowe (17.6 ppg) did not play after getting ejected in the Terriers' previous game against Holy Cross. Despite all that, Boston U. (0-1, 5-8) led 62-61 with less than 20 seconds left, but Tim Ambrose was fouled and sank both freebies with 12.3 second left and Matt Wolff's 16-footer at the buzzer caught the back of the iron. Ambrose scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Will Harris added one of his own with 14 points and 10 boards for the Great Danes (1-1, 9-6). John Holland led Boston U. with 25.



Maine earned its first conference win of the season at Stony Brook, which had won 7 of 10 coming in. The Black Bears (1-1, 6-9) jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half and never looked back. Maine's balanced scoring attack was led by Junior Bernal and Malachi Peay each had 12 points. Mark Socoby had 11, while Gerald McLemore added 10. Co-Player of the Week Muhammad El-Amin poured in a game-high 22 points for the Seawolves (1-2, 8-7).

New Hampshire Downs Hartford in League Opener

Coming off its victory over Santa Clara Sunday, New Hampshire posted its second straight win with a 54-47 win over Hartford in a low-scoring affair at Lundholm Gymnasium. The Wildcats (1-0 America East, 5-7 overall), who have won back-to-back conference openers for the first time since the 93-94 and 94-95 seasons, were led by Tyrece Gibbs, who registered season-highs with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Dane DiLegro pulled down an America East season-high 17 rebounds for the Wildcats, who have now won two straight on the heels of a five-game losing skid. Michael Turner had a team-high 16, while Jaret von Rosenberg tallied 15 for the Hawks (1-1, 5-10).

UNH Snaps Losing Skid

New Hampshire snapped a four-game losing skid with an impressive 58-54 victory over West Coast Conference power Santa Clara at Lundholm Gymnasium. Alvin Abreu poured in a career-high 28 points and hit all 7 of his 3-point attempts, a UNH record for makes without a miss. Tyrece Gibbs added 12 points and 6 rebounds. The Wildcats open up league play against Hartford at home on Wednesday.

Binghamton, Hartford, Stony Brook Win Conference Openers

Both Binghamton and Hartford picked up important wins for far different reasons on Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats, winners of 3 straight and 6 of 8 coming in, showed off their explosive offense with four players in double-figures and 51 percent shooting from the floor and downed Maine 70-62 in the league opener for both teams. The win was the Bearcats first in their last 6 league openers and their 8-4 start is the program's best in 15 years. D.J. Rivera, the leading scorer in America East (21.2 ppg), continued to make an impact with a game-high 24 points and had 6 rebounds. Dwayne Jackson added 12 off of the bench, while Reggie Fuller and Emanuel Mayben each had 10. Fuller also contributed 7 rebounds and Mayben dished out 6 assists. For Maine, which has dropped 5 straight, Gerald McLemore, the top rookie scorer in the league, had 16 points. Junior Bernal had 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Sean McNally added 11 points and 7 boards.

In somewhat of a surprise Hartford, which went into to its league opener against Albany 4-9, grabbed a 27-25 halftime lead and never surrendered it en route to a 64-54 victory at Case Arena. Morgan Sabia scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half for Hawks, who were without leading scorer Joe Zeglinski for the fourth straight game. Jaret von Rosenberg added 13 and Michael Turner had 11. For Albany, which stood at 8-5 coming in, matching the program's best start at Division I, Will Harris had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Brian Connelly was the only other Great Dane in twin figures with 14 points to go with 7 rebounds.

In the lone night game, Stony Brook continued to show its for real with a 69-61 win at defending chamion UMBC. The Seawolves have won 3 straight and 7 of 9 to improve to 8-5 heading into Monday's battle with the equally hot Bearcats on MSG+. Bryan Dougher and Muhammad El-Amin each had 19 to lead the Seawolves. Darryl Proctor had a monster game of 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Retrievers, who fell to 5-7 on the season.

In non-league action, Vermont extended NJIT's losing streak to 47 games with a 73-48 win at Patrick Gym. The Catamounts have won 8 of their last 10 games. Marqus Blakely 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead Vermont. Mike Trimboli added 10 for the Catamounts, who open conference play Thursday at home against Boston University.

Now, It Really Matters

It all begins for real today as conference play begins with three intriguing matchups:

• Binghamton at Maine, 1 p.m.
  America East Conference play kicks off with the Bearcats and Black Bears facing off in Orono in a battle of teams going in opposite directions... Binghamton (7-4) has won three straight, six of eight and is off to its best start as a Division I program... Maine (5-8) has dropped four straight overall and its last eight at home against conference foes.
• Albany at Hartford, 2 p.m.
  The road team won each of last season's meetings with the Great Danes earning a 73-63 victory at Hartford on Jan. 19 and the Hawks returning the favor with a 68-61 win in Albany on Feb. 9... Albany is off to an 8-5 start tying the 2006-07 America East champion squad for the program's best start at the Division I level... Hartford has won 7 of its last 10 games against league foes dating back to last season... Leading scorer Joe Zeglinski has missed the last three games due to injury.
• Stony Brook at UMBC, 7:05 p.m.
  The defending champion Retrievers open defense of their league title with Stony Brook at RAC Arena... UMBC has won seven straight conference games at home and 16 of its last 19 against league foes overall... The Seawolves have won six of its last eight and at 7-5 are off to their best start as a Division I program.

Boston U. Drops Four Straight

Boston University fell behind Holy Cross 17-5 to start the game and never recovered, falling 68-49. The Terriers have now dropped fourstraight overall and six straight at Agganis Arena. Freshman Jake O'Brien was the lone Terrier in double-figures with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Boston U. is idle till Thursday's conference opener at Albany.

SUNY Forecast

Entering America East play, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook have either matched or exceeded the best starts in their school's Division I history. Albany is 8-5, a record only matched by the 2006-07 Great Danes, which won their second-straight America East Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Binghamton has won three-staight and six of eight to improve to 7-4, the best start as a Division I program. The Bearcats, who boast wins over Rutgers and Tulane, have one remaining non-conference game at Utah Valley State on January 10. Stony Brook has won six of eight, including a 67-64 win at Air Force on New Year's Eve, and is 7-4, the best start in the Seawolves' Division I history. Stony Brook has one non-conference game remaining at Dartmouth on January 13.