Two minutes into the game between the Binghamton men’s basketball team and UMass Lowell on Saturday, BU sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez opened the scoring with a midrange jump shot. The Bearcats (7-20, 4-10 America East) would hold the lead for the next 38 minutes.
Despite cutting their deficit to just two in the final minutes of the contest, the River Hawks (11-17, 7-8 AE) never managed to swing the scoreboard back in their favor as the Bearcats held on for an 81-77 victory at the Events Center. With the victory, BU moved into a tie for sixth place in the AE standings.
“I think every win puts a little bit more wind in your sails,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “I think for the coaches and for the players, you have to validate your improvement as a program and as a team with wins and we were able to do that today.”
For the first time this season, five Bearcat players scored in double figures, led by 14 points from junior guard Marlon Beck and 13 from freshman guard Timmy Rose. Binghamton scored from all over the floor, attacking the paint against an undersized UML team and knocking down jump shots. BU hit seven three-pointers in the game.
“We are playing February basketball,” Beck said. “It’s late in the season, so we’re picking up our tempo on both ends. If everyone can get involved like that, it makes us an entirely better team.”
Following Rodriguez’s jumper, the Bearcats jumped all over the River Hawks. The Bearcats put together one of their best offensive halves of the season, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. Eleven minutes into the game, a pair of free throws by freshman guard Everson Davis pushed the Binghamton lead to 14, 30-16 and BU headed into the locker room nine minutes later leading by eight, 39-31. Nine different Bearcats recorded at least two points in the period.
Coming out of the locker room, UMass Lowell began to cut into the Binghamton lead. Every time it seemed as if the River Hawks were gaining momentum, Rose or Beck found a way to score. After UML cut a 12-point Binghamton lead to seven three minutes into the half, Rose nailed a step-back jumper on the baseline and Beck followed with a three-pointer. Ten minutes later, Beck hit another triple from the top of the key to bring the Binghamton lead back to nine.
However, Beck’s biggest moment of the game came with nine seconds remaining in the contest. After the River Hawks had shrunk the Bearcats lead to two courtesy of an 8-2 run over the final minute of play, Beck stepped to the line and sank a pair of free throws to push Binghamton’s lead to four and seal the win.
“I really wanted to get this win today,” Beck said about the free-throw attempts. “Coach drew up a play for me or Willie [Rodriguez] to get the ball. We got it in my hands and I just had to finish the game.”
Joining Rose and Beck in double-figures for BU were Rodriguez, freshman forward Thomas Bruce and sophomore forward Bobby Ahearn, all of whom netted 11 points apiece.
BU moved into a tie for sixth place in the conference with Maine. With only two AE regular season games remaining, Binghamton could finish anywhere from sixth to ninth in the final conference standings.
Binghamton is set to return to action Wednesday night when it travels to take on UMBC. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the RAC Arena in Catonsville, Maryland.