Headlining the incoming freshman class is Binghamton’s third-highest rated recruit in program history, freshman guard Jayden Kelsey. He was ranked a three-star recruit by 247sports.com after averaging 10 points per game as a junior at Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The final freshman commit is freshman guard Jake Blackburn, who ranked the 49th recruit in New England by newenglandrecruitingreport.com.

BU’s class also includes four transfers from Division I NCAA Programs. Senior center Demetrius Lilley joins the Bearcats from La Salle, where he averaged 7.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds in his junior year. A former three-star recruit rated by rivals.com, junior guard Jeremiah Quigley will look to rebound from an off year at George Mason, where he scored just 1.2 points per game, and replicate his freshman season at Iona, where he averaged 10.8 points.

Junior guard Bryson Wilson joins BU after averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game during his sophomore campaign at Buffalo. Rounding off the Division I transfers is redshirt freshman guard Nevin Ibroci, transferring from Oral Roberts.

Three transfers from NCAA Division II joined Binghamton’s incoming class. Transferring from Fort Valley State is forward Sayerr Senghore, who scored 13.1 points per game while shooting 57 percent from the field in his 19 appearances during the 2024-2025 season. Junior guard Ryan Richardson joins Binghamton after a single season at NJCAA Missouri State-West Plains, where he averaged 11 points and a team-leading three assists per game. Rounding out Binghamton’s incoming class is junior forward Zyier Beverly, who averaged 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at NJCAA East Los Angeles College during its 2024-2025 season, ending the season 27-3.

Binghamton’s incoming class looks to build off a 2024-2025 campaign in which BU went 15-17.

Recently wrapping his second year at Binghamton, Walsh, the most notable of the three, is coming off a spectacular sophomore season, averaging 11.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and earning a third-team America East all-conference nod. He set program records for rebounds in a game with 23 against UMass Lowell, total rebounds in a single season with 339, and most double-doubles in a season with 14. The sophomore’s rebounding made waves on the national level: He ranked seventh in total rebounds and fifth in rebounds per game.

After beginning his career at Arkansas-Little Rock, Walker has played with the Bearcats for the past two seasons. In his first season, he averaged just 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game. This season, Walker saw significantly more playing time, averaging 11.5 points in 31 minutes per game while shooting 43.8 percent from three. His most notable performance came on the road against interstate rival Le Moyne, where he dropped a career-high 30 points.

The final Bearcat who entered the portal, Ashe, averaged 5.5 points and 1.1 assists per game in his sophomore campaign. Known for his athleticism, Ashe struggled to get consistent playing time due to his inconsistency on the offensive end, making just 24.5 percent of his three-pointers in his final season at Binghamton. A 17-point explosion against eventual AE champions Bryant in February was the highlight of Ashe’s second year.

With graduate student guard Tymu Chenery and senior forward Nehemiah Benson graduating this spring, a total of six players — including four starters — are set to graduate from Binghamton.

All three players have yet to announce their commitments.

“[It was a] hard fought battle, big-time conference tournament game,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “[We] kind of dug ourselves in a hole a little bit, and then we fought our butts off to get back into the game. A little overcoaching cost us the opportunity to tie the game up, but proud of my guys, but obviously it’s disappointing.”

The foes wasted no time scoring, with Albany (17-16, 8-8 AE) swishing a long two off the tipoff and sophomore forward Gavin Walsh responding with a three-pointer to give a 3-2 lead to Binghamton (15-17, 7-9 AE). Back-and-forth runs characterized the opening minutes, as the Bearcats faced a 13-8 deficit when they built a seven-point run to retake a 15-13 lead, kickstarted by a step-back three-pointer from redshirt junior guard Chris Walker. With 12 minutes left in the half, both teams were tied at 17.

“I think our mindset was just that it was do or die,” said senior forward Nehemiah Benson, who finished his last game at BU with a team-leading 19 points. “Give everything you can to be able to just try to get the outcome that you really wanted, and the outcome was [a] win. I think the statement that I want to leave out there is I gave it my all, trying to be the best version of myself I can, not only for myself, but for my teammates as well and for my coaches as well.”

Albany, however, started to pull away after a six-point run to go up 26-21. The Great Danes built their gap by protecting the rim and controlling the paint — the hosts out-rebounded BU 20-13 and made six blocks on the half. Frequently boxed out, the Bearcats struggled to find opportunities. When BU cut into a 31-24 Albany advantage after a three-point play from Benson, Albany responded with a pair of threes and an eight-point run to make it 39-27. While graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold had the final points of the period off a three-pointer, BU entered the half down 39-30.

“Two of the keys to the game were not turning the basketball over and rebounding the basketball,” Sanders said. “So we did one, but they out-rebounded us by 11 and then 16 offensive rebounds. Not a ton of second-chance points, but it just showed that they were the aggressors.”

Albany cut inside for two to open the second half up 41-30, but it was soon 41-32 after a pair of free throws from Benson. The big man continued to be a difference maker inside with consecutive layups that cut Albany’s lead down to 46-42. Yet Albany hit a three-point play in response and went back up 55-45 through continued control over the boards and strong finishes inside.

Leading by double digits, the Great Danes left the door open with their inefficient play. Trailing 66-52, sophomore guard Evan Ashe slammed in a dunk to begin a 10-point run for BU, which was capped by a three from senior guard Wes Peterson Jr to make it 66-62. Binghamton kept bringing the pressure, as Ashe finished another drive inside to get within two at 68-66. After a critical stop, graduate student guard Tymu Chenery appeared to get the game-tying shot up but it was nullified by a timeout from Sanders. Binghamton’s final chance at an answer came from the perimeter by Callahan-Gold, but the shot bounced out and time expired as Albany held on 69-66.

“So all we wanted to really do was we wanted to get Tymu into a high-ball screen and let him create,” Sanders said. “I saw us get down to the corner, and it didn’t look like we were really going anywhere and so I called the timeout — and that’s why I said overcoaching — and then he makes a shot.”

The Bearcats finished with a 15-17 record overall, going 7-19 against their AE opponents. All-conference honors were awarded to Chenery, Walsh and Callahan-Gold — netting second-team, third-team and all-academic team nods — while Sanders secured his signature AE win by snapping BU’s 22-game losing streak to Vermont. Entering an offseason with key players like Chenery and Benson graduating while contending with the transfer portal era of college sports, Sanders said his main goal is to find good people for his team.

“I think the most important thing is you have to get good people in your organization,” Sanders said. “Because if you don’t, then it doesn’t matter what you’re going to try to do basketball-wise. It’s not going to work. We’ve got a lot of work to try to find good people. The basketball stuff we can help them with but it’s going to be, every year, the same thing.”

“For us, it wasn’t really about the postseason,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “It was about finishing our regular season and having the opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done and so, disappointing for that. I didn’t think we executed well enough, especially defensively.”

While NJIT (6-25, 3-13 AE) won the tipoff, it would be senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. giving the Bearcats (15-16, 7-9 AE) an early lead with an inside floater to make it 2-0. The Bearcats controlled the early minutes of the contest with graduate student guard Tymu Chenery cutting through the lane to go up 9-3, but a pair of three-pointers from the Highlanders quickly made it a tied game.

The story of the half from there was NJIT’s physical man defense: The Highlanders jammed up Binghamton’s shooters to the tune of a 36.4 percent shooting clip. Despite getting in foul trouble, NJIT grabbed hold of the lead with another three-pointer to go up 22-19, and the visitors didn’t let go of the advantage the rest of the period. While Chenery gave Binghamton the final first-half bucket with a final-second jump shot, the hosts were down 36-34 entering the break.

“I didn’t think they were fouling on purpose,” Sanders said of NJIT. “I think that that’s just [the way] they play, and obviously we didn’t take advantage of that.”

The Highlanders continued to make use of the perimeter to open the second, swishing a three to go up 39-34. This initial score set the tone for the second half’s pace of play, with Binghamton struggling to find efficient shots to knot the contest. BU would remain in striking distance, however, by leveraging NJIT’s physicality to 23 free-throw attempts during the period.

It would end up taking an up-and-in three from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh that tied the contest at 63 to reignite the Bearcat offense. This opened the door to a 70-66 lead taken at the line thanks to consecutive fouls drawn by Chenery and Peterson, but the lead would not last. After tying the game 72-72 from the perimeter and getting a stop on the Bearcats, NJIT made its 11th and final three of the game from the corner to beat the buzzer and hand BU a 75-72 defeat.

“I think that shot, that was the loudest I heard the crowd all night,” Sanders said of Walsh’s three-pointer. “They kind of erupted, and I thought that that gave us some momentum. But again, I don’t think we capitalized on that because we kind of gave it right back to them.”

Despite the loss, history was still made at the Events Center on Thursday, thanks to Walsh. Leading the squad with a 19-point and 14-rebound double-double, the sophomore officially broke BU’s single-season double-double record. Walsh’s 14 total double-doubles on the campaign leave him tied for ninth in the nation, while he closes the regular season with the fourth most rebounds in the country at 330, according to the NCAA.

“Gavin has had a tremendous season in terms of rebounding the basketball, and it’s a credit to all his hard work,” Sanders said. “Obviously if you ask him, he’ll say his teammates contributed to that also, but he’s had a heck of a season.”

“It’s the America East tournament,” he added. “So if you can’t focus and play a good brand of basketball, something is wrong. We know exactly what we need to do. We know what challenges Albany presents.”

With yesterday’s loss and Bryant’s victory over New Hampshire, BU has clinched the No. 5 seed for the AE playoffs and a quarterfinal date with No. 4 Albany on Saturday, March 8. The squads traded respective road wins during conference play, with BU topping the Great Danes in Albany 65-61 during their latest matchup courtesy of a final-second dagger from Chenery. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Broadview Center in Albany, New York.

“I just thought that Lowell was just the aggressors from the beginning,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I thought we were back on our heels. We were off-balance because of the aggressiveness, especially defensively, which I think affected us on our defensive end, because offensively, we really couldn’t get into the offense, we couldn’t really run in the offense, and then I thought that affected us defensively.”

After winning the tipoff, redshirt junior guard Chris Walker opened up the scoring for Binghamton (15-15, 7-8 AE) by finding senior forward Nehemiah Benson cutting inside for two, but UMass Lowell (17-13, 6-9 AE) responded with a drive of its own to tie up the game. Lowell soon went up 11-6, but graduate student guard Tymu Chenery responded with a wide-open three-pointer to get back within two.

However, the Bearcats wouldn’t get any closer as the River Hawks opened up an 11-point run that gave them a 26-11 advantage. While Chenery broke up the run with a logo three, a pair of threes from the hosts in response made the score 32-14. Binghamton struggled to stop a UMass Lowell squad that shot at a 68 percent clip on the half, with BU’s own offense disrupted by the host’s man defense. Down 40-18, a three from graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold led an eight-point run to close out the half, but the Bearcats were still down 40-26 at the break.

“We might have traded some baskets back and forth or whatever, but I never really felt like we were playing our game the way we needed to play,” Sanders said. “Like I said, I just thought there were some moments where they were pressuring us and we couldn’t get the ball where we needed to get the ball.”

Coming out of the break, the River Hawks wasted no time on offense with a 12-point run in the first five minutes, opening the period up 52-26. As the hosts poured in the points, they continued to silence the Bearcat offense, holding it to just two shots while forcing four turnovers on the run. This opening sequence would set the tone for the rest of the half, with a River Hawk three-pointer bringing the score to 61-30. While an eight-point run for BU sparked by a drive from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh made it 63-39, the game remained out of reach. The Bearcats’ final road game of the regular season would see them finish down 26 points, losing 79-53.

“We just had too many turnovers from passes, like trying to pass the ball to the other guy,” Sanders said. “Turnovers turn into easy baskets, and down 14 at half when you come out and you have three or four turnovers, and then they get easy baskets, now they’re [going] from 14 to 25. If we’d come out and gotten stops, 14 could go to seven.”

Saturday’s loss marked the largest margin of defeat for BU in AE play and the first time in this season’s conference BU failed to break 60 points. This marked an uncharacteristic outing for a Binghamton defense — which was ranked first in the conference for three-point percentage allowed at 30.7 percent — as the River Hawks shot 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.

“In the grand scheme of things, for the most part, we’ve been playing well, and it’s no reason to have a big overreaction from one game,” Sanders said. “So it’s a matter of putting it behind us but also learning from the way we need to come on and start games.”

BU will look to right the ship on Tuesday, March 4 as it hosts NJIT for its final game of the regular season. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“You come into the huddle and you hear them, or at halftime, they’re saying, ‘We’ve been here before in this position,’” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We’ve been up in this game and that game,’ and they’re saying, ‘well, not today.’ So you got to give them credit, because we can say it, we can talk about it, but they have to actually go out there and do the things.”

The Wildcats (8-21, 6-8 AE) took an early lead with a layup, but sophomore forward Gavin Walsh responded with a rebound that he kicked out to senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. for a three-pointer to make it 3-2. New Hampshire soon went back out in front 5-3, before graduate student guard Tymu Chenery got the tie with a strong move inside for two. Defense was key early, with both squads going 2-for-6 from the field heading into the first media.

After more lead trading and an 18-18 tie, BU (15-14, 7-7 AE) found its shot when redshirt junior guard Chris Walker made it 21-18 by nailing down a three-pointer. This opened up an eight-point run fueled by five points from graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold. While New Hampshire outshot the hosts 31-24, a 50 percent shooting rate from the field on the half and tight defense kept the lead in the Bearcats’ hands. After Chenery capped the half with one final drive inside, BU entered the break up 35-22.

“We were able to get out in transition and run a little bit,” Sanders said. “[New Hampshire] were kind of sending three to four guys to crash the glass, and they had seven offensive rebounds in the first half, but we were telling the guys, ‘once we rebound, let’s get out and run.’ I thought we had a few easy baskets because they were crashing and they didn’t get the rebound.”

Peterson would be the first Bearcat to score to open the second, getting to the rim to take a 37-22 advantage. The offense kept moving from there, with a tough and-one layup from Walsh and another three-pointer from Walker putting the hosts up 43-25. Sophomore guard Evan Ashe soon joined in on the scoring off a dime from Walsh inside for two before making it 53-32 with a three-pointer.

Second-half success was fueled by several factors — the squad found more shots on offense and more efficiency by going 15-for-28 while winning the rebound battle 22-12. The Bearcats also capitalized on the Wildcats’ temper with a six-point play courtesy of two New Hampshire technicals to make it 63-38. All of these factors, without any room for error left by the hosts, led to Binghamton cementing its most dominant AE win since 2020 with the final score reading 79-60.

“When we came in at halftime, everybody was kind of serious,” Chenery said. “Nobody was really celebrating or anything … That loss at New Hampshire kind of put a bitter taste in our mouth, so we were pretty upset about that. We didn’t even care about the lead. We were just thinking about another 20 minutes just trying to get it higher and higher.”

Tying the school record for double-doubles in a season with 13, Walsh led the Bearcats with 15 points, five assists and 13 boards. The sophomore was one of five Bearcats who contributed double-digit points in the win.

“I think we’re really ready,” Chenery said. “Five guys in double figures, I think we all just kind of bought in really trying to play for each other … Winning is the number one priority. So I think we’re definitely ready.”

“I thought it was a playoff kind of atmosphere with both teams making plays and not wanting to lose,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I think the difference is just we made a few more plays and then they did.”

Maine (16-12, 8-5 AE) was quick to get on the board, driving in a layup on its first possession, but the Bearcats (15-14, 7-7 AE) soon notched it at 2-2 after a midrange from senior forward Nehemiah Benson. Four Bearcat turnovers fueled a Black Bears run that saw them take an 11-2 lead. The Bearcats, however, responded with a 6-2 run as Benson added another four points and Chenery a fast-break dunk to bring it to 14-8 to go into the first media break.

“I think changing and only going with one big I think that helped us out, just because it gave us more space,” Sanders said. “We weren’t so stagnant trying to throw the ball inside.”

Maine continued its strong start to the match, growing its lead to 10 after two back-to-back three-pointers. Eight points from redshirt junior guard Chris Walker with scores from all levels of the field brought Binghamton within three as it entered the final media timeout of the first period. Earning two consecutive trips to the free-throw line, the Bearcats tied the match at 30-30. Walker drilled two shots from beyond the arc, and Walsh added a jumper of his own as Binghamton took its first lead before Maine cut the lead to 38-33 as the foes entered the half.

”My teammates trust me,” Walker said. “They try to do what they can to give me the ball in my spot so I can raise up and get a good look. I feel like it’s credit to them for just hitting me in my spots.”

The Black Bears opened the second half on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game. Senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. stopped the bleeding with a layup, which fostered a 6-0 run for BU to make it 46-39. It proved a game of runs as Maine’s offense continued to get to the basket, draining a three-pointer to take a 49-46 game with 11:30 to go, forcing a Bearcat timeout.

”We talk about controlling our own destiny,” Sanders said. “For us, it’s just a matter of, you know, just trying to go out and be present on that day, and so we can have our best foot forward. I thought we did a really good job today.”

As the clock winded down, a layup from Chenery helped BU regain the lead, but the back-and-forth continued between both teams. Neither team took a lead greater than four, as it was still anybody’s game. Walsh drained a three-pointer with three minutes to go to give Binghamton a 66-65 lead, but Maine quickly took the lead back with two free throws. As the game came down to the wire, Peterson hit two big free throws, and Chenery hit a huge three-pointer to make it 71-69. The Bearcats fended the Black Bears off for the final 29 seconds to secure the victory.

“I think it started with just getting my teammates involved,” Chenery said. “They trust me with the ball. They kind of want me to be a ball, so I feel like I owe them, and I got to make the right plays. So I think it just started from there. I was able to build a rhythm.”

The Bearcats were led by Walker, who scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting as the Bearcats shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. Chenery and Walsh each nearly added double-doubles, netting 15 and 13 points and adding nine and eight rebounds apiece, respectively.

“We always talk about being a balanced team and not just having one player or two guys just kind of dominate everything,” Sanders said. “I think that’s a lot harder to guard when you have multiple guys who can make plays, who can score, and so that’s the formula for us.”

The Bearcats will head to UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 1, as they attempt to secure a home playoff game. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Costello Gymnasium in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “Obviously we lost at UMBC, and we didn’t want to go 2-0 on the road trip. I said this to the guys, we got to be more mature and understand how to handle the success that we’re having within the game. Not celebrate. Nothing is over.”

NJIT (5-22, 2-10 AE) wasted no time getting to the rim, quickly building up a 4-0 lead over the visiting Bearcats (13-14, 5-7 AE). This lead wouldn’t last, however, with senior forward Nehemiah Benson converting inside for two before redshirt junior guard Chris Walker made it 7-4 with five points himself. The hosts answered with a quick three-to-tie, setting the tone for a back-and-forth period.

While Binghamton wouldn’t struggle to generate opportunities during the first half — outshooting NJIT 30-to-27 and grabbing eight offensive rebounds — the team struggled to finish drives, shooting at a 31.58 percent clip. A three-point play from Walker gave BU a 26-18 advantage, but NJIT answered with a seven-point run to get back within one. A strong drive inside from graduate student guard Tymu Chenery cemented a 30-27 lead entering the half.

“When we get stops, we can get out,” Sanders said. “I thought we got a lot of stops in the first half, but I just didn’t think we were scoring offensively … We didn’t capitalize on the second chance points when we got all those offensive rebounds.”

The Bearcats heated up coming out of the break to go up 40-35, powered by eight points from Benson all in the paint. Benson’s spark lit up the offense from there, as he found senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. for a three-point play before a strong finish by sophomore forward Gavin Walsh made it 53-40 with 11 minutes of play left. However, BU struggled to maintain momentum up double digits as its guards coughed up the basketball. NJIT leveraged Binghamton’s 10 second-half turnovers alongside silencing Benson inside into a 13-point run and retaking a 56-55 advantage.

The teams traded drives and free throws to close the period out, with a crucial stop by Peterson in the final seconds sending things to overtime tied at 62.

“When we’re up, it’s not a time to relax and celebrate,” Sanders said. “We gotta keep pressing. We gotta keep kicking them while they’re down, and not give teams the ability to gain confidence and get back into the game.”

Peterson opened overtime with off a tough shot from mid-range to give BU a 64-62 lead. Foul trouble soon reared its head when the Highlanders drew a charge on Benson to foul him out of the contest and secure a pair of free throws for the tie. With Benson no longer commanding the post, Sanders called on graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold to operate inside. After a pair of free throws from Chenery, Callahan-Gold proved to be the difference maker in the match by finessing two tough drives inside to go up 71-66 and put NJIT away. After trading fouls, the Bearcats closed the road trip with a 75-71 victory.

“[Sophomore NJIT guard] Tariq Francis had four fouls, so we said whoever he was guarding, he was going to post him up,” Sanders said. “So he was guarding [Callahan-Gold], and he took advantage of his size. He was just shooting over and was able to get some crucial baskets for us down the stretch.”

Benson and Walsh led the box score Saturday with double-doubles of 20 points and 11 rebounds and 17 points and 16 rebounds, respectively. On a day where BU went 0-for-15 from outside the arc, dominance inside was crucial — the Bearcats outscored NJIT 52-26 in the paint and out-rebounded the hosts 57-to-36.

“It’s just a matter of whatever it takes that day,” Sanders said. “We’re not choosy. If the shots are not going down outside, go inside. If it’s not going down inside, go outside. Just finding ways to win as a sign of a team that has some potential once we focus.”

BU returns to Vestal on Thursday, Feb. 20 looking to get its win back against New Hampshire. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“It has to carry over,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “That’s the recipe to be successful on the road. You got to make free throws, you can’t turn the basketball over, and you have to be able to rebound.”

After winning the tipoff, Binghamton (12-13, 4-6 AE) wasted no time mounting a 4-0 lead-off of strong inside-the-arc scores from senior forward Nehemiah Benson and graduate student guard Tymu Chenery. The River Hawks (15-9, 4-5 AE) responded with a 7-0 run of its own for the lead while holding the hosts to 25 percent shooting on eight attempts heading into the first media timeout.

A three from Chenery put Binghamton up a 9-7 lead, but inefficiency from both sides made it a game of scoring runs. Thanks to strong offensive rebounding–outnumbering the River Hawks 8-4 on the period — and a timely three-pointer from senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. for cushion, Binghamton entered the half up 24-21.

“We really talked about probably the biggest key for us was rebounding the basketball,” Sanders said. “You can see they were flying in and trying to get rebounds. I thought we did a good job of rebounding the basketball.”

While Lowell struck first inside to open the second, Benson quickly responded with a layup to go back up three before a three-point play from redshirt junior guard Chris Walker made it 30-25. The Bearcats did not allow Lowell to get closer than five points the rest of the way, pouring in an efficient 16 made field goals on 28 attempts.

Although the River Hawks started to force turnovers after switching into a press in the closing minutes, a dunk from Chenery to go up 12 with just a minute to go sealed it. After exchanging fouls to close it out, Binghamton upset the River Hawks with a 66-54 victory.

“It was solving our selfishness that was the key,” Sanders said. “In the first half, we did not share the ball with each other, and we got to do a better job of that … If we share the ball and move the ball and give the ball to the open man, everybody will have an opportunity to be successful.”

Although four Bearcats added 10 or more points in the game, the real story of Thursday’s contest was the rebounding. BU grabbed a season-high 52 boards against Lowell, with 40 of them coming on crucial defensive possessions. Leading the way was sophomore forward Gavin Walsh, who broke his own school single-game rebounding record with 23.

“[Coach] was telling me before the game I really gotta focus on the defensive rebounds,” Walsh said. “I love this guy a lot. So when he tells me to do something, and I am able to do it and sort of make him a little happy it makes me happy.”

On Saturday, Binghamton turned its attention to first-place Bryant (15-10, 9-1 AE). The game quickly became a dead heat, with Walsh providing consecutive answers to Bryant’s leads with strong drives to knot things at seven. When Bryant built a nine-point run to go up 21-14, it was time for a different sophomore to take over.

After registering just one shot attempt Thursday, sophomore guard Evan Ashe got to work with a three-pointer to break up the run. Ten points on the half from Ashe included a three-pointer to tie things at 26. While Binghamton did not recapture the lead during this period, Ashe’s efforts kept BU within six heading into halftime.

“[Ashe] had a really good game today,” Sanders said. “They were playing him as a non shooter, and he knocked some shots down. It’s to his credit because he works every day. He goes in the gym, he gets extra shots up.”

The Bearcats found their shot in the second half. Walsh kicked off an eight-point run to open the period that culminated in a three-pointer from Chenery to give BU the lead back at 40-38. From there, broke down into an offensive dogfight with the biggest lead being a five-point advantage off of another big play from Ashe, who drove inside to make it 53-48.

However, Bryant soon exploded for an unanswered ten-point run to take control. Undaunted, the Bearcats used every tool they had to trim Bryant’s lead to just 71-68 off a quick bucket with 40 seconds to go. Yet, Binghamton was unable to get the equalizer, and late free throws cemented a 78-71 win for the Bulldogs.

“I didn’t want us to just start jacking up threes,” Sanders said. “A lot of times in these games if you’re down by three or you’re down by five, then you just start jacking up threes. I wanted us to still attack and try to get to the rim and kind of put some pressure on them to make some free throws.”

Binghamton will look to maintain its best stretch of play on Thursday, Feb. 13 at UMBC. Tipoff at 6 p.m. at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

“It’s a game of runs,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We turned it over 13 times in the second half, which allowed them to score some easy baskets, which made the game close. Story of our lives. Then we made some plays down the stretch that were able to sort of seal the win.”

Binghamton wasted no time on offense, with senior forward Nehemiah Benson floating one in over Albany’s heads from midrange to go up 2-0. The visitors continued to control the lead throughout the half, scoring from all levels of the court including a corner three-pointer to go up 12-6 courtesy of redshirt junior guard Chris Walker. Binghamton’s first-half success came from controlling the paint and out rebounding the Great Danes 20 to 13, while adding four blocks. A cut inside for a layup by graduate student guard Tymu Chenery cemented a 36-26 lead entering halftime.

“In the video we watched, we knew that we were going to have to play with some aggression and play with some force, because that’s how [Albany] plays,” Sanders said. “We were talking about not matching their aggression but passing their aggression, and I thought we did a really good job of that.”

The second half of play would see the tides quickly turn in favor of the Great Danes. Albany strung together a seven-point run to knot the game at 40-40. While a three-pointer from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh at the top of the key gave BU the lead back, Albany continued to capitalize on turnovers and eventually took its first lead from inside to go up 44-43. Twenty-one points off of turnovers by Albany in the half got the hosts back in the contest, but Binghamton maintained momentum to keep things even.

“When we had a few turnovers, I want to say we kind of got passive a little bit,” Sanders said. “Then we scored a basket or two, and then we kind of snapped out of it. Then we would have a few more turnovers, and we would become passive again. It’s just a matter of us staying aggressive.”

Tied 61-61 with 38 seconds left, a crucial stop resulted in the ball being in Chenery’s hands. The Bearcat proceeded to run the clock down while looking for his shot, finding a wide-open lane to the rim for two to secure the lead with 10 seconds to go. This was followed by a game-sealing steal and pair of free throws from Benson to secure a 65-61 victory. Beginning the week 1-5 in AE play and well outside the playoff picture, the Bearcats finish it 3-5 and as the fifth seed in the standings.

“We wanted to get to a high ball screen and have [Chenery] use his ability to make a play for himself or a teammate,” Sanders said. “So that’s what we did … He made a really good play, and then we were able to get two stops defensively, and then execute some free throws. That was a really well-executed play.”

Leading the squad with 16 points in just 29 minutes at a 63.6 percent clip was Benson. As a team, Binghamton crucially won the rebound battle 33-26 with a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double from Walsh contributing to the winning effort.

“That’s kind of what we’ve come to expect from [Walsh],” Sanders said. “He’s high-energy, high-motor and never stops going. So, yeah, he had a monster night. But he was big. I mean, he had some man rebounds in there, and it was impressive to see.”

BU will look to maintain its winning streak with a pair of home games next week. The slate begins against UMass Lowell on Thursday, Feb. 6 with tip-off set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“I’m just proud of the way we battled,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I think the guys were really locked in this week. Everybody kept saying not today. It was just one of those things where we were frustrated with repeatedly losing to Vermont. I’m just proud, man. It was a total team effort … I think this win gives us an opportunity to say, ‘You know what? We beat one of the best teams in the league.’”

The game started slow, with the Bearcats (10-12, 2-5 AE) and Catamounts (11-11, 4-3 AE) forcing turnovers on their opening defensive possessions. Vermont quickly put its foot on the gas, going on an early 6-0 run and forcing Binghamton to use a timeout just three minutes into regulation. Binghamton broke through by way of a corner three from the hands of graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold as the Bearcats slowly regained lost footing.

“I think at the first time we were just talking about ‘not again,’” Sanders said. “I’m giving all the credit to the players. Those guys gotta go out there and make plays and they do that, they did that today at a high level. I think the one thing we have to say to ourselves is we can do this every game and not let it be a one-off, we have to be able to do this the next game and not get satisfied that we won today.”

Binghamton improved as the first half continued, mounting a comeback that culminated in graduate student guard Tymu Chenery drawing a shooting foul and making both free throws to put the Bearcats up 16-15 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. Vermont responded, making two successive three-pointers to take a 23-18 lead. The Bearcats did not go quietly into the Vestal night, with Callahan-Gold making two consecutive threes to put Binghamton back on top 24-23. While things remained close, the Bearcats powered themselves into halftime with a strong shooting display, capped by a long three-pointer by redshirt junior guard Chris Walker as BU took a 36-31 lead going into the half.

“Going into conference play, coach really challenged me to just be more aggressive,” said senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. “So I came up with a 2025 motto for myself, ‘Let it Fly 2025.’ I just try to go out pretty much every game and just have that mentality. I’m bigger than most of the guys that I’m playing, so I just use my height, my aggressiveness and strength to just get downhill and try to finish.”

The second half started in much the same way as the first ended, with the Bearcats playing well on both sides of the ball. Binghamton’s first points of the half came by way of a layup and subsequent free throw from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson made his presence felt with a diving play to keep a Binghamton offensive possession alive before coming back in to score two successive layups to put the Bearcats up 43-40. Binghamton was unable to put Vermont away, however, and the Catamounts came back to take a 48-46 lead with just over ten minutes remaining.

“I think it was just a team effort,” Walsh said. “Starting Monday, we had a long week to prepare for this game and we really just focused on being together as one unit, burning the boats and turning this thing around. We were just together and communicating the whole game, and that’s why we’re able to get it done.”

With just under seven minutes left in the half, Walsh delivered yet another corner three to put the Bearcats back on top 53-52. The following Binghamton possession, Peterson drew a foul on his layup and completed the three-point play to extend Binghamton’s lead to 56-52. The game turned into a track meet as the final five minutes ticked away, with both teams flying up and down the court. The Bearcats received contributions from the whole lineup, with Benson, Walsh and Walker, among others, putting down baskets to maintain and widen Binghamton’s lead.

With BU leading 69-65, Walker got the ball in transition, taking it to the rim with a slam dunk that energized the crowd. Walsh and Callahan-Gold then iced the game at the charity stripe, and as the final buzzer sounded, the Bearcats not only celebrated a 75-72 win but also the snapping of a losing streak against Vermont — dating back 22 straight games.

Binghamton outplayed Vermont most of the game, outshooting the visitors 50-to-41.5 percent from the field. A large part of the Bearcats’ victory was the contribution of the bench, which provided 14 points to the Catamount’s nine. Standout scorers for the Bearcats were Peterson, Walsh and Walker, who scored 18, 17 and 14 points, respectively.

“It was a 40-minute battle and we fought, but one thing I wanted to say is this is really just the beginning of us turning this thing around,” Walsh said. “We had to get one and it happened to be Vermont who played us today. I think if we played anyone today, we were gonna beat them.”

The Bearcats will look to build on their historic win when it takes on Albany on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Broadview Center in Albany, New York.

“We started well,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I thought we were following our game plan and what we wanted to do. I think the part that really hurt us was that into the half where we had some turnovers for them to get out some easy baskets … It’s just we couldn’t sustain the level we were playing at for 40 minutes, and that’s what you need to do if you want to beat a team like Bryant.”

Working around an injury for senior forward Nehemiah Benson and looking to reignite the offense, graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold and senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. joined Binghamton’s (9-12, 1-5 AE) starting lineup Saturday afternoon. This immediately paid off in kickstarting the game, with Callahan-Gold finding a cutting Peterson for a driving layup to make it 2-0 BU.

“[Benson] sprained his ankle last game,” Sanders said. “So it is kind of just day by day to see when he is going to be able to return.”

Soon after, this led to a nine-point run capped by a three-pointer from graduate student guard Tymu Chenery to go up 9-0 over hosts Bryant (12-9, 6-0 AE). Binghamton would keep up the pace over the Bulldogs with a dunk from Chenery, making it 17-8, but a resulting shift to a full-court press from Bryant began to slow Binghamton’s offense. Soon, the game shifted to a back-and-forth battle where Bryant wrestled away a 33-29 lead off a transition dunk and a three-pointer. Benefiting from 11 points off of turnovers on the half, the hosts entered halftime up 36-33.

“We had three or four unforced turnovers at the end of the half, which went to easy dunks from them, and then the momentum carried in the second half,” Sanders said. “So I don’t think it was a lot of adjustments on their part. We just turned the ball over.”

Binghamton found itself chasing the Bulldogs to open the second, with sophomore forward Gavin Walsh leading the charge with a layup for two to get within three points at 43-40. However, this was the closest Binghamton got the rest of the way. Going 17-for-32 from the field and 6-for-11 from deep on the half, Bryant built momentum and continued to beat the Binghamton zone to get as far as 17 points ahead of the Bearcats. While BU tried to stop the bleeding, and a three from redshirt junior guard Chris Walker made it 71-61, it was clear that the game was out of reach. Bryant closed out with an 83-69 win.

“They have the ability to make those tough shots,” Sanders said. “And when you get a couple of easy baskets, then that gives you the confidence in your ability to make the tough ones. So again, we got to do a better job of not giving up the easy ones. Tougher ones then become much harder.”

Chenery continues to lead the Bearcats in scoring with 16 points Saturday, while Walsh ended a cold streak with an 11-point and 15-rebound double-double. During Binghamton’s 1-5 start to conference play, the squad has racked up a -4.6 turnover margin with an average of 13.8 a game.

“Hopefully the more we practice, the better we become executed,” Sanders said. “We’ve been in a ton of close games so that shouldn’t be a factor … It’s just in parts of the game we have to not fold per se, but we have to sustain it for longer periods of time.”

The Bearcats will hope to regain momentum back at home as they are set to take on Vermont next Thursday, Jan. 30. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“We haven’t protected the basketball all year,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “So hopefully this is a wake-up call for us to understand that we have to protect the basketball if we want to give ourselves a chance.”

After winning the tipoff, Binghamton (9-11,1-4 AE) got the ball moving past a tight Albany (10-10, 2-3 AE) defense to set up a three-pointer from graduate student guard Tymu Chenery, but Albany knotted it up with one of its own. Albany continued to apply pressure on Binghamton’s attack, forcing the Bearcats to go 2-for-7 from the field by the first media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, however, the Bearcats heated up after Chenery splashed another three from deep to retake an 11-10 advantage. Binghamton kept things tight, with a late five-point scoring run by Chenery bringing Albany’s lead down from six points to one to make it a 33-32 game at halftime.

“Every first media time out, it seems when I’m looking at the guys, they look winded,” Sanders said. “It takes them a while to get that second wind … The other thing is just being able to execute better. A team is pressuring you, and you get it up, you got to be able to get into our offense. The problem with that is, the wrong guy might have the ball, and then you can’t get the right guy to the ball because today they’re overplaying you and denying you.”

The Bearcats wasted no time taking control of the game to open the second period, with sophomore forward Gavin Walsh slamming back a missed free throw for two to take a 35-33 lead. Sophomore guard Evan Ashe then dropped in an easy layup for a 41-35 advantage. As the clock neared less than eight minutes, graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold splashed a three-pointer to make it 56-52 heading into the final stretch. The tides turned, however, when Albany scored off consecutive BU turnovers to tie things up. This ignited a 12-point run from the Great Danes that resulted in a 64-56 advantage for the visitors. Binghamton proceeded to go on a mini-run of its own to answer, capped by a layup from Walsh to make it 66-63, but the Bearcats failed to retake the lead in the closing minute and a half. When the final buzzer sounded, Albany claimed a 70-65 victory.

“We’re not giving our defense a chance to get set up because we’re just unnecessary turnovers,” Sanders said. “We had that one stretch toward the end of the game where we had maybe three or four tries to throw back door passes, and they just weren’t there.”

Chenery led the team Saturday with a 23-point and 11-rebound double-double while shooting 4-for-6 from the perimeter. Binghamton’s loss was defined by a failure to take care of the basketball as it gave up 11 turnovers in the second compared to six in the first, resulting in 15 second-half points scored off of turnovers for the Great Danes.

“Everybody wants to play so I don’t think it’s a matter of fatigue,” Sanders said. “I just think it’s a matter of you just have to go out there and do it. Everybody’s tired, right? Like the other tea is tired also, but they’re not throwing it away like we’re throwing it away. So we have to get better at that.”

The Bearcats will look to right the ship next Saturday, Jan. 25, as they head to Rhode Island to take on first-place Bryant. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Amid a two-game losing streak and in search of its first victory against a Division I program of the campaign, the Binghamton men’s basketball team righted the ship by going 2-1 across the weekend at the Lafayette Classic with overtime wins over LIU and Niagara.

“A lot of people don’t like close games, but I think close games are good because you get a chance to get experience with those kind of games,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I don’t think we’re gonna be blowing a lot of teams out, so we’re probably gonna have a lot of close games. So we’re gonna have to learn how to win, and the way you learn how to win those kind of games is to experience it.”

Binghamton (4-6) began the tournament with a matchup against Niagara (3-5), and both squads were evenly matched early on. Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, with a 6-for-14 performance from the three-point line on the half carrying Binghamton to a 27-26 lead at the break. The tides turned for the Eagles in the second period as they began to take control of the lead. However, Binghamton stayed in the game, continuing to equalize the score in the closing minutes. Graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold seemed to have sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer with five seconds to go to make it 62-62, but the Eagles had other plans with a three-pointer at the final buzzer to cement a 65-62 victory.

“We are playing against Division I basketball teams, so they are able to play and make shots and then go on runs,” Sanders said. “It’s a game of runs, and they made their run where they went up 10, I think it was, and then we were able to battle back and then tie the game up and unfortunately they just hit a buzzer beater.”

Now in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Bearcats were unable to build momentum against LIU (3-7) early on Saturday. BU shot just 38.89 percent from the field compared to LIU’s 50 percent field-goal percentage during the first half, as the three-point shot failed to fall for the Bearcats en route to a 32-24 deficit at halftime. BU’s fortunes flipped during the second period, however, thanks in large part to the offensive efforts of senior forward Nehemiah Benson. Benson exploded for 22 points after halftime for a career-high 28 points by the game’s end. The comeback would continue after regulation, as sophomore forward Gavin Walsh forced his way to the rim for two to make it 59-59 to send the game to overtime. Benson continued to spearhead BU’s offense in overtime, as he contributed seven of BU’s 16 points during the period to clinch a 75-70 victory for Binghamton.

“We were riding the hot hand and it was working for us,” Sanders said. “We’re one of those teams where when things are working for us, we want to keep going to it and [Benson] just stepped up and made big play after big play.”

Closing the weekend out against the tournament hosts Lafayette (4-5), the Bearcat offense produced its most efficient half of basketball all weekend with splits of 44.44/42.86/90.91 percent from the field, the three-point line and the free-throw line, respectively, by halftime to build a 40-33 lead. BU stayed hot with an easy layup by graduate student guard Tymu Chenery putting the Bearcats up by 11 at 53-42 with just 13 minutes to go. Yet things began to fall apart after a series of fouls and turnovers gave the Leopards new life to turn the game into a back-and-forth battle in the closing minutes. This resulted in Lafayette sending the game to overtime tied 73-73 with a pair of free throws. Binghamton’s team efforts paid off in the end, with four separate Bearcats scoring in overtime and Benson blocking the potential game-winner from Lafayette as time expired to secure an 82-81 win.

“We played a shorter bench and moved some guy, because we kind of felt like some of the guys that were playing, weren’t really taking advantage of the opportunities,” Sanders said. “So we wanted to give some other guys an opportunity and I think it worked out for us.”

The Bearcats will now turn their attention to keeping the “Battle For The Interstate” trophy in Vestal as they hit the road to take on Le Moyne on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, New York.

“[Central Connecticut State] didn’t do anything that surprised us,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “Whatever they did, we were prepared for, but we got to get it together with our guys. That’s on me, being able to get our guys to execute better so when we have opportunities, we can take advantage.”

Binghamton (2-5) struggled to get buckets out of the gate against the Blue Devils (3-3), going 0-for-4 from the field in the game’s opening five minutes. This opened the door for a 7-0 run by the hosts. Every time the Bearcats’ offense showed signs of life — such as a three-pointer from graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold that put BU within two at 16-14 — the Bearcats failed to execute on the following touches, resulting in the Blue Devils protecting the lead with a seven-point run that made it 23-14. The Bearcats entered halftime down 28-19, having shot just 34.78 percent from the field.

“We only had 19 points at the half,” Sanders said. “Who can we beat scoring that many points? We had some open layups that we missed, and that’s eight to 10 points right there. If you make those layups, it’s a different game … We got to get better offensively. To get better offensively, we need to make shots.”

Looking to reset the tone for the second half, the Bearcats heated up with strong shooting from the perimeter. Graduate student guard Tymu Chenery led this offensive charge with back-to-back scores — first knocking down a three-pointer, then following it up with a steal and an easy layup to make it 30-26. When the Blue Devils responded with a four-point run, Chenery and Callahan-Gold responded with a pair of three-pointers to make it 34-32 and get BU within striking distance. Yet the Bearcats’ inefficiencies and turnovers slammed the door on the comeback attempt, with the Blue Devils holding the lead and not letting it dip below six points the rest of the way. When the final buzzer sounded, the Bearcats ended up with a 64-56 loss.

“There is nowhere to go but up when we score 19 points, if you know what I mean,” Sanders said. “We came out, we won the first media and we were able to cut into the lead. But we kind of put ourselves in a hole where we had to maximize those opportunities where we have to make a tough shot. Just some execution stuff we need to be better at.”

Just two Bearcats left Connecticut with double-digit points on the boxscore, as Chenery put up 16 points as he went four-for-six from the three-point line, while senior forward Nehemiah Benson added 14 points and six rebounds. Similar to the Longwood game from earlier in the week, the offensive rebound battle remained a problem for Binghamton, with just five compared to Central Connecticut State’s 15.

“I asked the players after,” Sanders said. “I asked them, ‘what needs to happen [to get offensive rebounds]?,’ and they said they need to box out and go for the ball. It’s not rocket science. It’s plain and simple.”

The Bearcats are set to partake in three games at the Lafayette Classic next weekend. Play opens against Niagara on Friday, Nov. 29, with tipoff at 2 p.m. at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pennsylvania.

After blowing out Misericordia 77-48 on Saturday, the Binghamton men’s basketball team faced a 2024 NCAA tournament team in Longwood at the Events Center Tuesday night, falling short 66-60. Both squads were neck and neck for most of the matchup due to strong defensive efforts, but costly late fouls by BU put the game out of reach.

“I think the biggest thing is you’re playing against quality opponents that force you to execute, force you to defend, force you to rebound,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “It’s the same opponents we’re going to see in our league … Playing against these teams definitely prepare us for our league, and I’m happy we were able to set up the schedule that way.”

Binghamton (2-4) started hot offensively against Longwood (5-0), jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes capped by a three-pointer from graduate student guard Tymu Chenery. Through heavy usage of a 1-3-1 zone, the Bearcats were often able to stymie the Lancers from making major offensive runs. Periods where Longwood could establish a lead, such as going up 14-11, were broken up by big stops. This included a 10-point run that made it 21-14 for BU after graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold knocked down a three from the perimeter. Binghamton’s physical play, however, resulted in Longwood getting to the line 14 times in the half. Binghamton held a narrow 35-33 advantage going into the half.

“We want to play fast,” Sanders said. “But as a coach, you have to say to yourself, ‘We can’t because we’re fourth in the country right now in turnovers.’ So obviously we can’t play fast because we just throw it all over the gym.”

Going into the second half, the game’s back-and-forth pace carried over after Longwood scored twice to go up 38-36, which was answered by an and-one layup by sophomore guard Jayden Lemond to give BU a 39-38 advantage. Callahan-Gold got back to work from the perimeter with back-to-back three-pointers, making it 45-38. Yet despite BU’s best efforts, Longwood’s shooters found success from the perimeter with a big three to take back momentum and a 51-50 lead.

“We have to slow down, be able to execute,” Sanders said. “If we never get a fast break, we never get a fast break.”

As Longwood’s offense heated up, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh took the Bearcats’ offense into his own hands, stringing together a series of second-chance shots and layups to keep Binghamton within contention. The sophomore’s biggest score was a driving layup to make it 59-58 with less than a minute to go. However, BU was kept out of reach as another big three-point answer by the Lancers made it a four-point game. The biggest damage in the final minute, however, was two self-inflicted fouls by the Bearcats, allowing Longwood to go 4-for-4 from the line in response. The Bearcats were ultimately defeated 66-60, suffering their first home loss of the campaign.

“We got to play without fouling,” Sanders said. “We didn’t do a good job playing without fouling. [Longwood was] 21-for-25 from the free throw line, so they punished us every time we put them on the line.”

Callahan-Gold shot 5-for-12 from beyond the arc, leading BU in scoring for a second straight game with 15 points. Chenery was right behind him at 14. Meanwhile, Walsh netted his fourth double-double in a row with 11 points and 12 boards to get within one of the school record. Despite some individual Bearcat success with boards, the team struggled to grab offensive rebounds Tuesday at a 20 to six deficit while committing 23 fouls to Longwood’s 15.

“If a team is getting 20 offensive rebounds, that’s possessions that we never ever get an opportunity to get a shot at the basket,” Sanders said. “So you think about the [shots attempted] is 62 to 48, right? They have that much more possessions than we had, and it’s a six-point game. It’s a possession game, so we can’t give teams that many more possessions than us.”

Binghamton will look to find more success on the road on Sunday, Nov. 24 as the team visits Central Connecticut State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at William H. Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, Connecticut.

After a winless road trip to Miami and Fordham over the past week, the Binghamton men’s basketball team got back in the win column Saturday afternoon with a commanding 77-48 victory over Misericordia. While the Bearcats got off to a cold start, key adjustments and a big second half cemented the victory.

“We’re really excited, obviously, to get the win,” said Binghamton associate head coach Brian Johnson, who filled in for head coach Levell Sanders on Saturday. “With our head coach not being here, we’re keeping him in our thoughts and prayers first and foremost. But definitely excited to come out here and play in front of our fans after being on the road this past week.”

Binghamton (2-3) stumbled out of the gate early against the visiting Cougars (2-1), as miscues and turnovers opened the door for Misericordia to quickly build a 4-0 lead. While the Bearcats responded as senior forward Nehemiah Benson drove in a layup for their first points of the day, the Cougars swiftly made a three-pointer and drew a foul afterward to make it 8-2, forcing a BU timeout.

“We had quite a few turnovers in the first four minutes, and it didn’t allow us to get some shots to the basket,” Johnson said. “So for us, calling that time out really kind of just settled us down and to also tell each other, ‘Hey, let’s have some fun. Let’s believe in each other as well, but let’s not just throw the ball away and give them easy baskets.’”

Coming out of the timeout, Johnson put redshirt junior guard Chris Walker and graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold into the game to help reignite the Bearcat offense. This change resulted in an 11-0 run, spearheaded by Walker, who drained back-to-back three-pointers with graduate student guard Tymu Chenery to tie the game at eight. Callahan-Gold then scored a layup before Walker knocked down another three-pointer of his own to make it 13-8. While Misericordia built a six-point unanswered run to cut the lead to 20-16, Chenery slammed it down at the rim to kill the Cougars’ momentum and make it 22-16. Binghamton built the lead out to double-digits from there, with a contested three-pointer from Callahan-Gold as time expired, giving the hosts the game’s largest lead thus far at 40-25 going into halftime.

“It was just [Walker’s] opportunity to [ball handle] today,” Johnson said. “I thought he did a really tremendous job kind of setting us up, not taking any wild shots but also getting other guys shots. It was exciting to kind of know that we also have another dominant ball handler if we need to put somebody else in for [sophomore guard Jayden Lemond].”

Looking to widen the gap in the second period, Chenery quickly got to work by cleaning up a board and punching in a layup to make it 42-25. The scoreboard soon read 50-33 after sophomore forward Gavin Walsh grabbed a rebound and took the rock coast-to-coast with a spin move being the cherry on top of an easy layup. The Bearcats continued to dominate from there, with one sequence seeing senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. and Benson ping-pong the ball downcourt for a Peterson slam dunk to make it 66-40. As the clock ticked down, the dagger came from senior guard Robby Phillips, who swished in a layup for the game’s final points to secure a 77-48 Binghamton victory.

Leading the way for Binghamton with 19 points off the back of 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc was Callahan-Gold. Walker and Chenery also shot 50 percent from the three-point line with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Walsh kept his double-double streak going with 11 points and 11 boards on the day.

“It’s easy when I’m playing with a bunch of guys who are looking to get me the ball and set me up,” Callahan-Gold said. “It’s awesome to be with a group that plays this way. It’s fun to be around.”

The Bearcats will remain at home to begin next week’s slate of action, as the squad is set to take on Longwood on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“It was a disappointing loss,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “Because of the way we played and in terms of how we lost the game, I thought that the difference in the game was in our turnovers, and their points off our turnovers. We had 18 turnovers and I want to say they scored about 24 points off them, and we lost the game by 15 points.”

Binghamton (1-3) and Fordham (2-1) were both held scoreless through their respective first three possessions, but sophomore forward Gavin Walsh knocked down two free throws to put the Bearcats on the board 2-0. The Rams answered on the next possession with a three-pointer, but a layup from senior forward Nehemiah Benson put BU up 4-3. Both teams then traded baskets to tie it at six. Soon after, a three-point play from Benson and two consecutive Bearcat dunks saw them take a short-lived 13-6 lead. Fordham immediately embarked on a 22-3 run, capitalizing on seven turnovers and six fouls by the Bearcats to take a 28-16 lead. Binghamton was able to slow down the Rams the rest of the period, outscoring them 12-10 to go into the half down 38-28.

“I thought our fouls hampered us,” Sanders said. “[Graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold] is a really big part of what we do, and he gets two early fouls and then [sophomore guard Evan Ashe] gets fouls … On the road, it’s going to be [hard], but we’ve got to be better at adjusting to what’s being called.”

A layup from sophomore guard Jayden Lemond and two buckets from graduate student Tymu Chenery kept BU within 10 early in the second half. However, Callahan-Gold picked up his fourth foul of the game and was substituted out. After a Fordham run saw BU trail by 16 at 50-34, Binghamton’s offense found sparks, and a three-pointer followed by a layup by Callahan-Gold brought the Bearcats within six points, trailing 56-50. Two more fouls and turnovers each for BU, along with a shooting slump saw them concede 14 straight points without scoring once. Callahan-Gold and Benson each sank a jumper to revive hopes of a comeback and put the score at 71-54, but BU’s foul trouble persisted with Lemond, Walsh and Ashe all fouled out of the game. Both teams then put in their bench squads as BU was unable to complete the comeback, falling to Fordham 78-63.

“Missing layups [hurt us in the second half],” Sanders said. “When you’re down by whatever we were down by, and then you bring it back to six, you can’t miss layups. You can’t miss an opportunity to find an open man. We had a couple of plays where we could have made an easier pass or an easier play, but we took a tougher shot.”

Walsh continued the strong start to his sophomore campaign, tallying 10 points, tying a BU program record of 19 rebounds in a single game and securing his second straight double-double. Chenery shot 7-for-14 from the field, good for a Bearcat-high 16 points, while Callahan-Gold was just behind him with 15, after shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc in just 14 minutes of play.

“It’s disappointing because we kind of beat ourselves,” Sanders said. “It’s hard to give games away like that. We’ve got to learn from it and be better.”

The Bearcats will return home to face off against Misericordia University on Saturday, Nov. 16. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“Obviously, when you play as a team of that caliber, you have to be able to execute for 40 minutes,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “It’s hard to play perfect, but I thought we came out and were ready to play. We had some opportunities, we were up like 10-4, but we had opportunities to even take it higher, and we didn’t capitalize on it because we just were not having good offense.”

Binghamton (1-2) came out of the gate hot against UMiami (2-0). A quick layup from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh put the game’s first points on the board, and after the Hurricanes answered with two points of their own, a three-pointer from graduate student forward Tymu Chenery put BU up 5-2. The Bearcats remained up from there, with another layup from Chenery and another three-pointer from Walsh putting Binghamton up 10-7 heading into the first media timeout.

“You need those hot starts because when you start that way it gives you the ability to be confident,” Sanders said. “When you don’t start that way and now the other team starts hot, then your confidence kind of diminishes and the opponent’s confidence raises. Especially if you can go into somebody else’s building and you can start well, that takes the air out of the building.”

Coming out of the media break, the tides soon turned in Miami’s favor, which took the lead at 12-10 with a three-pointer. After senior forward Nehemiah Benson drove in a layup to make it 16-12, Binghamton’s shooters struggled as Miami mounted an eight-point run to go up 24-12, the game’s largest lead so far. A set of layups from Walsh and Benson broke up UMiami’s run to make it 24-16, but Binghamton was unable to mount an extended offensive run. By the time the half ended, the Hurricanes were up 46-25.

“We have to execute at a higher level,” Sanders said. “A lot of times it’s getting these guys to slow down and understand ‘alright cool, we didn’t score two times in a row. We need to go down and we need to get a basket.’ It’s interesting because we track a lot of these things. We know when these things are happening … We got to have better awareness about the game and what’s going on.”

Coming out of halftime, Walsh scored in the paint for two before swishing consecutive three-pointers to make it 48-33, jumpstarting BU’s offensive surge. The Bearcats continued to string together finishes with a driving layup from sophomore guard Evan Ashe getting Binghamton within 14. However, the Bearcats got no closer than that as UMiami continued to pull away from the visitors. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Hurricanes had cemented an 88-64 victory over BU.

Leading the way for Binghamton on Sunday with the best game of his collegiate career was Walsh, who put up 21 points and 10 boards in 32 minutes as he went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Benson joined Walsh in scoring double-digit points with 12 in the outing, off of 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while redshirt junior guard Chris Walker had five assists and sophomore guard Jayden Lemond had four.

“When we first started recruiting [Walsh], these are the kind of games that we felt [Walsh] could have,” Sanders said. “We knew that [Walsh] was a talented player when he puts it all together. I think that [Walsh’s] biggest thing is he just has to slow down and be patient. He wants to score 50 points in one possession and it’s not possible. But I like his makeup. He plays hard as heck. He’s never in fear of anybody on the floor.”

The Bearcat’s final stop on their road trip will be in the Big Apple on Tuesday, Nov. 12 as the team takes on Fordham. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, New York.

Coming off a loss to Penn State, the Binghamton men’s basketball team defeated SUNY Oneonta 82-63 in its home opener on Thursday. The Bearcats jumped out to an early lead, continuing to build and maintain it through the first half. Despite a late run from the Red Dragons in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game, it was too little too late, as Binghamton pulled out a 19-point win in front of its home crowd.

“We got to respect our opponent to go out and play as hard as we can, and I think that’s what we did,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We never want to disappoint the home crowd, so you want to win as much as possible, especially at home. You also want to protect your home court, so I’m happy we’re able to get the win.”

While Oneonta (0-1) was first to gain possession, sophomore guard Evan Ashe grabbed a rebound and drained a three-pointer on the other end to get Binghamton (1-1) on the board. The next four points for BU came in the paint from graduate student guard Tymu Chenery and sophomore guard Jayden Lemond to make it 7-0. In the first five minutes of the game, the Bearcats were able to build a 12-point lead at 18-6. The Bearcats kept this momentum as a three-ball from graduate student guard Ben Callahan-Gold near the midway point in the half made it a 27-9 game.

“I thought we came out with the right mindset,” Sanders said. “We talked a lot this week about just trying to play together and on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, and I thought for the most part we did that.”

The Bearcats continued to dominate offensively, with senior forward Nehemiah Benson capturing the next five points, putting Binghamton up 32-11. Toward the end of the half, BU strung together a sequence that saw Lemond, Chenery, and Ashe score on fastbreak dunks—within 39 seconds of each other—to make it 40-18. To end the half, Ashe would tip the ball in to extend BU’s lead to 42-20 going into halftime.

“We wanted to double-team and kind of rotate and things like that, and I thought we did that pretty well,” Sanders said. “I liked our execution defensively, I thought we shared the ball.”

The Bearcats opened the second half on an 11-2 run to put the score at 53-22, sparked by two three-pointers from Callahan-Gold to get the scoring started. Binghamton continued to find their groove on offense, taking a 72-31 lead courtesy of a three-pointer from sophomore guard Max Sims, essentially putting the game out of reach. Despite the Red Dragons ending the game on a 13-0 run, the final score was still in BU’s favor at 82-63.

“We let them score way too many points in the second half and I think that’s because the guys that came in weren’t ready to play,” Sanders said. “So, we still have some work to do. We have two really good opponents coming up next that’s going to really test us, test our togetherness and so, I’m looking forward to these next few games.”

Callahan-Gold and Benson led the Bearcats with 21 and 18 points respectively. After holding Oneonta to just 28.57 percent shooting in the first half, BU allowed the visitors to shoot 51.72 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, BU shot 48.4 percent, enough to earn the victory.

“I think any time you win, it’s really good,” Sanders said. “We don’t take these wins for granted, even though you’re playing against a Division III opponent.”

Binghamton will hit the road to take on the University of Miami on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

“We knew we would have a hard time guarding them because they’re just so much bigger than us,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “But then when you couple that with the way we turn the ball over, then it’s really hard to win and you get the result that you get.”

Penn State (1-0) drained a quick jumper to get on the board first, but sophomore guard Evan Ashe would quickly respond for Binghamton (0-1) with a layup to make it 2-2. The opening five minutes would be defined by a back-and-forth between the squads, with Ashe knocking back a three-pointer off a dime from sophomore guard Jayden Lemond, knotting it up at 7-7. It wouldn’t take long, however, for the Nittany Lions to take control of the game. After a three-pointer courtesy of graduate student guard Tymu Chenery cut the Nittany Lions lead to 16-12, the hosts went on an eight-point run, building a double-digit lead. The Bearcats could not keep possession of the ball as Penn State benefited to the tune of 22 points off turnovers in the half. With BU struggling to find offensive answers, the Nittany Lions grew their cushion and entered the half up 54-23.

“I just don’t feel like we were confident,” Sanders said. “I kind of think we let the names in front of their jersey affect us. I just thought instead of guys being confident in dribbling the ball, I felt like we were just basically giving them the ball. Obviously, they trapped us sometimes, but we were running right to the places where we knew they were going to trap us out.”

Looking to dig themselves out of the deficit, Binghamton saw some signs of life on offense to open the second half. BU would get to the 30-point mark on the scoreboard after a two-play sequence from Chenery consisting of a three-pointer followed by a fast-break dunk, but the deficit remained above 30 points at 64-30 as Penn State continued to find answers. The most prominent Bearcat in the half would prove to be Ashe, as the sophomore put together a run of scores on consecutive Binghamton possessions from both the perimeter and inside. Despite these efforts, Binghamton simply was never able to regain its footing in this tough matchup, and a free throw from sophomore guard Max Sims marked the game’s last point as the Bearcats fell 108-66.

“[Ashe] is athletic,” Sanders said. “He is strong so I don’t think the physicality bothered him. I thought he played confident. That’s what happens when you go out there and you are confident in your ability. Good things usually happen to you.”

Binghamton left Pennsylvania with three double-digit scorers — Ashe finished with 16 points, Chenery put up 13 and redshirt junior guard Chris Walker added 12 in the loss. The most glaring areas for Binghamton in the box score came in the turnover count as BU finished the game with 21, compared to Penn State’s five. Additionally, BU found themselves in foul trouble early and racked up 26 personal fouls over 40 minutes of play.

“I think the guys aren’t going to have to regroup much,” Sanders said. “I think they’re going to want to put this performance behind them, and I think they’re going to want to make up for this game.”

The Bearcats will look to rebound in front of their home crowd this Thursday, Nov. 7, as they take on SUNY Oneonta. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“A lot of times, you play these [exhibition] games and you blow some of these teams out, and you never get an opportunity to face any adversity,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “So it’s good for us. It’s good for us to do it early. It’s good for us to have to be able to get stops and execute on the offensive end and make free throws.”

Binghamton started strongly to open the game as graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold swished a three-pointer, but Queens College would respond with an and-one layup to tie things up 3-3. Much of the early game was defined by efficient shooting from the Knights keeping BU down in the box score. This didn’t stop BU from showing flashes of control though, as sophomore guard Jayden Lemond found redshirt junior guard Chris Walker for a three-pointer that turned into a four-point play — off of a foul — to retake a 9-8 lead. Yet, the Knights continued to control the pace of play, going on a five-point run to hold an 18-13 advantage.

“I thought we had some turnovers in the first half that I’m okay with because we want to play faster,” Sanders said. “So we want to get the ball up the court. We want to try to score as quickly as possible. Some of those passes that we threw ahead, I thought was good because I think it’ll pay off for us down the line.”

The tides would turn, however, when graduate student guard Tymu Chenery checked back in. The co-captain’s presence helped bring the lead back to BU as Walker drove in a layup for a 23-22 lead. Binghamton did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the period, thanks to dominant post play from senior forward Nehemiah Benson, stringing together three layups leading to a 36-24 advantage. A backdoor pass from Lemond to Walker for two cemented a 43-27 BU advantage heading into the break.

“We don’t necessarily need one guy to dominate the basketball,” Sanders said. “If [sophomore forward Gavin Walsh] rebounds the ball, I want him to push the ball up the court. If [Benson] rebounds the ball, I want him to push the ball to court. If [Callahan-Gold] rebounds the ball, I want him to push up the court. So we don’t necessarily need our point guard to be the main focus, but when we don’t have anything quickly then we kind of get into our secondary stuff. Then we can have [Lemond] come and get the ball and get us into offense.”

Looking to build on the team’s lead, Walsh got the offense going quickly with a pair of free throws and a layup to make it a 47-32 game. The game would then turn into a battle of fouls and free throws, with the Bearcats holding a 50-41 advantage. BU gained momentum as Chenery and Walsh ran the ball downcourt to create a driving-and-one layup for Chenery, going up 53-41. Queens College did not go away quietly, but Benson took care of business down low to make it 72-65. A Callahan-Gold three-pointer would be the dagger, capping off Binghamton’s exhibition with an 83-70 win.

Leading the stat sheet by shooting 75 percent from the field was Benson, who contributed 22 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes of play. Walker, meanwhile, contributed in all facets with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Lemond dropped seven dimes with just one turnover in his Bearcat debut.

“The version that you saw today is what I thought [Walker] could be,” Sanders said. “[Walker] is very skilled … I think the one thing we always try to get [Walker] to do is to be a playmaker, and not just solely think about scoring. I think when most of the guys try to be playmakers it is really good for the team.”

The Bearcats’ next match will be one of the toughest of their preseason, as they pay a visit to Penn State next Monday, Nov. 4. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Going into the America East (AE) playoffs with a three-game winning streak and the No. 5 seed in the AE tournament, the Binghamton men’s basketball team’s season came to an end on Saturday afternoon with a 77-64 loss to No.4 UNH. After BU mounted an 11-1 run to end the first half, entering halftime with the lead, the visitors were unable to regain its momentum against the Wildcats in the second period en route to the season-ending loss.

“Obviously we’re disappointed because we feel we had a team that could have done some more,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “But when you don’t go out and execute and play the way we play, these things happen. So the biggest thing I told the guys is to just remember this feeling … and come back even better next year.”

UNH (16-14, 8-9 AE) opened the scoring with a quick three pointer, but Binghamton (15-15, 7-10 AE) quickly responded with a 7-0 run, starting with senior forward Nehemiah Benson fading away from mid-range to put BU on the board. Senior forward Tariq Balogun then muscled his way to the rim to take the lead, with junior guard Tymu Chenery splashing a three-pointer to give BU a 7-3 advantage. After trading baskets, senior guard Armon Harried made a step back jumper to make it 9-6, but the Wildcat’s success from the three-point line — going 4-for-5 beyond the arc in the opening five minutes — allowed them to regain the lead at 12-9.

“The first play we come out and instead of us switching, we don’t switch and give them the ability to hit a three,” Sanders said. “Those were a lot of what was happening in that first four or five minutes … and that just gave them the ability to settle down. If we don’t give them those threes, we probably have an eight or nine-point lead.”

Benson cut the UNH lead to 14-12, after driving in for a layup. However, UNH began to pull away from there — scoring 12 points off Binghamton’s nine turnovers in the half. Soon after, Sanders brought in graduate student guard Symir Torrence to run the point for the remainder of the period. With the Bearcats trailing 31-23, Torrence kickstarted an 11-0 run, finding Chenery inside for the slam. Balogun followed this up with a layup before Chenery cut inside once more to tie it back up at 31. The run was capped off by graduate student guard Dan Petcash swishing in a three-pointer to give Binghamton a 34-32 advantage going into halftime.

“[Later in the half] we didn’t give them the ability to make a lot of [three-pointers],” Sanders said. “We were able to take a lead because that was the way they were scoring, and we took that away. Then we were able to get some shots at last on our end.”

The second half began with an exchange of baskets with the Bearcats going up 38-34 after Balogun scooped back in his own miss. However, Binghamton did not hold the lead for much longer as the Wildcats mounted a 10-point run of their own to go up 44-38. Petcash stopped the bleeding with a mid-range jump shot before cutting UNH’s lead down to 46-44 after a pair of layups from freshman forward Gavin Walsh and Chenery.

As time continued to wind down in the second half, UNH continued to maintain their lead, matching the visitors’ every basket. The Wildcats won the battle at the free throw line — the hosts shot 16-for-17 on the half while Binghamton made 10-of-18. With 1:49 remaining, the Wildcats took a double digit lead, which they held for the rest of the way. When the final buzzer sounded, the Bearcats found itself on the losing end of things, suffering a 77-64 loss as their season came to an end.

“By us not being able to make those free throws, you can’t cut the lead down,” Sanders said. “When you do get a stop and then you come down and get fouled, you can’t score so that was a key factor in the second half.”

Four Bearcats finished in double figures. Chenery, who played all 40 minutes, tabbed 18 points alongside six rebounds and two blocks. Meanwhile, the trio of Balogun, Petcash and Harried all added 10 points of their own to the losing effort.

The Bearcats conclude the 2023-24 campaign having earned a 15-14 record, its first winning record in the regular season since the 2008-09 season. Earning AE conference honors were Harried and Walsh — respectively named to the all-defensive and all-rookie teams — while Torrence finished second in the nation in assists, averaging 7.5 a game in the regular season. Heading into next year, Sanders says the goal is for next year’s returners to build on the example of the players who are leaving.

“When we first took over, the year before, we won four games,” Sanders said. “Now we are at a point where we’re able to clip a 15-win season together. So now we’re going to be greedy. We’re gonna want more, and it is a matter of everybody coming back doing their part.”

UMBC (11-20, 6-10 AE) quickly went up 4-0 to open up the game with Binghamton (15-14, 7-9 AE) missed its first four shots from the field. Despite a layup from senior forward Tariq Balogun and three-pointer from junior guard Tymu Chenery to make it 8-6, UMBC controlled the game for most of the first 20 minutes of play. BU struggling to answer the Retrievers’ zone defense — turning the ball over eight times in the half. UMB continued to extend its lead with timely baskets as Binghamton found itself down 34-20.

“We had seven turnovers really early in the game,” Sanders said. “By the first media time-out we already had three turnovers, which was giving them the ability to have some easy baskets. Once we stopped turning the ball over midway through the half, we got some good shots.”

After Sanders adjusted his lineup to become guard-centric, graduate student guard Dan Petcash knocked down two free throws to spearhead a 10-0 run for BU. Then, senior forward Nehemiah Benson beat a double team inside for a layup. To cap off the run, Chenery splashed back-to-back three-pointers off high ball screens, making it a 34-30 game. Senior guard Armon Harried kept the Bearcats within striking distance, nailing a corner three-pointer that cut UMBC’s lead to 40-37 going into halftime.

“We really started to play together,” Sanders said. “Bringing [sophomore guard Masud Stewart] into the game and giving [Harried] the ability to play off-ball helped us really make some good plays and get some good passes.”

As the second half began, Binghamton’s offense cooled off — going 0-for-9 from the field to open the period while the Retrievers went 5-for-7 to retake a double-digit lead. The dry spell ended after Chenery drove in a layup, which was complimented by baskets from freshman forward Gavin Walsh to make it a 50-42 game. Both teams then exchanged baskets as Binghamton stayed within eight points for most of this opening stretch of the second half.

However, the Bearcats began to chip away after sophomore guard Chris Walker made two layups to get BU within five of the Retrievers at 60-55. Continuing to cut into UMBC’s lead, Petcash connected with Benson on a backdoor pass for two before splashing a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 69. With 3:20 remaining, Balogun made two free throws to give Binghamton its first lead of the night at 71-70. With 0.8 seconds remaining, after UMBC made a free throw to make it a one point game, it missed the second. However, a Retriever was able to grab the offense board, but to no avail as the shot was off the mark as Binghamton came out on top 72-71 to win its final game of conference play.

“It was the toughness that we were battling with,” Sanders said. “It was the rebounds as we came up with some big-time rebounds … It was the will. We knew we were playing for that fifth seed and not wanting to give that up.”

With 16 points off of 8-for-13 shooting from the field, Benson spearheaded the offensive effort for Binghamton on Tuesday night. Riding into the AE tournament with a three-game winning streak, the Bearcats are now set to face off against UNH on the road to open the AE playoffs — having last beaten UNH 87-74 at home on Saturday.

“It’s good that we just played [UNH],” Sanders said. “So we know what they do … We know we will be able to get what we want on the defensive end, so if we make shots like we’ve been doing, [we can] play with confidence.”

No. 5 Binghamton is set to take on No. 4 UNH on Saturday, March 9 in an AE quarterfinal matchup. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, New Hampshire.

After falling to UMass Lowell 87-80 last Thursday, the Binghamton men’s basketball team held off Maine in overtime to capture a 76-74 victory at home. Despite holding an eight-point lead at halftime, BU’s was unable to maintain the advantage as the game was knotted at 62 at the end of regulation — sending the game to overtime. In overtime, the Bearcats held off the Black Bears to secure the win and a spot in the America East (AE) playoffs.

“It’s funny,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “Some of the guys, especially [freshman forward Gavin Walsh], were talking about how they were going to shoot the lights out today and we actually did … It was a big-time win [and] I felt it was a total team effort.”

As Maine (13-16, 5-9 AE ) netted a five-point run to open scoring, Binghamton (13-14,5-9 AE) found its offensive footing when senior forward Nehemiah Benson muscled his way to the rim followed by senior forward Tariq Balogun slamming down a dunk to make it 5-4. Not long after, senior guard Armon Harried knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give BU the lead at 10-7.

As Binghamton continued its consistency on the offensive end, the Bearcats’ defense kept Maine at bay — holding Maine to two-for-eight shooting from the three-point line on the half. These efforts led to the biggest lead of the night at 29-16 after junior guard Tymu Chenery knocked down his second three-pointer of the night. Eventually, Maine gained some momentum, cutting the BU lead to as little as five. To end off the half, graduate student guard Dan Petcash drained a corner three-pointer to give the Bearcats a 39-31 lead entering halftime.

“Because [Maine was] playing a three-two zone, they got three guys in the top,” Sanders said. “So once they rebounded, they were getting out running in transition. We had to be a little bit more conscious of that, and I thought we were.”

Binghamton struggled to begin the second half, going 1-for-6 from the field in the opening stretch. Maine capitalized with a 14-2 run to take the lead at 45-41. A turnaround jumper from Harried broke BU’s dry spell from the floor, before Petcash sunk another corner three to cut the Black Bears lead to one. Binghamton remained in striking distance as a three-pointer and layup from Walsh brought the Bearcats within three at 55-52.

“Early in the second half, we had some turnovers that allowed [Maine] to get out and get some easy baskets and relax,” Sanders said.

The momentum swung back in Binghamton’s favor for the first time in the second after Petcash and Harried made back-to-back three-pointers to retake the lead at 60-58. After the Black Bears knotted it up at the free throw line, Walsh made it 62-60 in favor of the Bearcats with a layup. After Maine tied things up once again, Binghamton forced a shot clock violation with 12 seconds left and received possession. However, the Bearcats were unable to capitalize as the game went to overtime, tied at 62.

“We think we do a good job of guarding Maine when we play against them,” Sanders said. “We were trying to just tell our guys to protect the basketball, and if we protect the basketball we can guard them, [and] we can stop them.”

BU started off overtime strong with Petcash recording a steal, Walsh making a pair of free throws from and Chenery lay one in as BU earned a 66-62 advantage. After Maine went on a 6-0 run of its own, Benson answered with a turnaround jumper to tie it at 68. Chenery then gave BU the lead and broke 1,000 points all in one layup, followed up with a score from Benson to make it 72-68 with 34 seconds to go. While the squads traded free throws, Binghamton stayed ahead the rest of the way to secure a 76-74 victory.

“Everybody believed in me to have the ball in my hands and make stuff happen,” Harried said. “So when I was bringing the ball up, I was looking for those people that believed in me to make plays as well, so I think it was the whole team’s effort.”

Leading the way on offense with 17 points was Walsh, followed by Harried, who racked up 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. With its win Thursday, Binghamton clinched its fourth straight AE playoff appearance and its third under Sanders.

Binghamton will celebrate senior day during its final regular season home against UNH on Saturday, March 2. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

After leaving Newark, New Jersey with a 69-55 victory over NJIT, the Bearcats’ latest America East (AE) road trip ended on Thursday night with a 87-80 loss to UMass Lowell. After a back-and-forth first period, BU’s shooting struggles from three-point range in the second half resulted in the visitors facing a double-digit deficit to the River Hawks. Despite a late surge of momentum, Binghamton was unable to complete the comeback.

“We fought back,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We were able to take the lead, and when we were playing with the lead our inability to come up with some rebounds hurt us, and I thought we gave up some open shots. We fought, we never gave up, we gave ourselves an opportunity, but we just didn’t make enough shots down the stretch.”

After senior forward Tariq Balogun came up short inside for Binghamton (12-14, 4-9 AE) off the opening tipoff, UMass Lowell (18-7, 9-3 AE) got on the board after driving the ball to the rim. BU’s answer came in the form of three-pointer from junior guard Tymu Chenery. Not long after, Chenery grabbed a board and kept the rock down the court for two to make it 5-4. The River Hawks then mounted a six-point run, broken up by a Chenery layup that cut the River Hawks lead to 10-7.

“[Balogun] was sick today, and he just didn’t have the energy early on,” Sanders said. “We had some opportunities, but he didn’t have the energy to complete a lot of those.”

Trailing 15-9, BU looked to turn the tides with a senior forward Nehemiah Benson laying one in, followed by graduate student guard Symir Torrence knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to retake the lead at 17-15. Graduate student guard Dan Petcash then swished in another three-pointer to cap an 11-point run for the Bearcats which made it 20-15. The Bearcats’ offense stayed hot as freshman forward Gavin Walsh made a three-pointer and Chenery scored in the paint to make give the visitors a 27-23 lead. A five-point run from UMass Lowell soon tied things up at 34-34. The back-and-forth continued as BU trailed 38-36 at the end of the first half.

“When we brought [Walsh] in with [Benson], we did a good job of being aggressive,” Sanders said. “We had some good drives to the basket and then we got some offensive rebounds which gave us some second-chance points … [Chenery] had a few drives and made some plays, but we also made six three-pointers in the first half which opened it up a bit.”

After UMass Lowell netted the first two points of the second period, Binghamton got back on the board with a driving layup from senior guard Armon Harried. Binghamton continued to keep things close as Torrence hooked in a layup before Balogun finished a score of his own at the rim as the River Hawks still led 44-42. The Bearcats then started to lose control of the ball, going down 55-46 before Torrence drove the rock inside to cut the deficit to seven.

“When [Balogun] didn’t have the energy, [UMass Lowell] got loose in that stretch and that’s when they pushed the lead up,” Sanders said.

With BU down 62-48, a five-point run anchored by Walsh and Benson got BU within nine points. Sophomore guard Chris Walker then cut inside for two followed by Walsh connecting with Chenery down low who converted a three-point play for 67-60. BU’s comeback attempt continued with a mid-range jump shot from Walker followed by Torrence getting the rock to Benson to cut the River Hawks’ lead to 78-74. However, the effort was not enough to regain the lead. BU’s final points came after Chenery made a layup off a steal for 85-80 in favor of the River Hawks, but Binghamton failed to get the stop on the next play as UMass Lowell iced the game at the free throw line en route to a 87-80 victory.

“[UMass Lowell] hit a couple of threes in that stretch — also where we didn’t really mesh in the transition,” Sanders said.

Chenery and Benson combined for 44 of the Bearcats’ 80 points in the loss. Meanwhile, Torrence had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.

The Bearcats will begin their final two home-stands of AE play against Maine on Thursday, Feb. 29. Tip-off is set for 6:07 p.m. on the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

After being defeated by UMBC 89-78 on its home floor, the Binghamton men’s basketball team bounced back on Saturday afternoon for its fourth America East (AE) win by defeating NJIT 69-55 in Newark, New Jersey, completing the season sweep of the Highlanders. With both teams going neck to neck in the first few minutes, the Bearcats ultimately pulled away with its strong presence in the paint, outscoring NJIT 38-16 in the paint en route to a comfortable 14-point victory.

“For us, every win is important,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “For the most part, we did a really good job of sticking to what we needed to do and being committed to what we needed to do … we were able to come out with a much needed win.”

NJIT (7-17, 3-9 AE) got the scoring started with a three-pointer, but Binghamton (12-13, 4-8 AE) responded after senior guard Armon Harried found senior forward Nehemiah Benson inside to make it 3-2. After another three-pointer from NJIT, a hook shot from senior forward Tariq Balogun and two free throws from Harried knotted things at six. Both teams traded baskets as BU held a 12-11 advantage nearly 10 minutes in.

“You have to look to be who you are as a team and not try to be another team,” Sanders said. “I thought that we definitely controlled the pace … when we were trying to execute, we were trying to use [Balogun] inside to create offense for us.”

After the midway point of the first half, the Bearcats’ offense stayed hot, with graduate student guard Dan Petcash knocking down a corner three and Harried slamming one in not long after as BU extended its lead to seven at 20-13. Binghamton then went up by as much as eight courtesy of baskets from junior guard Tymu Chenery and Balogun. However, the tides began to turn as the Highlanders responded with a 6-0 run to cut the BU lead to 30-28. Petcash capped off the first half with a jump shot to give the Bearcats a 32-28 lead going into halftime.

“[Harried is] a super athlete, and he needs to use his athleticism to get out of transition, to get easy baskets [and] to rebound the ball,” Sanders said. “He makes us a much better team when he is being who he is … getting out and running and defending.”

Petcash and Chenery got on the board early in the second half, making it a 6-0 Bearcat run stemming from the end of the first half, to go up by 10 points at 38-28. After the Highlanders stopped the bleeding, BU’s offense stayed hot as graduate student guard Symir Torrence lobbed one to Chenery to extend the lead back to 10. Both teams exchanged baskets as BU held onto a 46-36 advantage.

“When we do the things that we need to do defensively and offensively we are a really good team,” Sanders said. “It was just the commitment to doing the things we needed to do. Sometimes those things are tough, and you need multiple efforts, and I thought we had that tonight.”

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Petcash drained a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to make it 49-38. NJIT came back with a three-ball of its own but as the Highlanders looked to crawl back, Binghamton drew fouls in the paint to keep the momentum. The Bearcats sustained a comfortable lead, shutting down any potential NJIT runs with made shots of their own. BU sealed the game from the free throw line to secure a 69-55 victory.

“I want to see us really be committed to being Binghamton and playing Binghamton style of basketball,” Sanders said. “I told the guys, we can do that. Consistently. We can finish this stretch in a good manner.”

In Torrence’s return from injury, he tallied eight assists and eight rebounds. Sanders had high praise for the graduate student guard, acknowledging how he adds a whole different element to the Bearcats’ offense with his pass-first mentality and leadership on the court.

“[Torrence] had eight assists and it really highlights his voice,” Sanders said. “[Torrence] was really aggressive with his voice. He was talking. He was leading … It was definitely great having him back and again having him back moves everybody back to their natural positions which is good for us.”

Binghamton will enter its final stretch of AE play and take on UMass Lowell on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Coming off a decisive 69-57 home win against UAlbany, the Binghamton men’s basketball team fell to Bryant 70-69 on Saturday afternoon at the Events Center. The Bearcats started off strong, maintaining the lead for the entirety of the first half and entering halftime up five points. However, the Bulldogs gained momentum in the second half to capture a one point victory.

“I think we came out, [and] we played hard,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I thought we played well enough to win. My main concern today was if we were going to be able to score enough points.”

Binghamton [11-12, 3-7 America East (AE)] opened the game with a 6-0 run which started with senior forward Tariq Balogun knocking down two free throws. Then, junior forward Nehemiah Benson made a layup in transition to cap off BU’s run. Bryant (16-9, 8-2 AE) eventually responded with a jump shot to make it 6-2. BU continued to maintain its lead as a three-pointer from junior guard Tymu Chenery made it 13-5.

Nearly midway though the period, after a scuffle that resulted in technical fouls assessed to both teams, freshman forward Gavin Walsh canned an outside three to make it 18-7 Bearcats. However, Bryant stayed within striking distance, stringing together a 6-0 run with four minutes to go to make it a 24-21 game. After some back and forth, Walsh drained a jump shot to give BU a 30-25 lead going into halftime.

“The message at halftime was we know they are going to come out and be more aggressive,” Sanders said. “So we need to come out and match that aggressiveness.”

Bryant opened the second half with a 12-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 37-32. The Bulldogs continued to stay hot, draining baskets to stay ahead of the Bearcats. Chenery matched the energy and sunk another baseline three to make it a two-point game around the halfway point of the second period as BU trailed 43-41.

“I think a lot of times, what teams do is they come out and jack up threes and miss, and then all of a sudden, the game goes from three to four to seven of eight, ” Sanders said. “We wanted to keep getting two-pointers and then put some pressure on them to make free throws.”

The rest of the game went back and forth as the Bearcats stayed in the game. In the final minute, Chenery made it a one possession game twice with two layups, but Bryant was able to knock down its free throws to extend it to a two possession game both times. Down four with the game clock winding down, Petcash sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late as Binghamton fell 70-69. Ultimately, Bryant shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and made 7-of-8 free throws in the closing 30 seconds to hold off BU.

“It’s a game of two halves,” Sanders said. “If you are up in the first half, you can’t be satisfied, and if you are down in the first half, you have to be motivated to turn the tide. I thought we were not as aggressive as we needed to be in the second half.”

In the losing effort, Chenery led BU with 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Petcash recorded his second-straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebound while Walsh tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. Binghamton struggled to take care of the ball, with 17 turnovers in comparison to Bryant’s nine.

“[Walsh] played well,” Sanders said. “He is a talented guy, but I think all freshmen have to understand that they have to earn what they have to do to be on the court.”

The Bearcats will look to bounce back in AE play against UMBC on Thursday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

Adorning the Colonial name to celebrate throwback night, the Binghamton men’s basketball team put its loss to Vermont in the rearview mirror and defeated in state-rivals UAlbany 69-57 to get back into the win column. After a back-and-forth first half, BU closed out the game in the second half, outscoring the Great Danes 50-20 in the paint while nabbing 17 more rebounds in the matchup.

“I thought at Albany they were just way more physical than we were,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “So we just showed that a bunch. We saw that video of how they outplayed us, and we didn’t want that to happen again.”

Binghamton (11-11, 3-6 America East [AE]) looked to control the paint early into the contest, with senior guard Armon Harried driving in the layup over a Great Dane (11-13, 3-6 AE) before junior guard Tymu Chenery switched hands midair to float in a layup of his own to go up 5-2. Both teams began trading punches as UAlbany took the lead with a three-pointer, but senior forward Nehemiah Benson responded by putting back a Harried miss to make it 9-8 BU. The game would remain tight, as soon after, Chenery drove the rock all the way down court for two to make it an 11-11 ball game.

UAlbany then built a five-point advantage at 16-11, but a turnaround hook shot from Benson followed by a one-handed layup would quickly make it a one point game. Benson continued to spearhead Binghamton’s offense against the Great Danes, muscling in a layup at the rim and sinking the and-one opportunity to keep the Bearcats in it by one. BU would then push for the lead as Chenery hooked it in at the rim for two before getting another reverse layup to retake the lead at 24-22. Harried proceeded to build the lead out with a scoop and score in the paint, before Walsh drove in a layup to go up 28-22. Binghamton maintained its lead, with senior forward Tariq Balogun sinking a one-handed layup give BU a 35-32 advantage going into the half.

“I thought we were intentional about getting the ball inside,” Sanders said. “I thought we were intentional about when we did get it to go up and finish. We have to be committed to that. If you look at the other number, we’re two-for-13 from three. So if we’re not going to shoot the three well — which we’re not — we need to pound the ball, we need to get the ball inside and we need to score a lot of points in the paint.”

Balogun picked up where he left off to open the second period with a quick layup, before Benson tipped in another two points to make it 39-32. Binghamton proceeded to break the 40-point mark after graduate student guard Dan Petcash knocked down a mid-range jumper. The cushion for BU continued to build with Petcash finding a wide-open Chenery who slammed one in — followed up by a corner three-pointer courtesy of sophomore guard Chris Walker to go up 48-38.

Albany would get opportunities to cut down on Binghamton’s lead, but lock down coverage from the Bearcats’ defense on each level disrupted the Great Danes’ offensive flow. In the meantime, Harried drove in yet another layup followed up by Petcash sinking a step back layup of his own for two to make it a 52-44 game. Binghamton then went up by 58-44, after a layup by Petcash. Punctuated by an electric alley-oop from Balogun off a lob from Harried, Binghamton closed things out in front of Bearcat nation with a 69-57 win.

“When we played them at Albany, it wasn’t a pretty sight,” Harried said. “So we wanted to not allow that to happen and just come home and be the aggressor … So that had to take being physical and getting the rebounds and that’s what we did.”

Four Bearcats put up double-digit performances in the win. Leading the way was Chenery with 18 points off of 50 percent shooting from the field. Putting up a pair of 11-point and 10 rebound double-doubles were Harried and Petcash, while Benson contributed 13 points in the winning effort.

“[UAlbany] scored 100 and something points last game, so to be able to hold them in 50s is a really good job,” Sanders said. “We have to come on again, be intentional and be committed to whatever our game plan is.”

The Bearcats will continue its against Bryant this Saturday, Feb, 10. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

With a two-game America East (AE) win streak on the line, the Binghamton men’s basketball team went on the road and fell to undefeated Vermont 62-49 at Patrick Gymnasium. The Bearcats kept the score close, only trailing by two going into halftime. However, the Catamounts pulled away in the second half, outscoring BU 40-29 in the second half to capture the victory.

“We played a solid game,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “You know, first half, I thought we had some defensive lapses where we gave them some open shots, but we didn’t want to. With that being said, I thought we were solid pretty much the whole start of the game.”

The Bearcats (10-11, 2-6 AE) started the game off strong, holding the lead over the Catamounts (18-5, 8-0 AE) for a good amount of the first half. Graduate student guard Dan Petcash put the first points on the scoreboard with a three-pointer off an assist from fellow graduate student guard Symir Torrence. Binghamton played a strong defense, disrupting Vermont’s many attempts to score and forcing multiple turnovers.

Senior guard Armon Harried made two dunks within the first 10 minutes before the Catamounts were able to eventually respond. Halfway through the first period, Vermont took a 14-12 lead and, after this point, the Catamounts held it for the remainder of the half. However, Binghamton stayed toe-to-toe with the Catamounts, as sophomore guard Chris Walker drained two three-pointers. Then, with time expiring, Petcash grabbed a rebound off a three miss from Walker and layed it in as BU trailed 22-20 going into halftime.

“Offensively, we just didn’t make enough shots,” Sanders said. “They had no points of all turnovers in the first half, [and in the] second half, they had 10 points of all turnovers. So we ended up with 13, and you need to have more like seven like we had last game against NJIT. [Vermont] makes you pay for every mistake you make. We just gotta get better at just similar execution.”

Going into the second half, the Bearcats and Catamounts were exchanging points for almost four minutes, until Vermont got ahead and went on a seven-point run, bringing the score to 34-27. The Catamounts fed off their home-court advantage, gaining more energy and motivation from the crowd. Binghamton fought to keep the score close — however, every attempt the Bearcats made to even out the score was shut down by the Catamounts.

And as the clock ran out, Binghamton struggled to put the ball in the basket, allowing UVM to go on a five-point run in the last four minutes. Binghamton scored its final three points from foul shots by Harried and Torrence, but at this point in the game, a Bearcat comeback was too late. UVM took a double-digit lead at 62-49 after draining two free throws and running out the clock as the Catamounts secured a 13-point victory over Binghamton.

Leading the way for BU were Harried and junior guard Tymu Chenery, who both scored 12 points against Vermont. Adding to the board was Petcash, who contributed 10 points of his own. Leading in assists was Torrence with nine and in rebounds was Harried with seven.

“We have to have a different strategy,” Sanders said. “When we play against Albany. We just gotta get better at executing, down the stretch, close games, not having breakdowns on [offense] or [defense], then we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

The Bearcats will return home to host a throwback night against Albany on Thursday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.