Coming off a loss on the road at UMass Lowell, the Binghamton men’s basketball team looked to bounce back and potentially keep its playoff hopes alive with a victory at home on Thursday against UNH. With their backs against the wall, the team completed a comeback to come away with a narrow 65-63 victory.
“A big-time win gives us an opportunity to continue to keep playing for something, and that’s what we want,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “This time of year, to still be playing for something is important.”
A pair of buckets from junior forward Zyier Beverly quickly put the Bearcats (7-23, 3-12 AE) up 4-0, setting the tone early as Binghamton shot ahead to an 11-6 lead by the first media timeout. Following the timeout, UNH (8-19, 4-10 AE) began picking away at the Bearcats’ lead, eventually tying the game up at 19-19 before taking the lead.
From there, the Wildcats went on a 12-1 scoring run, with a free throw from Beverly being Binghamton’s lone point during that stretch, forcing a Bearcat timeout. A jumper from senior guard Wes Peterson Jr. ended the Bearcat scoring drought, and back-to-back layups from junior guard Jeremiah Quigley put the team back within striking distance at the end of the half at a score of 36-26.
“When we came into the locker room, I just saw the guys’ faces,” Sanders said. “It wasn’t any kind of panic, it was still a lot of time left, and guys came out and made a ton of plays, and that helped us prevail.”
UNH opened the scorebook for the second half, hitting a pair of threes early to extend their lead. Binghamton responded with an 11-point run, propelled by a trio of threes from freshman guard Jake Blackburn, making it a 42-39 game. From there, both sides traded scores, with Binghamton continuing to stay within striking distance. A corner three from graduate student guard Jackson Benigni brought the game within two points, which he followed with three successful free throws to take a 51-50 lead.
A dunk from redshirt sophomore forward Stephan Snagg put the Bearcats up 58-55, and shortly after, Binghamton scored six unanswered points to go up 64-56. The Wildcats answered with seven straight, however, bringing the game within one with under a minute remaining. The Bearcats were able to hold on, coming away with a 65-63 victory.
“We changed defense, we went zone, we were a lot better in our zone in the second half,” Sanders said. “They kinda got a few things that they do, which we rather them score twos than threes, they shot 36 threes, so they’re gonna put it up, and they’re a good three-point shooting team. So I thought the zone was better in the second half, and that helped us out.”
Quigley led the team in scoring with 17 points, coming away with five rebounds and six assists in the process. Beverly had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while Blackburn came away with 11 points in just 14 minutes of playtime. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Bearcats was Benigni, who recorded 10 points and three rebounds.
“It means a lot for [the seniors],” Quigley said. “[Peterson Jr.] and [Benigni], I see them go hard every single day at practice, getting up shots, and I just want to do it for them. I just want them to have something to remember the way they go out.”
Looking to keep its playoff hopes alive, Binghamton will play its final regular-season game at home against Maine. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.