Late Free Throws Score OT Win For UMBC Men's Basketball

With 1.7 seconds remaining and Binghamton leading, the Bearcats mistakenly fouled UMBC's Laurence Jolicoeur on a 3-point attempt.

Jolicoeur hit two of his three attempts to send the game to overtime, tied 73-73. In the extra period, it was again Jolicoeur who struck.

The Retrievers (4-19, 3-7 America East Conference) hit four consecutive free throws -- two each by Travis King and Jolicoeur -- in the final six seconds of overtime to beat Binghamton, 83-79, Thursday night at RAC Arena in front of 2,108 fans.

“It was like a WWE Smackdown night,” UMBC coach Randy Monroe said. “Both teams played extremely hard and were getting after it. As a coach, it was a great game to be a part of. I was extremely proud of our guys and how they responded.”

With the game tied in the closing seconds, the UMBC men’s basketball team got a big stop under the basket and appeared to have the final possession.

But Chris De La Rosa then mishandled the ball near center court and was forced to foul Greer Wright, who picked up a steal and was driving to the basket. It was De La Rosa's fifth foul, which sent him to the bench.

Wright made both free throws, but the Bearcats' foul of Jolicoeur and his conversions at the line sent the game to overtime.

Brian Neller led five Retrievers players in double figures with 21 points. King added 17 points, Chase Plummer had 12 and Justin Fry and De La Rosa each finished with 10.

Binghamton’s Mamamound Jabbi, who is the America East’s co-Player of the Week after averaging a double-double of 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds last week, finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Moussa Camara scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half and was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. Wright finished with 14 points.

Both teams entered the game suffering through losing streaks as UMBC lost three consecutive games and Binghamton (6-17, 3-7) was on a six-game skid. The Retrievers and the Bearcats are trying to avoid a last place finish and the required eight-versus-nine play-in game in the America East Tournament.

UMBC led 38-36 at the half, scoring 15 points off eight Binghamton turnovers. The see-saw battle continued in the second half, and after the Bearcats took a one-point lead on a dunk by Kryie Sutton Jr., De La Rosa answered with a layup for the Retrievers with 15:41 left in the game.

Another 3-pointer by Camara gave Binghamton its biggest lead, 54-50, midway through the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Neller and King helped UMBC regain the lead, by one, with 8:52 left in the game.

Neither team could pull away and the game became more physical as the clock continued to tick down. A pair of free throws gave the Bearcats a 71-69 lead with 3:03 remaining, but Neller tied it again two minutes later.

After forcing overtime, the Retrievers' Fry scored four consecutive points to start the extra period, before Jolicoeur's and King's free throws ended the game with seconds to spare.

“Coach always talks about poise,” said King, who played an even bigger role when De La Rosa fouled out near the end of regulation. “We wanted to make sure we controlled the game and keep the lead. The coaches definitely did a good job this week in practice keeping us in attack mode.”

Neller made three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give UMBC a 21-13 lead with 10:48 left in the first half. UMBC dominated inside, outscoring the Bearcats 10-4 in the paint.

Camara then took over with seven consecutive points for Binghamton and helped close the margin to 25-22 with 7:05 remaining. A 3-pointer by K.J. Brown with 4:25 left gave the Bearcats their first lead since the opening minutes, 29-28. The teams then battled back-and-forth and there were 12 lead changes in the first half.  

Binghamton made 14 of 28 field goals, including 7 of 12 3-pointers (58.3 percent), but still trailed at the half.

“We have six games left in this league,” Monroe said. “We think we can play with anyone.”