America East

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SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2009 | BINGHAMTON, N.Y.
FINAL EDITION
$1.50
School
payrolls
up $18M
in Tier
Increases necessary,
district officials say
By Doug Schneider
[email protected]
Public Service Editor
Public school payrolls in Greater
Binghamton increased
by more than $18 million from 2007 to 2008,
even as the economy
soured and many private-sector businesses
frozeorreducedwages.
Fueled by a range of
factors — from new
contracts to additional
hiring to an extra payday at some districts —
spending on salaries
andovertimeincreased ON THE WEB
at 12 of 13 area school
Ï Search two
districts in 2008, acyears
of payroll data
cording to figures the
districtsprovidedinre- from 13 regional
sponse to a Freedom of school districts at
pressconnects.com/
Information request.
Total wages for Tier schoolpay.
Ï Download the
schoolemployeesgrew
to more than $288 mil- Maine-Endwell teachlion, even though over- ers’ contract, adopted
all enrollment re- in 2008, at press
mained flat.
connects.com/
“It’s a balancing act,” meteacherspact.
said Joseph Stoner, superintendent at the ON PAGE 11A
Ï Most local
Maine-EndwellCentral
School District, where school districts spent
total payroll spending more on employees’
wasup9percentforthe salaries last year than
year, according to dis- the previous year.
trict figures.
Ï A chart shows
“We have to (pay the changes in
wages so we can) com2007-08 salaries.
pete with the other districts in the area for the COMING MONDAY
bestemployees,butwe
Ï A look at how
have to be cognizant of districts responded to
what taxpayers need Freedom of
andcanafford,”hesaid. Information requests.
Last year, such items
took many forms.
See PAY Page 11A
Report: Venezuela,
Cuba could host
Russian bombers
By David Nowak
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — A Russian air force chief
said Saturday that the country could base
some strategic bombers in Cuba or on an
island offered by Venezuela, the Interfax
news agency reported. But a Kremlin official said the military was speaking hypothetically.
The U.S. and Russia have been trying to
reset their relationship, severely strained
over U.S. plans to position missile defense
elementsinPolandandtheCzechRepublic
andbyRussia’sinvasionofU.S.allyGeorgia
last year.
Russia has nothing to gain strategically
See BOMBERS Page 9A
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT MVP D.J. RIVERA CUTS DOWN THE NET | Photo by REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photo | Design by Mark Ruiz and Al Vieira
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SYRACUSE FALLS
IN BIG EAST FINAL
Orange’s run through tournament ends
against regular-season champion Louisville.
PAGE 7D
SPORTS
Executive Sports Editor Charlie Jaworski, 798-1191 or 1-800-365-0077 / [email protected]
|
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SETON CC
ADVANCES
Tom Torto scores 24 points
as Saints win in state quarterfinals.
PAGE 3D
|
Sunday, March 15, 2009
D
AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
BINGHAMTON 61, UMBC 51
CHAMPIONS
BU rides defense to first league title in 63 years
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff photo
BU players Kyrie Sutton, top left, Mahumoud Jabbi, who sat out this season, Malik Alvin, bottom left, and Brandon Herbert hoist the America East Conference tournament championship trophy after Saturday’s 61-51 victory.
Bearcats to
learn NCAA
matchup today
No doubt now
about which is
BU’s biggest win
VESTAL — And now, time for media outlets nationwide to Google-search locator maps, pronunciation
guides and the like by way of introducing
readers/watchers/listeners to this first-time NCAA
Tournament entrant from upstate New York.
Binghamton University, one of 65 options to pencil in
on those NCAA tournament brackets
tonight or Monday morning.
Binghamton University, bound for
the bright lights of Philly or Miami or
Greensboro or wherever, to stand
NIKE’s-to-adidas with Fill-In-TheBlank University in the opening round
of the sport’s greatest spectacle.
Binghamton University, 23 victories
into a season that has brought the posiKEVIN
tive, the negative and so much in between, earning space in a field that may
STEVENS not
reserve a spot for, say, the
Commentary Kentuckys, Georgetowns and Arizonas
of the world.
Binghamton 61, UMBC 51 was the final tally early
Saturday afternoon in The House That Joel Built, where
confetti and streamers descended on a relative mosh pit
of revelers, one and all invited by public address announcer Dave Simek to return this evening at 5 o’clock
to celebrate during the tourney’s selection show.
It wasn’t pretty at times, particularly in the late going
when minute after minute wound away with BU shooting at a rim made to look as tight as the garb worn by
UMBC’s dance troupe.
“Unbelievable feeling, I’m just head over heels right
now,” said Reggie Fuller, 6-foot-6 BU senior who came
up biggest of them all in a contest that laid to rest any
debate regarding “The biggest win in program history.”
That night in December of 2006 in Coral Gables,
Fla., against the University of Miami was significant.
So too was last December at Rutgers, felling a Big East
See STEVENS Page 6D
By Brian Moritz
[email protected]
Staff Writer
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photo
Head coach Kevin Broadus joins his team as they cut the net down following
Saturday's 61-51 victory against UMBC at the Events Center.
COVERAGE AT PRESSCONNECTS.COM
Ï See more game and crowd
photos from BU’s big win at:
pressconnects.com/photogalleries
Ï Share your digital and
cell photos from the game:
pressconnects.com/BUreaderphotos
Ï Everyone’s got an opinion. Share your thoughts
about the TV coverage of the America East championship on ESPN2 at pressconnects.com/AECTV
Ï How did they do? Join a discussion about
Binghamton’s win at pressconnects.com/AECresult
Ï Review the Bearcats’ season and photo galleries
of past games at pressconnects.com/bumen
MORE COVERAGE INSIDE
ON THE BLOGS
Ï 'Bearcat Country' blogger
— and BU Zoo alum —
Chris Strub will blog all
week about the hubbub
around the big game:
pressconnects.com/strubblog
Ï Get the latest on the
Bearcats on the ‘BU hoops
blog’ by beat writer Brian
Moritz, and review his
notes from each game:
pressconnects.com/buhoopsblog
Ï All signs point to a No. 14 seed in NCAA Tournament for Bearcats. Page 4D
Ï Rivera gets some revenge in being named tournament’s top player. Page 4D
Ï Photos of players, fans and others around the Events Center at Saturday’s game. Page 5D
Ï Senior Reggie Fuller breaks out in biggest game of the season. Page 6D
Ï BU women lose heartbreaker in America East tournament semifinals. Page 8D
SELECTION SUNDAY
The NCAA Tournament
Selection Show will be
shown at the Events Center
this evening.
Fans will be able to
watch the show with the
Bearcats players and
coaches and find out who
and where the Bearcats will
be playing their first-round
NCAA Tournament game.
The show, broadcast by
CBS (WBNG), airs at 6 p.m.
Doors to the Events Center
will open at 5 p.m. There
will be several TV screens
set up on the Events Center
floor for the team, coaches
and fans to watch the
show.
VESTAL — It ended with
the student section storming
the court in celebration.
ItendedwithKevinBroadus
finding his wife in the stands
and waving her down to give
her a hug, a kiss and a championship baseball cap.
It ended with the players
ontheBinghamtonUniversity
men’sbasketballteamcutting
the nets down at the Events
Center, celebrating the program’s first America East
Conference championship.
The Bearcats earned their
first bid into the NCAA
Tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 61-51 victory
over the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
in front of a raucous, standing-room-only, record crowd
of 5,342 fans.
“I never would have imagined we’d be in this spot right
now.” said senior forward Reggie Fuller, who had a gamehigh 19 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
BU (23-8), which has won 11 consecutive games, will
learn its first-round opponent in the field of 65 at 6 p.m.
today during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show,
which airs on CBS.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” said junior guard
D.J. Rivera, who was named the tournament’s Most
See BEARCATS Page 6D
1
4D Press & Sun-Bulletin
A M E R I C A
E A S T
C H A M P I O N S H I P
Sunday, March 15, 2009
All signs
point to
14 seed
for BU
By Brian Moritz
[email protected]
Staff Writer
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photo
Even Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur, a staunch supporter of the school’s Division I program, got into the net-cutting act after the Bearcats’ victory.
Rivera got award that really mattered
From staff reports
VESTAL — D.J. Rivera finally got a top honor from
the America East
Conference.
Binghamton University’s
junior guard was named the
Most Outstanding Player for
the America East Conference
Tournament. He scored 16
points and had five rebounds
in BU’s 61-51 victory over the
University of Maryland,
Baltimore County.
Rivera averaged 18 points
and eight rebounds in the
Bearcats’ three games.
Before the tournament,
Rivera was left off the AllConference first team despite
leading the league in scoring
in the regular season.
“I didn’t make first team
all-conference?” Rivera jokingly asked.
“He got the most important
award today — tournament
champions,” BU coach Kevin
Broadus said. “That’s all that
matters. Individual awards,
they sit on a shelf and collect
dust. He’s going down in history, Binghamton history.”
Rivera, Tiki Mayben and
Reggie Fuller earned spots on
the all-tournament team, as
did UMBC’s Jay Greene and
Darryl Proctor.
DeFleur counts down
What was going through
BU president Dr. Lois B.
DeFleur’s mind as the final
seconds ticked off the clock?
“I’ve been so nervous and
just so intense about it, and I
just thought, ‘We can’t lose it
now! We can’t lose it now,’”
DeFleur said on the court after the game.
“It’s great,” DeFleur continued. “It has brought
tremendous pride to the students, and our faculty and
staff, and the community. I’ve
never seen anything that’s
brought us together in this
way.”
Tiki’s motivation
Tiki Mayben, who had five
points and six assists
Saturday, was asked if he had
a chance to reflect on his long
road to the America East
championship.
Mayben, a one-time
Syracuse recruit, spent two
seasons at the University of
Massachusetts and one more
at Hudson Valley Community
College in Troy before coming to BU this season.
“Not that often, because I
don’t do anything but live for
the moment,” Mayben said.
“I’ve got a mouth to feed (his
1-year old son), and if I think
about the past, it doesn’t do
much for him. I’m just happy
to be here.”
Montgomery’s moment
Senior Jaan Mongtomery,
BU’s lone four-year senior
dents were reported. The only observed incident involved
students who were standing
in line waiting to get into the
game. Binghamton
University spokesman Ryan
Yarosh described the incident as a disagreement and
said no arrests were made, although Campus Police had to
intervene.
Yarosh said there were no
other problems.
Adam Glose, 25, of
Whitehall, Pa., was there to
support University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
and was wearing a T-shirt
with Jay Greene’s name on
his back. Greene is from
Whitehall.
Glose said he encountered
no problems with fans.
“They’re nice until the tipoff,” he said. “It’s all about
sportsmanship.”
SCENES FROM THE EVENTS CENTER
A kid on Christmas
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photo
Jaan Montgomery's final game at the Events Center couldn’t have ended on a higher note.
and a reserve center, basked
in the glow of the team’s
championship after the game.
“This means the world to
me,” Montgomery said. “I
can’t begin to say how grateful I am to the fans, the community, and to my coaches
for all they’ve done for me.
We don’t care who we play; I
know we’ll play hard.”
Montgomery played one
minute in the first half and
missed his only shot.
‘Best feeling I’ve ever had’
Matt Mullins never expected this.
The Chenango Valley graduate earned a spot as a walkon for the Bearcats before
this season. Mullins, a freshman guard, walked off the
Events Center court on
Saturday as an America East
champion.
“This is probably the best
feeling I’ve ever had before in
my life,” Mullins said. “I didn’t expect this at all. It actually didn’t cross my mind. It’s
as real as it can get now. All
the off-season workouts, waking up at 6 a.m. for weights
and practice, it’s all worth it
now.”
Signs, signs, everywhere
Both BU and UMBC fans
brought plenty of signs to the
game. One that caught BU’s
attention was one of Sesame
Street’s Bert and his one,
long, continuous eyebrow.
He was wearing a
Binghamton No. 32 jersey,
poking fun at Tiki Mayben.
“It comes with the territory,” Mayben said. “If we
weren’t winning games, they
wouldn’t have anything to
say.”
Broadus interjected: “You
noticed that? You’re supposed to be focused on the
game.”
Mayben replied: “It was
kind of big.”
Record crowd
Saturday’s crowd of 5,342
fans was the largest to see a
basketball game in the fiveyear history of the Events
Center. The previous high
was 5,222— set three times
before.
It’s also the second-largest
crowd to watch an America
East title game. The 1986
Boston U.-Northeastern game
at Matthews Arena in Boston
drew a record 5,644 fans.
Priceless
If you didn’t have a ticket
to the game you weren’t going to find much luck in the
parking lot. Basketball fans
said you could offer them
$100 for their ticket and they
still wouldn’t sell.
Steven Prinz, 18, of Long
Island, explained that he
went through too much to
sell his ticket. He had to wait
more than five hours
Wednesday to buy his general admission seat to the student section.
“I don’t think I would sell
it. It’s too much of a (big)
thing,” said Prinz, an engineer major, who painted his
body for the game.
Tickets did swap hands,
but most of the sales happened before Saturday via
the Internet. Ticket rates
were anywhere from $50 to
$100. One person even traded
six New York Yankees tickets for three championship
basketball tickets.
Biggest in county history?
“This is one of the biggest
sporting events in Broome
County ever,” declared
Nathan Turrell, 39, of
Binghamton as he tailgated
with his brother Jason and
friends.
Jason, 35, of Binghamton,
said the only comparable
event was the Binghamton
Rangers going after the
American Hockey League
Calder Cup in the 1990s.
Nathan, a corrections officer at the Broome County
Jail, said Binghamton High
School winning a state championship in 1986 with King
Rice ranks up there with
Saturday’s game.
Jim Egan, 73, of
Binghamton said the only
thing that would rank above
Saturday’s game was seeing
the likes of Whitey Ford play
for the Binghamton Triplets,
the Yankees’ minor league
team from 1932-1961 and 19651968.
Skipping exams
Binghamton University student Steve Pahuskin, 22, of
Brooklyn, said he will probably fail out of school because
he had to skip two tests
Wednesday to get tickets to
the game.
“I probably won’t be here
next year,” said Pahuskin, a
political science and pre-law
major.
Any regrets?
“It’s totally worth it,” he
said.
A crazy calm
The energy was revved up
outside and inside the Events
Center, but no major inci-
After the game, State Sen.
Thomas W. Libous,
R-Binghamton, held up a
4-inch piece of string and
grinned.
“I feel like a kid on
Christmas,” he said after cutting off a piece of the basketball net.
“I don’t think anyone ever
dreamed that this great college would play in the NCAA
Tournament,” he said.
Libous said the team’s victory wasn’t just a triumph for
the university, but a triumph
for the community.
“It puts this university and
community on the map,” he
said.
The popcorn man
Skip Hausamann, 74, of
Endicott calls himself the
popcorn man. He was one of
many Rotary members who
volunteer their time all season to work the concession
stands. In return, Sodexho
makes a $200 donation each
game to his Endicott Rotary.
Hausamann said the club
has used the money to support organizations such as
Mom’s House in Johnson
City and Boy’s and Girl’s
Club in Endicott.
Hausamann said he normally just pops the popcorn
as the game goes along, but
had to pre-pop popcorn for
Saturday’s event because of
the larger crowd— second
largest in America East
Championship history.
Hausamann also shared his
dirty little secret. He’s a
graduate of Duke
University— one of
Binghamton University’s
possible first-round
matchups in the NCAA
Tournament.
Brian Moritz, Eric Reinagel,
Michael Sharp and Al Vieira contributed to this report.
VESTAL — Next up, the Big
Dance.
AfterwinningtheAmericaEast
Conference championship on
Saturday and clinching an automatic bid into the NCAA
Tournament, the Binghamton
University men’s basketball team
willlearnitsfirst-roundopponent
tonight.
CBSwillunveilthe65-team,fourregion national bracket starting at
6p.m.andBUwillhostaSelection
Show party at the Events Center.
Fanswillbeabletojointheplayers and coaches on the Events
Center floor and learn BU’s firstround opponent and destination
on 14-foot screens.
If national experts are to be believed, the Bearcats will be a No. 14
seed in the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN.com, CBSSports.com,
SI.com, Foxsports.com, Yahoo
Sports and RealtimeRPI.com all
havetheBearcatslistedasa14seed,
which means they would play a
No. 3 seed in the first round. The
winner of that game would meet
the winner of the game between
the sixth seed and 11th seed.
BU’s potential first-round site
and opponent varies from expert
to expert.
ESPNandCBShavetheBearcats
playing Wake Forest out of the
ACCinMiami.RealTimeRPIpredicts the Bearcats would play
Missouri in Miami.
Sports Illustrated predicts the
BearcatswillplayKansasinBoise,
Idaho.FoxSportspredictsBUwill
playtheUniversityofWashington
in Portland, Ore.
According to the daily rankings
at RealTimeRPI.com, BU has an
RPI of 89. That’s better than seventeamsthathadalreadyclinched
an automatic bid into the tournament when BU won its game.
TheAmericaEastchampionhas
never earned better than a 12th
seedintheNCAAssince1985.The
last America East team to win an
NCAA Tournament game was
Vermontin2005againstSyracuse.
“I’m happy for the league,” BU
coachKevinBroadussaid.“We’ve
brought a lot of notoriety to this
league.Before,peopledidn’tknow
who Binghamton was. Now they
will.”
BUwillreleaseNCAATournamentticketandtravelinformation
Monday on its official Web site,
www.bubearcats.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
This is Binghamton University’s
first America East Conference
1championship
and the program’s first
trip to the NCAA basketball tournament
at any level.
Dunks by Binghamton University’s
Reggie Fuller on Saturday at the
Events Center.
Number of shots taken and made
by Reggie Fuller, who finished with
a game-high 19 points and a team-best
10 rebounds.
UMBC turnovers on Saturday.
Entering the game, UMBC averaged just 9.6 turnovers per game.
Minutes BU held
UMBC scoreless to close
the championship game.
3
7
17
4:49
SUMMARY
BINGHAMTON 61, UMBC 51
UMBC (15-17) Fry 1-2 0-0 2, Proctor
6-16 0-3 12, Greene 3-10 0-0 7,
Spadafora 2-9 2-2 6, Gilliam 3-12 3-4
10, Flemming 7-9 0-3 14. Totals 22-58
5-12 51.
BINGHAMTON (23-8) Fuller 7-7 5-6
19, Rivera 7-15 1-5 16, Alvin 5-19 2-2 14,
Mayben 2-9 0-0 5, Lukusa 2-3 0-0 5,
Camara 0-2 0-0 0, Herbert 1-1 0-0 2,
Sutton 0-0 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-1 0-0
0. Totals 24-57 8-13 61.
Halftime: Binghamton 36-27. 3-Point
Goals: UMBC 2-11 (Gilliam 1-3, Greene
1-6, Flemming 0-1, Spadafora 0-1),
Binghamton 5-20 (Alvin 2-6, Lukusa 12, Rivera 1-5, Mayben 1-6, Camara 0-1).
Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: UMBC
39 (Flemming, Proctor 11), Binghamton
37 (Fuller 10). Assists: UMBC 14 (Proctor 5), Binghamton 12 (Mayben 6).
Total Fouls: UMBC 17, Binghamton 14.
A: 5,342.
1
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Press & Sun-Bulletin 5D
2009 AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONS
ADaytoRemember
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photos; upper right photo by ERIC REINAGEL
D.J. Rivera is suspended above the crowd as they celebrate the Bearcats’ America East title. At top, one BU fan goes all green and two more pay homage to one of the famous BU fans, ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser.
ERIC REINAGEL / Staff Photo
ERIC REINAGEL / Staff Photo
REBECCA CATLETT / Staff Photo
Clockwise from top left, Malik Alvin and D.J. Rivera
celebrate with time winding down. Reggie Fuller
has the support of the BU Zoo. Chretien Lukusa defends
UMBC's Rich Flemming in the second half. Tiki Mayben
tries to drive past Jay Greene in the first half and then
joins in the celebration with fans after the Bearcats’
claimed the America East championship.
The Associated Press
DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Staff Photo
For more photos from Saturday’s championship game, go to pressconnects.com/photogalleries
1
6D Press & Sun-Bulletin
A M E R I C A
E A S T
C H A M P I O N S H I P
Sunday, March 15, 2009
BEARCATS
CONTINUED FROM 1D
DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Staff Photo
Binghamton University's Reggie Fuller dunks during the first half of Saturday’s championship game.
BU’s quiet leader
sings new, loud tune
Fuller plays
‘like a man
possessed’
By Michael Sharp
[email protected]
Staff Writer
VESTAL — Reggie Fuller
walked out of the media room,
singing quietly to himself the
same phrase all those whiteclad fans at the Events Center
had just been chanting.
“We going dancing, we going dancing.”
TheBinghamtonUniversity
men’sbasketballteamisindeed
headed to the biggest of big
dances, with Saturday’s 61-51
victory over the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
ensuringtheBearcatstheirfirst
spotintheNCAATournament.
And let the record reflect, in
his final 40 minutes on the
Events Center floor, it was
Fuller who led the way.
“He played like a man possessed today,” UMBC coach
Randy Monroe said of Fuller,
aseniorforward.“He’sjustimproved from one year to the
next. He was unbelievable. He
didn’tmissashotfromthefield
in this game. And he just really came out like a senior and
just played his butt off.”
Fuller finished with a gamehigh 19 points and a team-best
10 rebounds, highlighting the
BUhalfofSaturday’sboxscore
and cementing his spot on the
all-tournament team. He shot
a perfect 7-for-7 from the field,
blocked two shots, and as
Bearcats coach Kevin Broadus
put it later, “It seemed like he
came up with every big rebound.”
Most importantly, though,
hehelpedsetthetoneearlyand
andRiveraexchangedabighug
shut the door late.
It was Fuller who scored in the Bearcats’ end.
“I want to say this is like my
Binghamton’s first four points,
withaturnaroundjumperalong No. 1 moment right here,” the
the baseline and an emphatic soft-spoken Fuller said later,
put-back dunk. It was also leaning against a wall outside
Fuller, in the final three min- the Binghamton locker room.
utes, with the Retrievers stick- “To come back here, to my
ing around, who took a charge, home stadium, and just win in
grabbed three defensive re- front of my home crowd — unbounds and sank two key free believable feeling. This is unbelievable.”
throws.
Before ending one UMBC
“Can’ttalkaboutjust(today)
whenitcomestoReggie,”team- possessionafteranotherdown
mate Tiki Mayben said after- the stretch with his presence
ward. “Talk about all year. Just under the basket, the 6-foot-6
talk about before the season Fullerfactoredheavilyintothe
started, him working hard in firsthalf,whentheBearcatsestablishedaleadthey
practice every day.
Him letting us know
‘To come back would never relinquish. He scored 14
that his senior leadership wasn’t neces- here, to my home of his 19 points in
the first half, and
sarilygoingtobeverbalallthetime.Itwas stadium, and just seven of his 10 recame in the
goingtobehiseffort,
win in front of bounds
second.
just his will to win.
But
as
for
“I don’t think peomy home crowd whetherthatstrong
ple understand that
he’sbeenplayingthe — unbelievable start helped ease
any early anxieties,
5 for us all year. Like,
we have four guards
feeling. This is he said: “Was nevernervous.I’mnevandReggieoutthere.
unbelievable.’ er nervous. All I do
Probably a power
is,Igooutthere,and
forward, a small forREGGIE FULLER
just have fun. You
ward at some other
can just see it from
schools somewhere.
... Just his heart and his will to the stands, I’ve always got a
win, I can’t really even bring it smile on my face, I’m always
laughing. Because I’m always
into words.
“At the end of the day, he’s having fun.”
That fun probably peaked
themostimportantparttowhat
we’ve got going on. Because if Saturday, as confetti rained
something happens with him, from the ceiling, classmates
that’srebounding,that’sthede- poured onto the court and the
fensive presence, that’s scor- nets came down.
A native of Missouri City,
ing in the paint. It’s just a lot
Texas, and a junior college
for us.”
With 24 seconds left, transferfromAngelinaCollege,
UMBC’s Chauncey Gilliam Fuller was asked afterward
missed a layup, and Fuller about this ride he’s been on,
grabbed the game’s final re- from the suburbs of Houston,
bound. The Retrievers opted to the Southern Tier, to this fitnot to foul, and so as Mayben tingfinaleattheEventsCenter.
dribbled out the clock, and the
“I can’t talk about the ride,”
fans inched closer and closer he said, “because the ride isn’t
to storming the court, Fuller over yet.”
Outstanding Player and had 16
points on Saturday. “It won’t hit
me until we see our name pop
up on that screen.”
It’s the first time in the 63year history of the BU basketball program that it has won a
conference championship and
advanced to the NCAA
Tournament at any level.
“After the 63 years this program has been going on, we finally made it to the top,” said
BU coach Kevin Broadus, who
led the Bearcats to the title in
just his second season with the
program. “Any of the other
coaches who came before me
could have done it. I’m just lucky
and blessed to come along at
the right time.”
In the end, as has been the
case for most of the season and
especially over the team’s current winning streak, the
Bearcats won by virtue of their
defense.
The Bearcats held UMBC (1517) — the defending conference
champions — scoreless over the
final 4 minutes, 49 seconds. UMBC missed its final seven shots,
including a free throw, and
turned the ball over three times
in that span.
That’s how BU won a game
in which it didn’t hit a field goal
over the final 8:16.
“I always say, defense wins
championships,” Broadus said.
“I guess our defense must have
been better at the end.”
The Bearcats led for virtually the entire game and were up
by as many as 14 points in the
second half. UMBC rallied to
within six points after Chauncey
Gilliam hit two free throws with
4:49 to go to make it 57-51.
The score stayed there for
nearly four agonizing minutes.
The Bearcats missed two shots
and were unable to extend the
lead in that span, but their defense kept the Retrievers from
closing the gap.
UMBC point guard Jay
Greene, who was blanketed
down the stretch by BU sophomore Moussa Camara and held
to seven points, missed a 3-pointerwithfourminutestogo.Darryl
Proctor, UMBC’s all-conference
forward who had 12 points and
11 rebounds, had a potential
three-point play waved off for
an offensive foul with 3:05 to go,
after Fuller drew a charge.
“Unfortunately, we don’t
score there for a while,” UMBC coach Randy Monroe said.
“I thought we had numerous
chances, and you know, it just
wasn’t meant to be.”
The Bearcats couldn’t score
down the stretch either, as UMBC extended its zone defense
full court to slow BU down. But
Fuller and Malik Alvin hit two
free throws each in the final
minute to seal the victory.
“Someone once told me that
the only way to be a champion
is to beat the champion,”
STEVENS
DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Staff Photo
Binghamton University's Reggie Fuller, right, takes a second-half
charge from UMBC's Darryl Proctor as D.J. Rivera tries to help out.
The Associated Press
UMBC coach Randy Monroe yells
at forward Rich Flemming in the
first half. Flemming scored a
team-high 14 points.
Broadus said. “We were lucky
and fortunate to have the ball
bounce in our favor. I take my
hat off to (UMBC), they never,
ever gave up.”
The Bearcats began the game
strong, hitting seven of their
first nine shots. Fuller had two
dunks in the first six minutes,
and Alvin’s 3-pointer with 13:52
to go gave BU a 16-9 lead and
capped a 12-4 BU run.
BU’s athletic, full-court pressure defense gave the normally sure-handed Retrievers fits
in the first half. UMBC turned
the ball over 12 times in the first
half— it came in averaging 9.6
for an entire game. BU turned
those mistakes into 15 points.
Saturday’s breakthrough triumph.
“I can’t talk about the ride
because the ride isn’t over,”
CONTINUED FROM 1D
Fuller said.
And there was D.J. Rivera,
foe regardless of that squad’s
recognized as the tourney’s
in-conference standing.
Most Outstanding Player afDecember of ’07 at home
ter being left off the all-conagainst George Washington?
ference first team. His 16
Um, please.
points were second only to
Saturday was groundFuller, and included a handful
breaking, tacking the label
of goals converted when BU
America East Conference
was very much in need.
Tournament Champion onto
But for the benevolence of
the regular-season co-championship, in the process limiting the NCAA, which granted
the defending champions to a Rivera a waiver to join the
point total that matched their Bearcats this season after
transferring from St. Joseph’s
third-lowest of 2008-09.
University — D-I to D-I
And call it a championship
transfer ordinarily means sitatmosphere created by a
ting out a season — BU is
record 5,342 in attendance,
most certainly in no position
loud, energetic, exciting. Not
to await its name called on
sure how the family of
CBS this evening.
diminutive UMBC guard Jay
But Rivera capitalized on
Greene took to the “Oompahis opportunity, and BU on
Loompa” jabs directed his
way. But, hey, it was the No. 6 his availability, and here are
the Bearcats, NCAA
seed playing on the No. 1
Tourney-bound, a mere 10
seed’s floor.
years after closing a 13-14 seaUMBC’s faithful had a shot
or two to offer up, too, includ- son in Division II ball with a
ing that drawing of Bert from two-point loss to UMassLowell.
Sesame Street wearing Tiki
Next-day account of that
Mayben’s No. 32 BU jersey.
’99 Northeast Collegiate
Anyway …
Conference Tournament
Back to Fuller, who was
game, by the way, required a
perfect from the field, nearsame from the free throw line, flip to Page 7F of this newspaper.
retrieved 10 rebounds,
Matt Mullins, BU freshman
blocked a couple of shots and
walk-on whose biggest high
elicited from the BU Zoo freschool contest was played in
quent chants of “Reg-Gie!
the Glens Falls Civic Center
Reg-Gie!”
last March while wearing a
He was asked afterward
about “the ride,” as the quesChenango Valley jersey, retioner phrased it, from junior
members the old Colonials of
college ball in Texas through
SUNY-Binghamton. He’d
two seasons at BU and on to
head to the West Gym — in
“I think it was more self-inflicted, what we did to ourselves,” Greene said. “We were
prepared, we knew they were
going to mix up their defense.
It just happened. They played
a good game. You’ve got to give
them credit.”
Mayben’s 3-pointer right before the half gave the Bearcats
a 36-27 halftime lead. BU hit its
first three shots of the second
half, capped by an Alvin reverse
layup that gave BU a 43-29 lead.
But the Bearcats hit just five
of their final 23 shots from the
field and scored just nine points
over the final 10 minutes. UMBC came back, but BU’s defense
prevented the rally in the final
minutes.
Rich Flemming had 14 points
and 11 rebounds for UMBC, and
Gilliam added 10 points.
“Hats off to Kevin Broadus
and his staff and the
Binghamton men’s basketball
team,” Monroe said. “They were
just phenomenal today. They
proved this year that, if you stay
focused and you work hard, you
can eventually be America East
Conference champs and eventually go and play into the
NCAA Tournament.”
Alvin finished with 14 points
and six rebounds for the
Bearcats.
“These guys have shown me
what being a true champion is
all about,” Broadus said. “There
was no one individual — it was
a team effort. It’s been a great
ride.”
the Pre-Palace era — “And
sometimes I’d go out and
shoot around after the
games,” he said of his days as
a grade-school lad.
“I remember I used to beg
my dad to ask them to get me
a practice jersey. Now, I’m
wearing a real jersey. It’s
awesome.”
As a kid, Mullins was a big
North Carolina fan.
“Hopefully, we’ll be seeded
higher than that so we don’t
have to play them,” he said,
referring to Carolina’s likely
No. 1 seed despite Saturday’s
loss in the Atlantic Coast
Conference tournament
semifinals.
Next? Some have peered
into a crystal ball that shows
mighty Duke as a first-round
BU foe. Were that to come
about, at least one Blue Devil
would have a working knowledge of Binghamton. Senior
guard Greg Paulus opposed
Binghamton High back in his
days as a high school AllAmerican, quarterbacking
Syracuse CBA’s football team
to a 48-16 state-playoff rout.
As for other possibilities —
Villanova, Wake Forest and
Kansas have been tossed
about — for most of the opposing players it’d be BU
Who?
But, hey, who knows what
the vagaries of March might
serve up?
After all, who’d-a-thunk the
road to the tourney would wind
through Vestal?
Stevens is a Press & Sun-Bulletin
staff writer.