Vermont University

Late Binghamton Rally Nips Cats In Men’s Hoop Regular Season Finale

February 27th, 2006

Mike Gordon keyed a late charge as Binghamton came from behind to top Boston University next Saturday, March 4 at 2:30pm at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. The host Bearcats, the second seed, play seventh-seeded Maine in the quarterfinal opener at noon.

 

“I’m proud of our effort but it was a very frustrating ending,” said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “The guys are trying very hard but we can’t seem to make the right decisions at the right time. The number of turnovers we make is mindboggling. I hope we can pick it up this week and play looser and with more confidence in the tournament.”

Binghamton shot poorly for the game (38%) but forced 22 UVM turnovers, 13 in the deciding second half, while committing just seven. The Catamounts also outrebounded the Bearcats, 41-28.

Vermont held Binghamton to 24% from the floor in the first half en route to a 29-18 lead at the break. At one point the Bearcats missed 15 straight shots over a nine and a half minute span but closed out the period with a 7-0 run.

Binghamton opened the second half with another good run, outscoring the Cats, 13-5, to tie the game at 34-34 four minutes into the stanza. Vermont righted itself and led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half and had a 61-52 advantage with 3:23 to go.

On three straight Binghamton possessions, Gordon hit a layup off a steal, a three-pointer and a 10-foot jumper to cut the deficit to 61-59 with 1:27 left. Troy Hailey made a pair of free throws to tie the game and Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) hit one of two from the line to nudge the Cats ahead by one with 55 seconds left. On the next trip, Andre Heard hit a driving runner on the baseline with 38 seconds to go to give put the Bearcats back up. A layup bid by Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) was off the mark with four seconds left and Binghamton then closed out the game with four straight free throws.

 

Heard led all scorers with 22 points but shot nine-of-22 from the floor. Gordon (5-for-15) added 13 and Hailey (3-for-10) chipped in with 12. The win was Binghamton’s first ever at Patrick Gym.

 

Holm had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) added 14 points and five assists for the Catamounts, who lost for the fourth straight time.

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