During the Binghamton University men’s basketball team’s seven-game winning streak, junior guards D.J. Rivera and Emanuel Mayben have made an entire career’s worth of clutch plays.
On Sunday, each hit a big 3-pointer at the end of regulation to add to their resumes.
Rivera and Mayben’s heroics sent Binghamton (19-8, 12-3 AE) to overtime against New Hampshire (11-15, 6-8 AE), and the Bearcats hit enough free throws to complete a stunning comeback and win, 70-69.
New Hampshire led 64-58 with less than two minutes remaining when Rivera hit a contested 3-pointer to pull Binghamton within three.
UNH guard Tyrece Gibbs threw the ball away on the inbounds play, and Rivera and Mayben missed 3-point shots on the ensuing possession.
But the Bearcats stopped the Wildcats on the defensive end when Radar Onguetou’s jumper missed with 46 seconds remaining. Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus called a timeout and drew up a play for sophomore Brandon Herbert to take a 3-pointer.
Herbert’s shot was an air ball, but 6-foot junior guard Malik Alvin corralled the rebound under the basket and passed to Mayben, who drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score at 64 apiece, causing a frenzy in the school-record crowd of 5,222 fans.
Both Mayben and Rivera were only 1-for-7 on 3-pointers before their big shots.
When asked whether Broadus encouraged them to keep shooting, Mayben said, “Actually, he told us to stop shooting it from outside. But sometimes, it’s just taking what the defense gives you.”
New Hampshire, which had no timeouts, had 21 seconds to score a winning basket. But a jumper from Alvin Abreu and a desperate 3-pointer from Dane DiLiegro fell short, and the teams went to overtime.
In the extra session, Abreu hit his first shot, a 3-pointer to put UNH up, 67-64. In the bizarre final four and a half minutes, neither team hit a field goal, with Binghamton and New Hampshire both missing all three attempts.
But the Bearcats got to the line for 10 free throws, making six, and the Wildcats only shot four free throws, making two. That proved to the difference in the game, as neither team pulled away in the final minute.
“That’s unbelievable, isn’t it?” Broadus said. “Zero [field goals], and we were six for 10 on free throws — we didn’t even make those.”
Herbert missed a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining, allowing UNH to take a final shot down, 70-69. Eric Gilchrese took a shot that missed the rim, and Onguetou couldn’t control the rebound. The ball went out of bounds with .6 seconds remaining, and Mayben threw a lob cross court to end the game.
Rivera and senior Reggie Fuller struggled with foul trouble in the second half. Broadus decided to put both players back in the game with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, and his gamble paid off.
“It was like walking on a thin line,” Rivera said. “[Broadus] told me I don’t care if you foul out, just play. Play how D.J. plays.”
Rivera, who fouled out in overtime, had 21 points, five rebounds and six steals, and Fuller finished with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats have won seven in a row and nine of their last 10 games. During that stretch, they have come back from significant deficits against Hartford, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, and hit clutch shots to claw to improbable victories over Stony Brook, Vermont, Boston University and New Hampshire.
Broadus said his team needed many lucky breaks to sit in first place.
“This time I hope you all believe me when I say we were really lucky to win that game,” Broadus said. “They beat us in every statistical category other than points. We got lucky and had one more point than them.”
Rivera, on the other hand, thought it was more than luck that went into the close victories.
“We’re on a seven-game win streak, so at this point I wouldn’t say it’s just luck. I would say it’s hard work.”
Binghamton is one win away from clinching its first regular-season America East championship, No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and guaranteed bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The Bearcats, who will play defending champion UMBC on Thursday, can win the title with a win or a Vermont loss Saturday at Maine.
Binghamton’s win on Sunday exemplified its thrilling season. Amid a distracting environment that included a New York Times article about the team’s off-court issues, the Bearcats proved to have the mental toughness to block out distractions and come back against a seemingly insurmountable deficit late in the game.
“I know where we’ve been, as a team,” Broadus said. “I don’t know where we’re going. But like I tell these guys, I’m just riding along with them, and it’s a hell of a ride. I’m proud of these guys, how they fought tonight and how they fought all year.”