For Immediate Release: March 19, 2009
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU men's basketball bows to 6th-ranked Duke 86-62 in NCAA first round
Bearcats shoot 53% from field but Blue Devils pull away in second half

Box Score
Post-game quotes

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Second-seeded Duke (29-6) opened the second half with a 17-2 run and defeated 15th-seed Binghamton (23-9) 86-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Bearcats outshot the ACC champion Blue Devils 53% to 49%, but the Blue Devils hit 21-of-25 from the free throw line and advanced.

The loss closes BU's historic season which included both its first America East regular-season and tournament titles and the program's first 20-win season at the Division I level.

Binghamton carried an 11-game win streak, third longest current streak in the country, into its first NCAA appearance at any level in 63 years of basketball. But Duke showed why it is one of the premier programs in the nation. The Blue Devils jumped on BU to start the second half, hitting 5-of-8 field goals, including three three-pointers and a three-point play. In the 17-2 run that spanned 5:15, Duke stretched its lead to 62-36 as the Bearcats were held scoreless for 4:52. Binghamton didn't get inside 20 points the rest of the way.

"I'm proud of our guys ... they left it all on the court," head coach Kevin Broadus said. "Duke is a very good team with a great coach, and they just wore us down. We sustained a lot of things they tried in the firtst half but they stepped up their defense and made shots in the second to get separation."

Duke put six players in double figures and owned a 38-20 rebound advantage. The Blue Devils hit 7-of-12 three-pointers in the decisive second half.

Junior guard D.J. Rivera scored a game-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. In his final collegiate game, senior forward Reggie Fuller hit 6-of-7 for 12 points. Fuller extended his consecutive field goals streak to 18-for-18 before missing a turnaround jumper midway through the second half. He was perfect from the field in the America East tournament (13-for-13) and made his first five shots against Duke. Junior guard Emanuel Mayben scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and added seven assists.

The Bearcats won the opening tip and scored the game's first points on a Malik Alvin layup 27 seconds into the contest. But BU was whistled for six fouls in the first 3:13 and the early fouls led to a parade of Duke trips to the free throw line, where the Blue Devils hit 15-of-18 for the half (BU was 0-for-2).

After trailing by 14 with 6:12 left, BU went on a 12-4 run fueled by four points from Fuller and back-to-back threes from Mayben and sophomore guard Brandon Herbert. The last three from Herbert pulled the Bearcats to within six, 37-31, with 3:28 left in the half. Mayben drilled another trey with 53 seconds left and BU went into the break down 45-34 after outshooting the Blue Devils 54% to 48%. Mayben wound up with 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Binghamton was hurt by 13 turnovers, including three in the last three minutes when they we making a move on the scoreboard.

NOTES
The attendance was 20,001, the highest in school history... Duke was coming off its 17th ACC Championship and owns the highest win percentage in NCAA Tournament history (87-29, 75%).