Playoff Positioning On the Line

With just one week until the America East Championship at Albany, there is still much to be decided. Find out the implications for each game below...

UMBC at Binghamton, 7 p.m. (TWCS)
Binghamton can wrap up at least a share of the America East regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for the league tournament with a win over UMBC Thursday... The game will feature the top two scorers in the league, Binghamton's D.J. Rivera (20.4 ppg) and UMBC's Darryl Proctor (20.3 ppg)... The Bearcats' Emanuel Mayben is averaging 18.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds over his last six games... The Retrievers have won four of the last five meetings in the series, including a 84-78 decision earlier this season... Jay Greene, who leads the league with 6.3 assists per game, has 659 for his career and is one shy of tying Hofstra great Speedy Claxton for fourth on the conference's all-time list.

Albany at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. (CSN)
The Great Danes and Wildcats, two teams mired in a three-way tie for 5th place with UMBC at 6-8, meet for the second time in 11 days... New Hampshire, winners in two of its last three games, beat Albany 78-59 in the earlier meeting... Alvin Abreu, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists in that victory, is averaging 18.7 points over his last four outings... The Great Danes' Tim Ambrose has scored at least 26 points four times this season all over the last eight games.

Stony Brook at Hartford, 7 p.m.
With a win over the Hawks and a New Hampshire loss to Albany, the Seawolves can lock up the No. 4 seed for the America East Championship, which would be the program's highest in 8 appearances... SBU is allowing a league-best 61.4 points per game and is on the verge of becoming the first team other than Boston University to lead the league in scoring defense since the 2000-01 campaign... Hartford, which is looking to snap an 11 game losing streak, is assured of playing in the tournament's first round on Friday... The Hawks can finish 8th with wins in their final two games (vs Stony Brook, at Boston U.) and losses by Maine in its final two games (at Boston U., vs Vermont).

Maine at Boston University, 7 p.m.
The Terriers, who have lost just twice in their last 13 games at Case Gym, have locked up the No. 3 seed for the championship... Boston U. has won the last five meetings against the Black Bears, including a 73-62 victory on Jan. 25 after overcoming an 18-point deficit... Maine currently sits in 8th place at 4-10 in league play and needs to win its final two contests (at Boston U., vs Vermont) have New Hampshire drop its final two (vs Albany, vs Stony Brook) avoid playing on Friday.

Binghamton Controls Fate After Win Over Boston U.

D.J. Rivera scored 20 points to help Binghamton build a double-digit advantage and hold off Boston University for a thrilling 60-59 win at Case Gym Saturday. The victory moves the Bearcats (17-8, 10-3 AE) into a first-place tie with Vermont in the league standings. Binghamton, who has contests with Hartford, New Hampshire and UMBC remaining on its schedule, can lock up no less than a share of the regular-season title and the top-seed for the America East Championship. With that top seed comes the right to host the league title game should the Bearcats advance through the semifinals and an automatic NIT bid should they stumble in the conference tourney. The Terriers, paced by 20 points from Scott Brittain, fought back from a 17-point late first half deficit and led 59-58 with less than a minute remaining, but the Bearcats' Chretian Lukusa caught a pass on the left block and laid the ball in with 36 seconds left. Boston's Corey Lowe, who shot just 2-of-15 on the day but had 6 rebounds and 6 assists, had two looks to win it, including a 12-foot runner in the lane as time expired.

Also yesterday, the defending champs won their third straight once again behind the performance of senior point guard Jay Greene. Greene, who was coming off a 36 point effort against UNH Tuesday, scored 22 points and hit 5-of-6 threes, to lead UMBC to an 80-63 win at Hartford, the team's third straight victory. Darryl Proctor added 20 and Chauncey Gilliam contributed 18 points and 7 boards.

On Sunday, Albany looks to rebound from its 4-game losing streak at home against New Hampshire 2 and Vermont hosts Stony Brook on its senior day at 1.

SBU Sweeps Albany, Moves Into 4th Place

Stony Brook's turnaround season continued Thursday as the Seawolves completed a season sweep of Albany with a 58-47 win at Pritchard Gymnasium to move into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings. The Seawolves, led by a game-high 20 points from Chris Martin and 16 from Muhammad El-Amin, improved to 14-11 their most victories since joining the America East in 2001-02. Tim Ambrose had a game-high 16 for the Great Danes, who have dropped four straight.

Vermont Takes Over First in Midst of Wild Week

On day three of America East TV road trip, Vermont reclaimed first place in the conference standings with an emphatic 75-47 win over Boston University Wednesday in a game aired on NESN. The Catamounts, who have now won 10 of 11 overall, outscored their opponent 39-15 in the second half to snap the Terriers eight-game win streak. Mike Trimboli scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and added 7 assists. Marqus Blakely had his third straight double-double with with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Corey Lowe led Boston U. with 20.

Also on Wednesday, Maine snapped a five-game losing skid with a 68-63 win over Hartford, which had dropped nine in a row. Mark Socoby led a balanced Black Bear attack with 15 points. Sean McNally added 14 and 10 rebounds. Malachi Peay (12 points) and Gerald McLemore (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers. Michael Turner had a huge game for the Hawks with 26 points and eight boards.

Be sure to tune into MSG Plus tomorrow for the fourth America East TV game in four days as Stony Brook hosts Albany at 7.

Road Teams Dominate in Day Filled With OT and Thrillers

Just three days after scoring 31 points and leading his team back from 20 down in the second half against Vermont, Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben hit a 12-foot jumper in the lane with 3.8 seconds left to lead Binghamton to a 63-61 overtime win at Stony Brook. Mayben's game-winner was made possible by teammate D.J. Rivera's 12-footer of his own with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation which sent the game to overtime. Mayben finished with 12 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds, while Rivera had 22 for the Bearcats, who have won 3 straight and 5 of 6. Muhammad El-Amin tallied a team-high 16 for Stony Brook and Demetrius Young recorded a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Vermont was able to snap its four-game losing streak against Albany with a 79-70 victory at SEFCU Arena. The Catmounts led by as many as 14, but the Great Danes cut the deficit to 3 with 2:39 to play. Colin McIntosh, who had 18 points, hit a huge 3-pointer on the Cats' next possession to preserve the win. Marqus Blakely recorded a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards, while Mike Trimboli had 20 and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Tim Ambrose scored all of his 29 in the second half the Great Danes. Louis Barraza added a career-high 17.

UMBC got 26 points from Darryl Proctor and 17 from Matt Spadafora in a 73-68 overtime win at Maine. With the win the Retrievers swept the season series from the Black Bears for the first time in six years and moved a full game ahead of them in the league standings. Gerald McLemore scored a career-high 25 for the Maine, while Kaimondre Owes contributed 15 off the bench.

Boston University extended its win streak to eight and maintained its one-game lead for first place in the conference standings with a 67-49 victory at New Hampshire. Corey Lowe tallied 19 points, while John Holland tallied his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards. Tyrece Gibbs led the Wildcats with 20 points.

First-Place Terriers Win Seventh Straight

Corey Lowe and John Holland combined for 52 points to lead Boston University to a 77-67 win over Albany at Agganis Arena on Thursday night. The win, the Terrier's seventh straight, gives them a one-game lead over Binghamton and Vermont for first place in the America East standings. The win also snapped the program's seven-game losing streak at Agganis Arena. Lowe continued his superb play since sliding over to point guard with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Holland added 25 and 6 boards. Will Harris tallied a career and game-high 28 for the Great Danes to go with 9 rebounds. Brian Connelly contributed a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.

Epic Comeback in Burlington

Binghamton trailed by 25 early in the second half at Vermont Tuesday and was still behind by 20 with just 10:03 to go, but behind 22 second-half points by Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben the Bearcats fought all the way back for a stunning 85-83 win at Patrick Gym. D.J. Rivera hit a layup with 7 seconds remaing and Garvey Young's 3-pointer missed to mark to give Binghamton its fourth win in five outings and snap Vermont's seven-game win streak. Mayben, a highly touted tranfer from UMass via Hudson Valley Community College, had his breakout game as a Bearcat with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Rivera finished with 21 and 9 rebounds. America East Co-Player of the Week Marqus Blakely tallied a team-high 18 for the Catamounts, while Mike Trimboli contributed 14 and 7 assists.

Elsewhere, New Hampshire did but all coaches preach, finished halves, en route to a 62-55 win at Hartford. The Wildcats closed the first half on a 13-4 run and second on a 12-4 spurt to earn just their second win in six games. Alvin Abreu led the way with 19 off the bench, while Radar Ongonteu put together another strong effort with 16 points and 9 boards. Michael Turner had a game-high 22 for the Hawks, who have dropped seven straight. Morgan Sabia added 10 and 5 caroms.