The Seawolves have now lost three straight games and have dropped to 6-9 on the season, 1-2 in America East. Binghamton improves to 5-10 and 2-0 in the conference.
"I thought we had some good looks at the basket, but they just didn't go in," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "You have to be able to finish to win games like these on the road. I thought we played well on defense, but they also played good defense."
Stony Brook was unable to get into an offensive rhythm despite many open looks. The Seawolves had an early five-point lead, 11-6, after a Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) dunk at 12:16, but the Bearcats took over on offense with a 16-1 run as SBU went nearly eight minutes without a field goal. Binghamton's Moussa Camara fueled the run with 13 of the team's 16 points, including a dagger three-pointer at 7:21 that made it 22-12.
Stony Brook closed the first half scoring six straight points to make it a game, going into the locker room down only five, 25-20.
However, that momentum quickly faded in the second half as the Bearcats opened the second half with an 11-0 run on three-pointers from Mahamoud Jabbi, Camara, Jabbi again and a pair of Camara free throws. Binghamton opened up a 36-20 lead, its largest advantage of the contest.
Stony Brook battled back by holding the Bearcats scoreless for nearly six minutes and without a field goal for over seven minutes. Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made a layup after stripping Binghamton's Jimmy Gray to get the Seawolves within three, 51-48, with 4:03 to play.
However, the offense went cold once again as the Seawolves missed their final six shots and went only 2-for-5 from the free throw line in the game's final minute.
Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led Stony Brook with 14 points to earn the team's America East Player of the Game honors. Camara scored 28 points, was 7-for-12 from the field, 5-for-9 from three-point range and 9-for-10 from the free throw line to be Binghamton's America East Player of the Game.
Stony Brook outrebounded Binghamton 44-37 and had 20 offensive rebounds, but could not convert most of their chances, earning only nine second-chance points. Al Rapier (Chicago, Ill.) led all players with a career-high 12 rebounds.
Stony Brook will head home and play two games at Pritchard Gymnasium next holiday weekend. The Seawolves will host New Hampshire Saturday at 2 p.m., and then Albany Monday at 5 p.m. The Albany contest will be televised live on MSG-Plus. For tickets, visit the Stony Brook Athletics online ticket office or call (631) 632-WOLF.
