Terriers fumble it at the finish

Chretien Lukusa's backdoor layup with 36 seconds remaining was the difference as Binghamton beat Boston University, 60-59, yesterday at Case Gymnasium, despite blowing a 17-point lead.

After Lukusa's score, BU had two chances to take the lead. But Corey Lowe missed twice, once in the closing seconds.

The Terriers dropped to 14-11 overall, 9-4 in America East, while the Bearcats (17-8, 10-3) moved into a first-place tie with Vermont. The Bearcats own the tiebreaker after sweeping the Catamounts.

The win was the fifth straight for Binghamton. D.J. Rivera scored 20 points and added 12 rebounds for the Bearcats. Emanuel Mayben had 14 points and Lukusa 10.

Scott Brittain scored 20 points to lead BU, which dropped into third place with three conference games remaining.

BU trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, which ended with Binghamton up, 37-24. But the Terriers went on a 12-0 run and took the lead with five minutes remaining.

The lead went back and forth before John Holland hit a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to put BU up, 59-58.

Lukusa's winning basket was set up by a pass from Mayben.

St. Bonaventure 83, UMass 75 - Maurice Thomas and Chris Matthews each had 18 points to lead the Bonnies (13-11, 4-7 Atlantic 10) past the Minutemen in Olean, N.Y.

Tony Gaffney had a game-high 21 points and Ricky Harris scored 19 for UMass (9-14, 4-6). Chris Lowe and Luke Bonner added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

With 2:24 remaining, Matthews hit a 3-pointer to give the Bonnies a 75-73 lead, and Andrew Nicholson followed with a dunk that effectively put the game away.

Rhode Island 69, Saint Louis 61 - Lamonte Ulmer scored 18 points and Kahiem Seawright added 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead the host Rams over the Billikens.

Saint Louis (15-10, 6-5 Atlantic 10), which never held the lead, saw its four-game conference winning streak snapped. Kwamain Mitchell led the Billikens with 17 points.

The Rams (18-8, 7-4), who have won seven of their last eight games, held a 7-point lead at halftime.

Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus didn't make the trip because his girlfriend was involved in a serious car accident.

Columbia 60, Harvard 50 - Kevin Bulger made a 10-foot jumper in the lane with 4.2 seconds left to lift the host Lions (10-12, 5-3) past the Crimson.

Bulger missed a 15-footer from the right side with 10 seconds left, but Harvard knocked the rebound out of bounds, giving Bulger and the Lions another opportunity.

Jeremy Lin led Harvard (10-12, 2-6 Ivy) with 19 points, and Drew Housman added 13 points.

Jason Miller paced the Lions with 19 points, including 9 in the second half when Columbia rallied from a 10-point deficit.

Brown 61, Princeton 43 - Matt Mullery had 19 points and six assists as the host Bears (7-15, 1-7 Ivy) beat the Tigers (9-10, 4-2) to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Penn 68, Yale 63 - Harrison Gaines scored 19 points as the Quakers (7-13, 3-3 Ivy) held off a second-half rally by the Bulldogs (9-13, 4-4) in New Haven.

Providence 78, Rutgers 68 - Weyinmi Efejuku scored a season-high 25 points and Geoff McDermott added 12 rebounds as the host Friars (16-9, 8-5 Big East) held off the Scarlet Knights (10-15, 1-11).

Central Conn. 65, Bryant 61 - Ken Horton scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds to power the Blue Devils (12-13) to a nonconference victory at Smithfield, R.I.

Bryant (7-19) was led by Cecil Gresham with 15 points and Chris Birrell with 14.

UMBC 80, Hartford 63 - Jay Greene scored 22 points and Darryl Proctor added 20 as the visiting Retrievers (12-13, 6-7 America East) used a second-half surge to put away the Hawks.

Hartford (6-21, 2-11) trailed by 4 at the half, but UMBC outscored the Hawks, 16-5, over the opening 5:20 of the second half.

Bucknell 72, Holy Cross 66 - Patrick Behan scored 23 points and G.W. Boon added 16 as the visiting Bison (6-19, 3-8) knocked the Crusaders out of a first-place tie in the Patriot League.

Andrew Beinert scored 18 points for Holy Cross (13-12, 8-2).

Beinert sparked an 11-0 run to help Holy Cross take a 32-30 lead into halftime.

Boon converted three consecutive 3-pointers in the second half, sparking a decisive second-half rally that helped Bucknell take a 44-32 lead with 16:23 left. in the game.

UMass-Dartmouth 100, Eastern Conn. 88 - Brandon Stephens was 5 of 6 from 3-point range on his way to 27 points and Reece Freeman had 18 points and nine assists as the Corsairs, ranked 15th in Division 2, toppled the host Warriors in a Little East game.

A 9-0 run by the Corsairs (23-3, 10-2), which included a pair of layups by Matt Walker and a layup by Freeman, allowed UMass-Dartmouth to claim a 52-38 lead at intermission.

Bentley 93, Saint Rose 61 - Mike Sikonski had a season-best 18 points as the host Falcons (22-4, 16-3 Northeast-10), who are ranked 19th in Division 2, routed the Golden Knights (11-13, 9-10) for their 13th straight victory.

Tom Dowling added 16 points for Bentley, which won for the 13th time by more than 22 points.

UMass-Lowell 65, Assumption 53 - Freshman Kyle Caiola had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists as the River Hawks (20-4, 15-4 NE-10) held off the host Greyhounds (16-8, 13-6) for their 16th victory in 17 games.

Stonehill 70, Southern Conn. 50 - A.J. Rudowitz was high man with 16 points as the visiting Skyhawks (18-6, 13-6 NE-10) rolled over the Owls (2-22, 1-18).

Amherst 71, Middlebury 64 - Brian Baskauskas had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the host Lord Jeffs (19-5, 7-2 NESCAC) upset the No. 13 Panthers (21-3, 8-1) in their final regular-season game and secured the second seed in the conference tournament.

Ben Rudin led Middlebury with 29 points.

Trinity 83, Williams 73 - Aaron Westbrooks had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals to carry the Bantams (9-14, 4-5 NESCAC) past the visiting Ephs (16-8, 6-3), who still secured the third seed in the conference tournament.

Bates 77, Tufts 65 - Jimmy O'Keefe knocked down 16 points as the host Bobcats (13-11, 4-5 NESCAC) went on a 21-4 run midway through the second half to overcome a 4-point deficit and beat the Jumbos (16-7, 6-2).

Curry 66, Wentworth 58 - Gerald Cohen was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and had 22 points to lead the Colonels (8-15, 5-6 TCCC) over the visiting Leopards (9-14, 6-5).

Elms 78, Newbury 59 - Dan Gonzalez and Ronald Thomas netted 11 points apiece as the 12th-ranked Blazers (21-1, 11-0 NECC) rolled to an easy victory over the Nighthawks (7-15, 4-7) in Brookline.