A season sweep of a rival is always a confidence boost for both players and fans.
The Binghamton men’s basketball team (11-13, 6-3 America East) completed the rare sweep of Albany (6-19, 1-9 AE) with a 78-73 victory Wednesday at the Events Center.
The Bearcats needed four players in double figures to hold off a late Albany surge and extend their current win streak to four games.
Led by star junior Greer Wright, who had 19 points, the Bearcats withstood three Albany 3-pointers in the final 1:04. Binghamton held a 73-62 lead with just 1:21 left in regulation. The Great Danes got within 75-71 with 30 seconds left, but a late free throw and dunk from Wright sealed the win.
“It was a game of runs, I think we had the last run,” Binghamton interim head coach Mark Macon said. “It was a tremendous game by two up-and-coming teams.”
With the game tied at 31 with nine seconds remaining in the first half, the Bearcats moved down the court and freshman Dylan Talley launched and made a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Events Center crowd of 3,991 into a frenzy and Binghamton to the locker room with a 34-31 halftime lead.
The Bearcats started the second half strong, led by junior co-captain Moussa Camara, who had all of his 14 points in the second half. The team shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half and overcame several Albany runs.
“We had a good flow offensively, we shared the ball well, made the extra pass,” Albany head coach, Will Brown, said. “We did some good things, but we just didn’t get the stops when we needed them most.”
Wright was in foul trouble early in the first half, and the Bearcats looked to role players to step up. Junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He scored all his points in the first half to lead Binghamton, with their star player on the bench.
“We have a bunch of stars on our team and they all can shine,” Macon said of his team’s performance without Wright in the game. “One star got taken away and the other guys stepped up and made plays.”
In the team’s last meeting with Albany, Jabbi had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
“I don’t think anyone knew where the heck Jabbi and [Umur] Peten came from,” Brown said. “And they’re good players; I didn’t know who they were. Jabbi killed us [in Albany] and he killed us here.”
Brown had a lot of praise for the surprising Binghamton team that is tied for third place in the conference standings.
“They got guys that can play one on one and get in the lane and make plays,” Brown said. “They’re long and big and good and I think everybody needs to admit it. They’re gonna win a lot more games.”
Brown also praised Wright’s individual talents saying they are a key to the Bearcats’ success.
“Greer Wright is a first team all-league player, he’s the leading scorer in the league,” he said. “I think he might be the player in the league right now, though I’m sure Blakely will win it.”
Vermont’s senior Marqus Blakely is the two-time defending conference player of the year. Last season, he beat out then-Binghamton guard D.J. Rivera, who was the leading scorer in the league.
Talley had 17 points, five assists and two blocks to offset a 5-16 shooting night from the floor. Talley was a big part of 12 fast-break points for Binghamton.
“I take my hat off to my guys,” Macon said. “They played and stayed together; I’m very proud of them.”
The win is the fourth straight victory for the Bearcats, who have turned plenty of heads this season after being picked in a preseason poll to finish last place in the AE.
“They’re doing a good job right now,” Brown said. “I have no problem saying it; if I didn’t think they were good I would tell you.”
The Bearcats have always had an intimidating home court and this season they lead the conference in home attendance with an average of 3,452 fans per game. Binghamton had a season-high attendance at last Saturday’s game against New Hampshire with 4,811 fans.
“I think the [key to the game] was the crowd; they got us up,” Jabbi said. “It took [Albany] out of the game and the energy level was real high so we fed off that.”
Binghamton next faces Maine on the road Saturday as they look to avenge a 66-61 loss at the Events Center more than three weeks ago.
“I know we can play better, make up for the mistakes we made when they came here,” Macon said. “We got to stop their guys from getting to the basket.”
The matchup features two AE teams with identical 6-3 conference records and will leave one team in sole possession of third place. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.