On Saturday, the Binghamton men’s basketball team hosted UMBC at the Events Center in an America East (AE) clash. The game was tight up until the final buzzer, but due to two Retrievers’ free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining, BU fell 70-68.

“I thought both teams played a pretty good game,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We knew that the matchups we had were evenly matched in terms of size and the way we play. I didn’t think we got timely defensive stops when we needed it … It’s gonna be hard to win.”

With 23 ticks to go, the game was tied at 68 when UMBC (9-10, 4-4 [AE]) took a timeout. The Retrievers gave the keys to the offense to their point guard who dribbled in front of sophomore guard John McGriff. The Retriever drove toward the basket and pulled up for a jump shot near the free throw line. His shot missed off of the front iron and junior forward Taveion White nearly grabbed the board, but McGriff was called for a foul once the ball came down. UMBC sank both free throws and BU (8-10, 5-4 [AE]) was given one more chance. White received a long heave from down the court and kicked it to junior guard Tyler Bertram whose 3-point shot to win the game came up short.

“They got 10 offensive rebounds, [if] they got nine, it’s a different game,” Sanders said. “Whatever type of call we think it is, it’s our job to get the defensive rebound but we didn’t do that, so we put ourselves in that position … We can’t be mad at anybody but ourselves.”

The Bearcats’ offense got off to a strong start with senior guard Christian Hinckson hitting a pair of threes to start off the game hot from beyond the arc. Their success continued with the guard play of McGriff and junior guard Jacob Falko, who both dished out three assists each in the first half alone. Into halftime, the Bearcats had a slight edge with a score of 39-38. However, the team did not replicate its first-half shooting success in the second half as they shot two for nine from behind the 3-point line after the break.

“I thought the first half offensively we played pretty well,” Sanders said. “We had 12 assists in the first half, I thought the guards especially early on really trusted our bigs and we were really hitting those guys with the extra pass and playing pretty good offensively.”

Falko ended the game with 16 points, bringing his conference average to 17.3 points per game, good enough for fifth in the AE.

Before the game even started, the atmosphere in the Events Center was buzzing, as a season-high of 2,113 people packed in to see the match.

“[The energy] felt great,” Sanders said. “When I was walking out of the tunnel, I usually kinda beam to see what kind of crowd we had and there were a lot more people in the stands … I think that’s attributed to how we are playing and I think fans are liking the way we play.”

Despite the tough defeat, BU still sits above .500 in conference play and is fourth in the conference halfway through AE competition. The team heads to Stony Brook next for an in-state clash. Last time the two teams played, it came to the final buzzer when Bertram missed a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

The game is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook, New York.