The Binghamton University men’s basketball team was missing two of its starting frontcourt players Saturday afternoon when they took on Manhattan, but it was the Bearcats backcourt that stepped it up.

Richard Forbes and Mike Gordon combined for 47 points, 27 and 20 respectively, in Binghamton’s 66-56 win over the Manhattan Jaspers at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y.

But, it wasn’t their offense that Binghamton head coach wanted to emphasize.

“It wasn’t about offense because our offense is going to work but if we don’t defend it won’t work,” Broadus said. “Take away the offense, I have to keep talking about defense. We really defended well and cut down their transition points.”

Forbes led the charge on both sides of the floor, especially the defensive end.

“Richie defended great out there,” Broadus said. “He was talking and switching and stepped up.”

But while Forbes’ defense may not show up on the stat sheet, his offensive numbers certainly stick out. Forbes, whose 27 points were a game-high and tied a career-best, shot 12-for-21 from the field including 15 points in the first half.

“After about a year, I finally made some shots,” joked Forbes. “Defensively, I am trying to get my team to stay focused and pick them up and I think we’ve been playing great defense the past few games.”

That Binghamton defense held Manhattan to 33 percent shooting for the game and 30 percent from behind the arc. And while the Jaspers were up as many as six in the middle of the first half, the Bearcats went on an 18-5 run to end the half including eight straight points in the span of less than two minutes.

The Bearcats came out of the second half just as hot as they entered as Forbes scored four straight points to put the Bearcats up 12. Manhattan would manage to cut the lead to five, but that is as close as it would get.

“[The Bearcats] are a real scrappy team, they get after it and had a lot of energy on defense,” said MU’s Devon Austin, who finished with 11 points.

And it was that type of play and intensity and energy that escaped the Jaspers.

“For an entire 40 minutes, your energy level, focus and intensity has to be there to be a successful D-I basketball player and to win at this level you need to do it as an entire team,” said Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen.

The Bearcats also didn’t get flustered when they found out minutes before the game that they would be without starting forward Lazar Trifunovic, who warmed up without any problems but immediately after had back spasms.

“Laz is real good but we just have to keep playing,” Gordon said. “We missed Reggie too. We just went out there and played.”

But while the Bearcats were shorthanded, centers Jaan Montgomery and Giovanni Olomo stepped up. Montgomery, who started his first game of the season and ninth of his career, was a force down low blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and a staple setting picks and dishing paces in Binghamton’s effective inside-out game.

And Olomo, who was dealing with an injury and suited up but was only there for an emergency situation, came off the bench for 21 minutes, grabbing six rebounds.

“Thank God we had him because he was big defensively,” said Broadus. “He was huge and Jaan was huge. Their presence helped us especially on the glass.”

It also helped them open up the driving lanes and get into the paint where Binghamton outscored Manhattan 26-10.

“Tonight was our night. Everything was clicking offensively and defensively and we walked away with a victory,” Broadus said.

It is the Bearcats’ third win a row and they will go for No. 4 tomorrow night at home against Albany at 7 p.m. And if Binghamton wants to have continued success, it will be their defense that leads them there.

“Our offense will come to us, but we are more pumped to play defense,” Forbes said. “You never know who is going to off for a big game, we aren’t worried about that. If we come out and play great defense, we have a great chance of winning.”