“It still hasn’t fully processed for me how my time as a Bearcat will soon be at an end,” Knipes wrote in this article. “Going about these last four years, life at BU just felt like a constant. Yet nothing in life truly lasts forever, and it has been difficult grappling with that reality as I near graduation.”

The current assistant sports editor first took up the pen his freshman year, joining as a contributor for both the News and Arts & Culture sections. In these capacities, Knipes wrote three to four articles on average per week. Knipes’ quick acclimation to newswriting caught the attention of then-News Editor Riccardo Monico, who suggested Knipes join the section as an intern.

“Those first few months living away from home were one of the most difficult periods of my life,” Knipes wrote. “The shift to a new lifestyle at college was far less refreshing, and far more difficult than I could have imagined. During this time, writing served as both escapism, as well as a form of orientation to the Binghamton community.”

After some shifts in leadership that raised Hamza Khan to the head of the News section, Knipes began his second semester for Pipe Dream as a news intern under Khan. There, Knipes was able to immerse himself in the production process under the tutelage of one of the hardest-working editors Pipe Dream had ever seen. Continuing to put his nose to the grindstone, Knipes soon positioned himself to leap from intern to news editor heading into his sophomore year.

Now running the section that he had merely been a contributor for a year prior, Knipes lasered in on building out his section’s talent pool and setting it up for the future. While his personal writing took a backseat to his administrative tasks, Knipes managed to put out the article he deems his magnum opus, “Behind EqualityAlley.”

“I don’t think I have ever been more consumed by a single article than I was during the writing process of ‘Behind EqualityAlley,’” Knipes wrote. “Everything from how I first learned of Oliver Horne’s story, to conducting a near hourlong interview, to taking nearly two weeks to finally produce a finished product. There isn’t a piece of reporting I am prouder of than that one.”

Yet every rose has its thorns, and the stress and demands of the position soon affected other Knipes’ ability to connect to the world and people around him. The true wake-up call came toward the end of his sophomore year, when Knipes fell short in a bid to become editor-in-chief.

After one door closed, however, several windows began to open for Knipes. Knipes began to pour more energy into his work with the Binghamton Policy Project. As blueprint editor, he transformed BPP’s year-end policy publication from a crowdsourced, poorly circulated digital zine to a 1,000-copy, professionally designed print publication. At the same time, Knipes managed to see through a policy that instituted a UNIV 111 class about the local area for first-year students.

“There are few things I am prouder of than the time I have spent at BPP,” Knipes wrote. “I truly do consider my lasting legacy on this campus to be every single edition of the Blueprint that reaches print stands in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, Knipes pivoted to a new role at Pipe Dream — assistant sports editor. Just as he had done two years prior, Knipes went full force into pure content creation to become a lead beat writer for several of BU’s sports. In this role, Knipes covered the first ever America East title for women’s cross country in 2023 and became the first-ever Pipe Dream sports writer to report on a road AE playoff game for men’s basketball in person.

“I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first accepted the role, but it has been an honor to be a Sports writer,” Knipes wrote. “If you told me two years ago that I would become the lead writer for our men’s basketball team, I wouldn’t have believed it, and now I can’t imagine my college experience without it.”

Most significantly, however, Knipes’ shift away from Pipe Dream led him to a new passion in higher education. Working as a senior tour guide, an orientation advisor and a community assistant, he found a love for connecting college students to their best lives in a way that he wasn’t able to as a freshman. He anticipates a role of resident director in the near future.

Breaking a third-person perspective for a minute, I have some thanks I want to give.

To my parents and grandparents, I want to thank all four of you for constantly supporting me in every way possible for the last 22 years. I love you guys more than I may ever properly express.

To Hunter, Natural Disasters for life. I know that in 40 years we will still be able to rely on each other no matter where we are.

To Erica and Massimo, thank you for making my last semester and a half here the most fun time I have had as a college student. With you two, I feel like I have had some semblance of what a college experience actually is. If I’m not here next year, I’ll miss you two most of all.

To Riccardo, Hamza, Mel and Sam, thank you all for making my most formative years as a college student and as a member of Pipe Dream nostalgic. Mac and Cheese Fest isn’t the same without you, Sam.

To Johnny, good luck with Digital. Thanks for putting up with my late articles.

To Gabe, good luck with Sports — you got this.

Lastly, to our readers. You may not know who I am, but you have likely read at least one of my articles at some point during the last four years. Thank you for giving me your time — I hope I made it enjoyable.

In case I don’t see ya — good afternoon, good evening and good night.

Jacob Knipes, a senior majoring in political science, is an assistant sports editor. He was Pipe Dream’s news editor from 2022-23. 

“We were happy to get the two wins at Albany,” wrote Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “It’s a tough place to go and play, so I was happy with how we had to grind out some wins.”

Binghamton (33-12, 16-2 AE) began Friday locked into a pitcher’s duel against the hosts, Albany (19-24, 9-8 AE). Junior pitcher Brianna Roberts kept the Great Danes from reaching home through the first four innings, but the Bearcat bats struggled to rally behind her.

This opened the door in the fifth frame for an RBI double that put Albany up 1-0, but Roberts held Albany to just one run through six. This allowed the answer to finally come off of sophomore utility Maddy Dodig’s bat in the top of the seventh in an RBI double, with a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame by Roberts sending it to extras.

Binghamton capitalized from there with an unearned run to begin the eighth before junior outfielder Bella Farina sent home two more to make it 4-1. While Roberts got rattled by a series of singles that brought the score to 4-3, she settled in for the dagger punchout to secure the 18th win of the year.

“Both [Roberts] and [junior pitcher Olivia Kennedy] have been solid for us all year,” Bump wrote. “The two of them along with the rest of our pitching staff has kept us in every ball game we have played all year.”

BU got on the board far quicker in the nightcap, with a bases-loaded HBP and an error putting the squad up 2-0 through two frames. The ball finally left the yard for the only time in the day in the fifth, as freshman infielder Rachel Carey hit one deep to left field to score three runs and go up 5-0. While Albany leveraged an error to bring a Great Dane home in the fifth, it was 6-1 after Carey netted her fourth RBI of the contest on a single.

However, this lead was far from safe in the seventh. After an efficient six frames, Kennedy started to lose control with a pair of walks while the defense fumbled a fielder’s choice to load up the bases. This would allow run number two for the Great Danes on a single, before two more went home on another single after a Bearcat error. After a RBI groundout made it a one-run ball game, Kennedy coaxed the final out to escape with a 6-5 victory.

“Defensively we have been better over the last few games,” Bump wrote. “I wouldn’t necessarily say our defense wasn’t solid on Friday, we just had a few things not go our way that we let snowball a little. But the defense and pitching locked in to get us the eventual wins.”

Friday’s sweep secured the best regular season overall win percentage and conference win percentage in program history at .733 and .889, respectively. This caps off a historic regular season where BU clinched its first sole AE regular season title since 2017.

Binghamton will welcome the field as it hosts the AE championship tournament starting Wednesday, May 7. The Bearcats possess a first-round bye, meaning they will play the winner of Bryant vs. UMass Lowell on Thursday, May 8 at 11 a.m. at the Bearcats Softball Complex in Vestal, New York.

“I think this year more than ever our home field is going to give us a huge advantage,” Bump wrote. “We have a lot of momentum, we are confident, and it sets the perfect stage to bring home a championship.”

“I was really happy with how we bounced back today,” said head coach Jess Bump on the Binghamton Softball X account. “Even though we won both games yesterday, I thought we were a little sloppy in game two. I thought [Roberts] came out and threw a great game for us, had more strikeouts than yesterday, missed a lot of barrels. I just felt like our defense was way more focused today.”

Roberts got to work quickly in game one, striking out a pair of UMBC (17-26, 11-7 AE) batters in the first and returning a scoreless second, allowing sophomore infielder Elisa Allen to put BU (29-12, 14-2 AE) up 1-0 in the second with a solo shot. After Roberts again held the Retrievers scoreless in the third with a pair of punchouts to close the frame, junior catcher Emma Lawson plated BU’s second run of the contest with a single.

Allen cleared herself and the two Bearcats on base with her second homer of the contest, going up 5-0 to end the third. It was smooth sailing for BU the rest of the way, with Roberts only allowing a single Retriever to reach home in the sixth as she finished the complete game win with 10 Ks.

“[Roberts] has that mentality, she’s just going after them all the time, and I think she’s got something to prove,” Bump said. “She’s been injured a little bit the last two seasons and this is her first season fully healthy. She’s only lost two games this year and I think she’s just really bearing down for us, and she’s getting better as games go on.”

Binghamton’s bats stayed hot in the nightcap on Saturday, with freshman infielder Rachel Carey and junior outfielder Bella Farina plating three runs in the first off a double and a single to go up 3-0. Carey hit another single to bring in BU’s fourth run in the third before Lawson made it 5-0 BU after capitalizing on an error.

The Bearcats kept up the momentum in the fourth, with Allen mashing her third homer of the day to plate two runs before Lawson leveraged another error to reach home and make it 8-0. This marked Allen’s Binghamton record-breaking 18th blast of the year. While UMBC mounted a six-run rally in the fifth and sixth frames with a small-ball approach, freshman pitcher Savanna McHale slammed the door on the comeback attempt in the seventh to net the 8-6 win.

“[Graduate student utility Lindsey Walter has] been here for five [years], [senior outfielder Sarah Rende] for four, [graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos] for three,” Bump said. “And they’ve been extremely, extremely great leaders, been starters for us throughout their whole time and they’ve just done a great job leading our team, and they’re great people off the field too. I think for me, as a coach, that’s what matters most.”

In the series finale on Sunday, Roberts took the mound again and turned in a dominant outing. The southpaw registered three punchouts across the first two frames to keep the Retrievers at 0, and Rende rewarded her in the bottom of the second with run support in the form of a two-run homer.

While Roberts surrendered a solo shot in the third, UMBC didn’t reach home again. Sophomore utility Maddy Dodig and Rende plated three more insurance runs in the fifth to make it 5-1, and a 1-2-3 seventh that featured her 12th strikeout of the game and 22nd of the weekend, giving Roberts her 16th victory of the campaign.

“I think it shows all the preparation and hard work we’ve done since August,” Bump said. “We tied the regular season last year. Tournament setting is different, a little bit more pressure, but I think we’re a different team this year — they have a lot more confidence. Hopefully, next weekend at Albany, we can continue to gain some momentum right into the tournament.”

With Sunday’s victory, BU clinched the AE regular season title and will hold a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Their next series is a doubleheader against Colgate University, and first pitch is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, at 2 p.m. at the Easton Street Softball Complex in Hamilton, New York.

After operating as a role player during his freshman season, Walsh broke out as a starter this past season, making the all-conference third team. Transitioning to a role where he mostly operated as a traditional power forward, the sophomore pulled down a school record 339 rebounds across the campaign, with season averages of 11.3 points and 10.9 boards in 32.8 minutes per game.

Walsh also captured BU’s single-season double-double record in its regular season finale against NJIT, with 14 in total on the season. The ex-Bearcat’s rebounding total and per-game average ranked him at 12th and fifth in the nation, respectively.

Walsh’s glass-cleaning prowess gave him significant attention across multiple power conference programs when he declared for the NCAA transfer portal on March 17. Earning a four-star transfer rating from 247Sports, initial reports said Walsh had been contacted by schools including Clemson, Minnesota and USC. In the end, however, Walsh selected Colonial Athletic Association member UNC Wilmington over UConn and UMass.

UNC Wilmington will enter its sixth season under head coach Takayo Siddle in 2025-26 and will look to build upon one of the best seasons in the program’s history. The Seahawks went 27-8 overall and 14-4 in CAA play last season en route to a conference tournament title and a NCAA tournament appearance. With the program’s top two rebounders of last season exiting, the door is open for Walsh to have a prominent role in his new home.

Walsh’s transfer and the graduations of senior forward Nehemiah Benson and graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold leave a major hole in BU’s frontcourt that will need to be filled in the coming months.

As soon as Abigail, who photographed our meal, and I were seated in the restaurant, we were greeted with a friendly hello from the proprietor, Manish. Just as bright as Manish’s personality was the decor of his restaurant, as the walls were coated in yellow paint with tasteful artwork lining them. Above the main kitchen area was a quartet of TVs playing different Bollywood movies, while the space was filled with indie-pop. While the overall space was rather cozy and intimate, every aspect of its design was carefully thought out and brimming with life. This lively ambiance made me very excited for our meal, which would be my first time trying Indian food.

In a rather timely fashion after ordering came our first course. Abigail selected the samosa chaat off the menu, while I made the tandoori chicken my first pick. The samosa was crunchy with a well-baked texture, with the earthy flavor inside of the pastry complimented by a well-seasoned mix of veggies and sauce that surrounded the pastry. Meanwhile, the tandoori chicken was incredibly moist and well-seasoned, brimming with flavor in every bite. Paired with a side of mint chutney, the combo of savory heat and cool sweetness was excellent. As the second course came, I was still picking as much of the chicken as I could off the bone.

For my main course, I chose to go with the classic butter chicken at a medium spice level. Within one spoonful, I understood why this dish is such a cultural staple, as it reminded me of the tomato soups I grew up on but taken to the next level. Incredibly rich and flavorful, the curry added both color and heat to the palate in a way I hadn’t experienced before. The tenderness from my previous appetizer carried over to the chicken mixed into this dish, perfectly complimenting the curry. When I mixed the included rice into my spoonfuls, the overall balance of texture was heightened, giving more body to an already thick curry.

Meanwhile, Abigail kicked the spice up a notch by ordering the lamb saag with the maximum spice level. I was very struck by the heat of the dish, originating from the extremely flavorful seasoning of every element present within the overall meal. The base of greens and veggies used to create a foundation for the saag gave it a very strong, paste-like quality that enhanced the overall bite. The lamb is shredded into the overall mixture, establishing a perfect balance of meaty flavor in the dish without compromising the saag.

Capping off our meal at Spice of India was the dessert course. We started with the gulab jamun, presented to us resting in a small pool of warm sugary syrup. The gulab jamun, which fit perfectly in my spoon, was soft, plushy and practically melted in my mouth. The bite was quick, but the sweetness and sauce stayed with me. I’m pleased to report the dish also met Abigail’s approval, of whom the desert is a personal favorite.

We ended our meal with baklava, which once again demonstrated Spice of India’s prowess with its baked items. A mix of chocolate and vanilla flavors combined with the flaky layers of baklava created a truly delectable dish. I made sure to eat it slowly, so as to savor every bite.

For those willing to venture to new areas of Binghamton, or really any foodie who wants to say they’ve had all of Binghamton’s best eats, you’ll be really missing out if you don’t give Spice of India a try. The level of flavor, generous portions and excellent service make this not just one of the best values this Restaurant Week, but one of the best meals I’ve had.

“We played tough all weekend,” wrote Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “Scored early, went down, came back. The offense was tough and got us back into games. As we move on throughout conference play we need to clean up the defense especially in times under pressure.”

Binghamton (17-11, 3-2 AE) got the scoring started early in game one, plating their way to a 4-0 lead with runs off a pair of sacrifice flies and triples in the first two frames. From there, however, UMBC (10-21, 4-2 AE) began to key into junior pitcher Brianna Roberts. A solo bomb in the fourth put UMBC on the board before an RBI single and a grand slam in the fifth gave UMBC a 6-4 edge.

Undeterred, graduate student utility Lindsey Walter knotted the game with a two-RBI double at the top of the sixth before retiring the side to end the frame in relief of Roberts and escaping a two-runner on jam in the seventh to send it to extras. BU made the eighth frame count, as sophomore infielder Elisa Allen homered to open the frame, followed by a pair of RBI singles for insurance to give BU a 9-6 edge. Walter then forced a game-ending popout to leave three Retrievers on and cement a series-opening victory for Binghamton.

“E was in attack mode all weekend and was seeing the ball well,” Bump wrote of Allen. “She’s a natural, powerful hitter and can do big things when she’s locked in.”

The Bearcats’ bats stayed hot to open game two, with junior catcher Emma Lawson launching BU’s second homer of the series to go up 1-0, but the Retrievers leveraged a Binghamton error to plate the tying run at the bottom of the first, making it a 1-1 ballgame. Binghamton snapped the tie with Allen’s second homer of the day, but an RBI single from the Retrievers in the third again deadlocked the game. Junior pitcher Olivia Kennedy held the Retrievers scoreless for the next four frames to send the game to extras, but BU failed to respond as six Bearcats were left stranded through the top of the eighth. Instead, UMBC handed Kennedy the loss on an RBI single through the gap that gave the hosts the 3-2 win.

“We need to clean up the defense behind our pitchers to take the pressure off of them,” Bump wrote. “But I do think all of our pitchers could do a better job missing barrels once we are ahead in the count.”

With the series on the line Sunday, Allen sent out a two-run blast — her third in two days — and freshman infielder Rachel Carey homered off of the next pitch to open the game up 3-0 for BU. The Retrievers responded in the bottom of the first with a three-run bomb to tie, but an RBI single from senior outfielder Sarah Rende before being driven in herself in the second made it 5-3 for BU. After two scoreless frames, UMBC’s power surge continued in the fifth with a grand slam and a two-run bomb to go up 9-5, but a five-run rally in the sixth led by solo homers from junior outfielder Bella Farina and Rende put BU right back up 10-9. In the end, after a silent top of the seventh from BU, a pair of Bearcat errors allowed the Retrievers to walk off the game on the base paths and clinch the series 11-10.

“All in all this was a tough weekend to go home without a series win, but we know we are a tough team to beat when all three aspects are working well,” Bump wrote. “We will get back to work and keep grinding.”

BU will next pause its AE slate for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 1 versus Le Moyne. The first pitch of game one is set for 3 p.m. at Le Moyne Softball Complex in Syracuse, New York.

“Obviously, a good home opener,” said Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “First day at home we had a great crowd, even though it was a little chilly today, but today is what we’ve been working for for a long time. So I’m happy the girls came out and played pretty good softball.”

Binghamton (16-9, 2-0 AE) opened the doubleheader with freshman infielder Rachel Carey finding the gap to plate two Bearcats with a single, but Albany (7-15, 0-2 AE) answered in the bottom of the first with a game-tying two-run homer. After the Great Danes took the lead with an RBI single in the top of the third, Carey responded with the hosts’ first home run of the day to dead center before sophomore infielder Elisa Allen plated the tie-breaking run on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3.

After another game-tying RBI single by the visitors, the Bearcats would pull away in the bottom of the fourth. Graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos retook the lead with a triple and advanced on error to make it 6-4, with the board soon reading 9-4 after additional RBI hits. The dagger then came from sophomore utility Maddy Dodig, who blasted out a three-run homer of the game to clear the bases and make it 12-4. After a clean fifth from junior pitcher Brianna Roberts, BU secured a mercy rule in game one.

“We’ve been doing a good job offensively all year, but we just haven’t put a lot of stuff together,” Bump said. “So we’ve been hitting the ball hard the last few weeks, but we just kind of told them, ‘We got to stick with the process … eventually it’ll come.’ So I was really happy with the results today.”

Junior pitcher Olivia Kennedy got the ball in game two, and quickly got to work painting the corners to open play with a three-strikeout first frame. The Bearcat bats then picked up where they left off as junior catcher Emma Lawson smacked a fastball out of the park to make it 1-0. Following two more punch outs from Kennedy to open the second, Santos sent Allen home on a single bobbled by the Albany infield to make it 2-0 before a triple and a line drive single drove in three more runs to make it 5-0.

“When you’re playing better teams, you just have to eliminate extra opportunities,” Bump said. “I thought they did a great job just commanding the zone and getting ahead early. So I think that’s why you saw those results from the mound today.”

After a triple down the foul line at the top of the third plated Albany’s first run, senior outfielder Sarah Rende worked the count and sent one to left field for the game’s second Bearcat bomb to make it 6-1. Some small ball then allowed junior infielder Rebecca Minnichbach to plate two more Bearcats with a bunt, before Lawson blasted her second home run of the day, this time a three run bomb, to put BU up 10-1 at the frame’s end.

Dodig added an insurance three run homer herself in the fourth, before sophomore pitcher/utility Sami Levine pinch-hit BU’s 14th run of the game with a blast to center field. Kennedy closed out the fifth with a whiff to earn her eighth strikeout and secure a 14-2 mercy rule win to net the sweep for Binghamton.

“We knew coming into it, it was going to be a tough game,” Lawson said. “We saw that in the first game, going back and forth, and we just are taking it one game at a time, and we know we’re not done yet. This is only the beginning, and we’re working for a conference championship.”

Binghamton will look to stay hot next weekend as they pay a visit to UMBC for a three-game set, opening play on Saturday, March 29. The first pitch of game one is set for noon at The Diamond at UMBC in Baltimore, Maryland.

“We were excited to get down to Georgia and get a 3 game series in before we start conference play next weekend,” Bump wrote. “The dynamic of 3 is definitely different than 5, so we wanted to see from all sides of the ball what the girls were going to bring and how our pitchers would do with 2 less games.”

Binghamton (14-9) and Mercer (15-14) opened Friday’s doubleheader in a dead heat. Junior pitcher Brianna Roberts got the ball for Binghamton and opened the game with three scoreless frames, but Mercer met the challenge by retiring the first 12 Bearcats they faced. The Bears plated the game’s first run off an error in the bottom of the fourth, but Binghamton responded just one inning later. At the top of the fifth, the Bearcats made their two lone hits of the game as freshman infielder Rachel Carey and senior outfielder Sarah Rende blasted a pair of home runs to make it 2-1.

This would be all the run support Roberts needed, as despite struggling with her command to the tune of six total walks and loading the bases in the seventh, the southpaw coaxed the necessary outs to earn the complete-game victory.

“The hit column doesn’t show our offensive production from game one,” Bump wrote. “We hit the ball really hard all game, just right [at] people so had nothing to show for it. But we were happy with how the girls stuck with it and scratched across runs.”

The backend of the doubleheader saw the Bears quickly jump ahead in the first, peppering junior pitcher Olivia Kennedy with a trio of singles that would send in two runners to go up 2-0. This set the tone for the contest — Mercer smacked 10 singles in the game to give Kennedy a 2.17 WHIP on the day, with not a single Bears’ hit going for extra bases. While junior catcher Emma Lawson responded with an RBI single of her own in the third inning, Mercer bopped a third RBI single in the fifth to go up 3-1. BU failed to find any more runs, with six straight outs across the final two frames cementing the defeat and evening out the series heading into Saturday.

“In general, from a pitching side we need to limit walks, and our defense needs to make outs, outs,” Bump wrote. “We didn’t get anything going offensively but our pitchers should be comfortable giving up 3 runs and knowing our offense is good enough to score more.”

With the series on the line Saturday, the Bears continued to leverage weak contact and errors by the Bearcats to plate two runs in the third and one in the fourth to go up 3-0. However, the Bearcats capitalized on singles and Mercer miscues to load the bases in the fifth. Lawson and Rende used this opportunity to notch a pair of singles that drove in three Bearcats and tied the ballgame. The decisive blow then came from sophomore infielder Elisa Allen, who smacked a grand slam to take a 7-3 lead. A two-RBI double from Carey in the sixth and an RBI single from graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos in the seventh gave Binghamton the insurance it needed to clinch the series with a 10-5 victory.

Saturday’s victory marked Bump’s 100th as BU’s skipper.

“100 is just a number,” Bump wrote. “But when I think about it I’ve been surrounded by great players and staff for 3 and a half years and [a lot] of hard work has been put in on and off the field by everyone involved.”

The Bearcats now set their sights on their home and America East opening series as they welcome Albany next weekend. The series opens Saturday, March 22, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“[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.”

“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.

“We should have played the game a much better way,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “We should have more discipline. We should execute. It was a big game for us. The opportunity for us to really stay up on the fourth spot, and these guys know that. So it’s disappointing.”

Binghamton (12-14, 4-7 AE) quickly found success on offense by penetrating UMBC’s (12-14, 4-7 AE) two-three zone with driving scores from sophomore forward Gavin Walsh and senior forward Nehemiah Benson to go up 4-to-0. After the Retrievers responded with two points of their own, graduate student guard Tymu Chenery nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to begin an 11-point Bearcat run that cemented a 15-2 lead. However, the Retrievers responded with a nine-point run to get within two at 17-15 after switching into man defense and disrupting BU’s inside game with three consecutive blocks.

Both teams traded punches from here, but UMBC’s tight defense, which forced eight turnovers on the half, was the difference-maker, leading to a 31-27 halftime lead for the hosts.

“When you talk about those blocks, I think that was just nonsense from us,” Sanders said. “We were driving to the rim when guys were standing there. We had guys that were wide open … We try to make it too difficult. So a lot of those blocks are attributed to just bad decisions of us trying to go to the rim when we should have passed the ball.”

After UMBC quickly got up six, Walsh cleaned the glass with a layup before UMBC got an easy answer to get back up 37-31. A five-point scoring burst from the free-throw line and the paint by Benson put BU back within four, but UMBC soon secured their biggest lead of the contest, 45-36. After Walsh connected with graduate student forward Ben Callahan-Gold to get back within nine at 50-to-41, the Retrievers would extend their lead to 55-41 with another run.

Binghamton kept pushing with another three from redshirt junior guard Chris Walker to make it 56-46, but the Retrievers continued to set the tone. Yet, down 73-56 with four minutes to go, a jumper from Callahan-Gold reignited BU’s offense into a 14-point run to get within two possessions. After some timely stops, the graduate Bearcat made it 75-72 with just 30 seconds left. This late surge was not enough, however, as UMBC managed the free-throw battle to escape with an 81-77 victory.

“Too little, too late,” Sanders said. “We tried to extend the game. We tried to foul. Just at that point you don’t have enough time. When you foul you can’t get the right guys to get the ball … We tried to extend the game, but it shouldn’t have to come down to that.”

Walker led BU in scoring with 17 points as he shot 66.7 percent from the perimeter, while Walsh nailed down another double-double with 13 points and 14 boards. As a squad, BU struggled with 16 turnovers off of eight steals by UMBC.

“The way we played from the middle of the first half to the end of the game, I just think we gotta be way more unselfish than we are,” Sanders said. “Too many guys are worried about scoring instead of Binghamton getting the best shot. Probably gonna have to change the line up a little bit, make some adjustments to the lineup to get some some better continuity. But we gotta get better.”

BU will look to regain momentum and close out the road trip strong against NJIT on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey.

“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.

The Bearcats built up plenty of momentum heading into last year’s AE tournament, going 32-18 overall and 14-6 in conference play to secure a share of the regular season title. Slotted second in the bracket and with a first-round bye, Binghamton was immediately tested by sixth-seeded Maine. Still the Bearcats rose off the back of a three-run fourth frame and seven frames of two-run ball from junior pitcher Brianna Roberts to escape with a 3-2 victory.

After falling short in the winner’s bracket semifinals against top seeded Albany, Binghamton squared off against fifth-seeded UMass Lowell with its season and a shot at an AE title game appearance on the line. Both squads engaged in a pitcher’s duel, going into the 9th at a 1-1 deadlock before a game clinching run was scored by the River Hawks that Binghamton failed to answer. With the 2-1 defeat, Binghamton’s season came to a close.

In her fourth full year at the helm of Bearcat softball, Binghamton head coach Jess Bump looks to continue one of the best stretches of play for the program in its history. While it may be difficult to replace the production of the graduated AE player of the year Allison L’Amoreaux, Bump still leads a roster that has been voted second with two first-place votes in the AE Preseason Coaches Poll.

Many of these preseason expectations are tied to Binghamton rostering a tied-for-league-best five preseason all conference team selections. Headlining the bats for BU is two-time all-conference team member, graduate student outfielder Brianna Santos who led the AE in doubles last year with 17 while leading the squad with 51 hits. Last year’s AE ERA leader at 2.17 across 96 innings of ball, Roberts will look to take up the mantle of Binghamton’s workhorse ace left by L’Amoreaux. Also earning preseason all conference honors were graduate student utility Lindsey Walter, sophomore infielder Elisa Allen and junior catcher Emma Lawson.

Binghamton will head for warmer weather to open its campaign, with an appearance at the Stetson Tournament set for the second weekend of February. BU opens the tournament against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Friday, Feb. 7 with first pitch set for noon at the Patricia Wilson Field in Deland, Florida.

“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.

“Our goal there is to kind of have a dress rehearsal for [AE] championships and compete at a high level,” said Binghamton head coach Jerry Cummiskey. “We switched what invite we went to … to up the level of competition that we see. The top of this invite is probably even stronger than our conference meet, to some extent, so it’s a good test for us.”

Continuing his historic senior year, senior Elijah Lanfear brought home several medals for BU to lead the men’s bronze medal placement. After beginning his weekend on the individual side with a time of 19.82 and a victory in the 50 free, Lanfear would see his greatest individual successes yet in the 100-meter events. The Bearcat captured the 18-year-old AE record in the 100 free with a time of 43.21 for his second gold of the weekend before breaking his personal school records with a preliminary time of 46.70 and a second-place time of 46.83 in the 100 fly. Notably, Lanfear’s efforts in the 100 free and 100 fly prelims met the NCAA B-cut standard to put him in the pool of contenders for an NCAA Championship bid.

“It’s hard to say but we have kind of expected more from [Lanfear] just based on what we see training wise and what we’ve seen day to day,” Cummiskey said. “We felt like he was due for some good drops the last year or so, so it’s good to see those finally come. You know that 100 fly [record] was his best time from two years ago, and the 100 free was really a step in the right direction of what we thought he was really capable of.”

Lanfear was also a part of AE and Binghamton history as a part of the 400 free relay quartet with junior Liam Preston, sophomore Cullin Cole and freshman Evan Peters. The team eclipsed the event record in the AE set by Binghamton last year with a time of 2:55.91 to capture fourth overall. This record was just one part of a meet that netted Peters AE male Rookie of the Week honors, as he captured silver in the 200 free with a time of 1:37.76 while his preliminary 500 free time of 4:25.80 broke BU’s freshman record.

“You don’t always know what to expect from your freshmen, especially first-semester guys, as they adjust to college life and how we train and all those variables,” Cummiskey said. “Oftentimes it’s just learning experience, and they don’t have those significant drops. So to see such a good group of guys who’ve worked hard come in and see that, it certainly is a relief for us and exciting.”

Leading the way for the Bearcat women at the event was senior Lauren Kuzma, who netted two medals and a school record of her own across the four-day meet. Kuzma took bronze in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.54, while she captured silver and lowered her personal school record in the 200 breast with a time of 2:15.38.

“[Kuzma’s] motivated,” Cummiskey said. “This is her last opportunity to compete, and she’s certainly going to leave it on the pool. So we’re excited to see where she can go.”

The starting guns will now be silent for the remainder of 2024 for the Bearcats. BU will return to action back in its home pool on Saturday, Jan. 11 as it hosts Fairfield. First race is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Patricia A. Saunders Aquatic Center in Vestal, 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.

“We’re just kind of hoping to be competitive within the region, and I think we showed that on Friday,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “We had several individuals that competed really well and a lot of young freshmen that had a great experience. Looking to get both experience for a lot of kids at that level, just a little higher level competition, it helps them with their development and getting used to being in a big field like that in cross country.”

Graduate student Josh Stone closed the book on the cross country chapter of his Binghamton career with his best career outing at a regional meet, placing 42nd in the 256-strong men’s 10k field with a time of 31:02.86. Stone finished his time on the trails as one of the most decorated runners in Binghamton history, having tied the men’s record for all-conference selections with three earlier this month.

“[Stone] has been a great leader for us,” Acuff said. “He’s been a great competitor. He’s really helped a lot of the younger guys on the team as a team captain. So yeah, we’re going to miss him quite a bit. He’s been great to have in the program, and just really very talented and has developed really well over the last five years.”

Elsewhere in the men’s field, strong finishes both inside and out of the top 100 propelled the squad to its 16th-place finish. Just 21 seconds behind Stone, crossing the line in 31:23.04, was junior Andrew Rosenblatt, who carried his America East second-team all-conference momentum into Friday’s race to earn a 63rd-place finish. Just outside the top 100 in 109th with a time of 32:06.77 was freshman Bobby Mayclim, while packed together in 130th and 132nd with respective times of 32:23.47 and 32:24.98 were freshmen Nick Thomas and Oliver Jibb.

“Just overall as a team, I thought we had an outstanding day and it looks good for the future,” Acuff said. “We lose [Stone], but that’s really it. We do return [with] everyone else. I think that gives us something to shoot for next year. See if we can climb that regional ladder a little bit and maybe finish a few places in front of that 16th spot.”

In the women’s 6k, junior Sydney Leitner continued to lead the way for BU as she has all season by punching in a timecard of 21:29.07 to secure 74th out of 268 finishers in the field. Elsewhere in the race, senior Jennifer Mui crossed the line in 151st with a time of 22:23.88, with freshman Anna Gansrow not far behind her in 158th place overall with a time of 22:32.23. The final tallies placed Binghamton in 24th as a team with 732 points.

Binghamton’s cross country season comes to an end, with its runners having received multiple honors from both the AE and beyond. While the women’s squad fell short of defending its AE title, both teams brought home third-place honors in the conference with two all-conference runners a piece. The team’s strongest meet of the season remains the Vermont Fall Foliage Invitational, with the squads sweeping gold both on the team side while Stone and Leitner swept the individual titles. Now, with the indoor track and field season on the horizon, Acuff will look to continue to develop her talented rosters.

“With both indoor and outdoor track, they’re both great opportunities to continue to develop with your leg speed primarily in some shorter distance events,” Acuff said. “So that’s what we’ll focus on during the track season. Just kind of keep plugging away, and that’ll help us going into the next cross country season for sure. Just continue to build a little more confidence and continue to grow and develop a little bit.”

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.

“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 nail-biting victory over Vermont in the America East quarterfinals last weekend that went down to penalty kicks, the Binghamton women’s soccer team’s season came to an end on Thursday night at the hands of the UNH Wildcats in a 3-1 semifinals loss. While Binghamton struck first with an early goal, UNH’s pressure across the pitch proved too much for the Bearcats to overcome.

“Individually, we just didn’t match that intensity or deal with the pressure in terms of what we did at the ball,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “To UNH’s credit, they got a goal to get back into the game, and then we were really hoping that we could get to halftime at 1-1. But when they scored that second goal right with a minute-and-a-half left before halftime, that really was a crushing blow.”

While the hosting Wildcats (12-4-1, 6-1-0 AE) got the first look at the goal in minute one, BU (7-6-5, 4-2-2 AE) got a stop and swung the attacking momentum in its direction. Senior forward Hannah Mimas and junior forward Lauren Clark both got openings in the UNH third during the opening stretch, but both failed to get shots off against the tough Wildcat backline. In minute 10, senior midfielder Isabella Martillo connected with senior forward Mackenzie Ryder on a cross, who punched in the game’s first score to make it 1-0.

“One thing we talk about is we want to be able to take advantage of our set-piece opportunities,” Bhattacharjee said. “If it’s direct or even on the second phase of the set piece where we have numbers in the box. That was certainly the case with the goal.”

Not long after the Bearcats’ goal, UNH upped its aggressiveness on the attack. Minutes 19 and 20 saw consecutive shots from the Wildcats, but BU cleared both. The Wildcats’ pressure ended up being too much for BU. A lapse in the Binghamton backline in minute 32 would create an open cross for UNH that senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams could not get a glove on and the game was knotted at 1-1. While BU would briefly regain momentum in UNH’s third in minute 37, the game script remained firmly in the Wildcats’ control with a second goal in the 44th minute, giving the hosts a 2-1 advantage going into the break.

“UNH did well in terms of just mixing things,” Bhattacharjee said. “Sometimes they played through the midfield when they had opportunities. Sometimes they would be able to get it back on the flank as well which is what led to the first goal. I thought they responded well in terms of being a goal down and it caught us on the back on our heels.”

After sophomore defender Sophia Garofalo blocked a dangerous UNH look in minute 50 to keep it 2-1, Binghamton built its attacking momentum in the second half. Minute 55 saw Binghamton secure its first corner kick of the game, but it would be cleared by the Wildcats. Then, Ryder got BU’s best look since the first in the 59th minute with a boot on an errant UNH header, but the ball went wide right. Ultimately, UNH neutralized the Bearcats the rest of the way, with a final goal off a cross in minute 66 proving to be the dagger that cemented a season-ending 3-1 loss for the Bearcats.

“Whenever we did win the ball back, unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep it,” Bhattacharjee said. “We hoped our forwards could have held the ball a little bit more for us, but UNH was able to up their pressure and we weren’t necessarily able to keep it in terms of our possession.”

BU closes the 2024 campaign with its sixth straight season at or above .500. Several players brought home AE honors for the Bearcats, headlined by first-team all-conference honors for Mimas and Garofalo. The most trophies earned by a Bearcat came from freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter — netting AE Rookie of the Year, second-team all-conference and joining freshman forward Jahkaya Davis on the AE all-rookie team. In a year that was expected to be a rebuild for the program, Bhattacharjee expressed pride in the breakouts throughout his roster.

“I think the outside voices might have been, ‘Hey, look at how many people graduated and stars lost,’ all of that,” Bhattacharjee said. “But what I’m really proud of is how people stepped up into their roles. [Ryder] didn’t really play much last year and she had seven goals. [Mimas] wasn’t able to have a finished goal for us last year, and she was at about seven goals and eight assists. It’s terrific to see how new faces, new personnel, stepped into their roles and made us a competitive force. So I’m really pleased with that.”

“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.

“It just shows consistency,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “We’ve been able to do that over the years and stay very consistently competitive within the conference, and that’s always our goal. We do the best that we can with what we have to work with, resource wise, and I’m just really happy for the kids.”

The meet opened with the women’s 5K race, the event where Binghamton secured the team championship a year ago. Leading the way for BU en route to her third career AE first-team-all-conference honor was junior Sydney Leitner, who clocked in at third at the first waypoint before slipping to finish 5th overall out of 83 finishers with a time of 17:37.49. Joining Leitner with an all-conference finish was freshman Anna Gansrow, who made her AE debut by clocking in at 17:59.14 for a 14th-place finish to make the cut for the second-team-all-conference. Also earning top 20 placements were sophomore Vicky Mordvinova and senior Jennifer Mui, with respective placements of 18th and 19th and times of 18:09.75 and 18:11.58. For their efforts, the Bearcat ladies placed third as a team with a point total of 85.

“I think you’ve got to be able to put two people in the top 10 to really have a great shot at winning,” Acuff said. “We just didn’t have someone on the women’s side who really had a realistic chance of being in the top 10 other than [Leitner]. That hurt us probably the most in being able to have a chance to win, but everyone ran well. So I’m not disappointed whatsoever, definitely.”

As the weather slowly warmed up and the clock neared high noon, it soon became time for the men’s 8K. For Binghamton, all eyes were on graduate student Josh Stone in his final chance to secure the AE individual title. The race was tight going into the first two waypoints, with Stone firmly entrenched in the top five pack of runners. Unfortunately, fortune was not on the side of Binghamton’s ace, as he was unable to match the breakout of the top two finishers and settled for a fifth-place finish and a time of 24:17.71. Stone’s efforts Saturday netted him AE first-team-all-conference honors — a distinction that ties him for first all-time in program all-conference placements with three.

“[Stone] had a little bit of a stomach issue that kind of kept him from being able to finish strong about three and a half miles in,” Acuff said.”It kind of started to bother him … I really feel for [Stone], because if he’s feeling great and his stomach’s not bothering him too much I think he wins today, but it just didn’t happen today. So he just didn’t feel 100 percent.”

Elsewhere in the men’s field, two other career days netted Bearcats honors from the AE. Putting it all together to place on the AE second-team-all-conference was junior Andrew Rosenblatt. Starting the race toward the middle of the top 20, Rosenblatt rose up the ranking through each mile to eventually finish 11th in the 84-finisher men’s field with a timesheet of 24:45.01. Just outside of the top 20 finishers was freshman Bobby Mayclim, who in just his third collegiate 8K ran a 24:56.35 to finish 21st. For his efforts Saturday, Mayclim became just the third Bearcat male to earn Men’s Outstanding Rookie of the Meet honors. As the final results were tallied, the Bearcat men earned the bronze medal as a team with 83 points.

“[Rosenblatt] had the race of his life, and I’m super proud of him,” Acuff said. “It’s a very exciting day because I love to see kids just have those breakout races because it just takes them to the next level.”

Binghamton will close out its 2024 cross-country campaign at the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet on Friday, Nov. 15 . First race is at a time to be determined at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.

After heartbreaking America East playoff losses to end its season the last two years, the No. 3-seeded Binghamton women’s soccer team at last closed out a playoff win in Vestal by beating No. 6 Vermont in the AE quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon. After 110 minutes of play, both sides found themselves knotted 0-0. Ultimately, victory for the Bearcats came down to the last penalty kick possible off the boot of senior forward Hannah Mimas, sending the squad to the AE semifinals.

“It’s great that we continue to keep our season rolling,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “It’s fun when you can play at this point, playing these high-impact type of matches where it’s do or die and keep advancing. It’s wonderful that we got the result today for us to move on, and we’re certainly looking forward to trying to do more of the same come Thursday.”

To start the contest, Vermont received the kickoff and established ball control early on, but Binghamton’s backline kept them away from its third, setting the tone on defense early. While the game lingered at 0-0, both sides continued to generate opportunities. For the Catamounts, one such moment came in minute 15 with a breakaway look at the goal, but senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams slid on the ball to keep it knotted. Binghamton got a strong look in the 34th minute, with Mimas coming within inches of a score, but Vermont’s keeper batted the ball out wide. The game remained scoreless heading into the half.

“[Vermont] had one other number in the back, so they had an extra defender versus what we saw a couple of weeks ago,” Bhattacharjee said. “It’s a departure from what Vermont normally does, and I think it was a move that certainly helped them. We were able to get a good amount of attack against them when we played them a couple weeks ago, whereas this time around it took a little bit more for us to break them down.”

The second period became defined by swings in attacking momentum between the Bearcats and the Catamounts. One of the most dangerous looks of the game came from the Catamounts in minute 56 from the left side of the box, but junior defender Brooke Herber got in front of it, and Williams scooped it up to prevent the score. Then, in the 61st minute, Mimas got a wide-open look from the left corner, but the ensuing shot rolled just to the right of the goal. Vermont got one more dangerous second-chance look after an attempted Williams save bounced back into play in minute 81, but Williams made her second grab stick. After 90 minutes had elapsed, the score read 0-0, and for the third year in a row, the AE playoffs were going to overtime in Vestal.

“It was a little bit dangerous when Vermont caught us in transition,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had to catch up, especially defensively. I thought we took care of those moments for the most part … Now they did have, no question, a couple very dangerous chances.”

The offensive deadlock carried into both overtime periods, and the burden of keeping Binghamton’s season alive rested on Williams’ shoulders. During the 95th minute of play, the Catamounts pressured the Bearcats’ third, but Williams scooped the ball up and cleared the sequence out. Then, in the final minute of the second overtime, a BU miscue gave Vermont a final look at the goal that Williams grabbed to save the game and send it to a shootout. Swapped out with sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler for the shootout, Williams left the game with seven saves in 110 minutes.

“One thing that we count on [Williams] to do is, in these types of games, [is] to make one or two big saves and she did that,” Bhattacharjee said.

Vermont started the shootout by getting its first look past Kessler to the left side, and a whiffed look from Herber cemented a 1-0 lead for the Catamounts going into the second round. From there, however, two straight saves from Kessler and goals by junior defender Allison Falvo and freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter put BU up 2-1 in the shootout. After a Binghamton miss, however, the Catamounts knotted the shootout back up. With both sides one shot away from advancing, Kessler made back-to-back saves to keep things tied and give Mimas a chance to close out the game. With the season on the line, Mimas sank her shot to clinch the victory and send Binghamton to the AE semifinals for a date with UNH.

“It’ll be an interesting dynamic because our program scored the most goals of any team in conference play, and we’re playing UNH, who has given up the least amount of goals of any team in the conference,” Bhattacharjee said. “So you’re going to see those two things come to a head.”

No. 3 Binghamton will now visit No. 2 UNH on Thursday, Nov. 7 to take on the Wildcats in the AE semifinals. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire.