Third time’s the charm, or so they say. The America East community will find out if that is the case on Saturday when Binghamton University and the University of Maryland Baltimore County play their third game against each other this season. Only this time, it will be for the AE Championship.
The battle for America East supremacy will be settled tomorrow at the Events Center as the Bearcats (22-8, 13-3 AE) take on the Retrievers (15-16, 7-9 AE) in a rubber match of their season series. The Retrievers won the AE title last season, before dropping their first-round, NCAA-tournament game against Georgetown — the school where Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus was once an assistant coach.
In terms of this season, UMBC took the first game from the Bearcats on Jan. 28, by a score of 84-78. Bearcat junior D.J. Rivera was the top scorer of the game with 28 points. UMBC senior Darryl Proctor, a first-team, All-Conference selection, had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Retrievers. A second-team, All-Conference selection for UMBC, senior Jay Greene added 18 points and seven assists in the victory.
In the second encounter between the teams, the result was very different, as Binghamton defeated the Retrievers, 71-51, at the Events Center on Feb. 26.
While Proctor (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Greene (10 points) both had admirable performances, the role players for UMBC were largely shut down by the Bearcats defense.
“We were depleted injury-wise, but we lost the game,” said UMBC head coach Randy Monroe. “I’m not making any excuses. But the thing that I will say about our guys is that they just kept playing hard, they kept plugging away and they wouldn’t quit.”
For the Bearcats, junior Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben matched the game-high in points with Proctor, notching 18. Senior Reggie Fuller scored 12 points while pulling down 16 rebounds in the win.
So how will the Bearcats approach the matchup this time around?
On Proctor, sophomore guard Chretien Lukusa said, “I’m just going to try to crowd him as much as I can, and put the pressure on. It’s really hard to contest his fadeaway jumper.”
Speaking of UMBC, Broadus points out that the current team includes players from last year’s championship team, like Greene, Proctor and junior forward Justin Fry.
“They present a major-league problem to any team,” Broadus said.
Even though the affair will be hotly contested, there is always room for some humor, according to Binghamton junior guard Malik Alvin.
“I always joke around with Jay Greene, telling him to stop getting the ball, and try to make my job a little bit easier,” Alvin said with a smile. “And he tells me to stop pressuring him so much.”
A win in the game would be a first of sorts for the Bearcats in several aspects. The game marks the first time that Binghamton has played in the AE Championship game, and with a win, would be the first time that the team has appeared in the NCAA tournament.
And where would that win rank in the accomplishments of coach Broadus?
“Right up there at the top,” he said. “It would probably be No. 1.”
And the players are just as eager to play the game as their coach is.
“It feels good to bring the championship game back here,” Fuller said. “I just want to see this place rocking on Saturday!”
Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at the Events Center.