After snapping its 22-game losing streak against Vermont with a 75-72 win at home on Thursday, the Binghamton men’s basketball team netted its first road win of America East play by triumphing 65-61 over Albany on Saturday night. Despite burning a 10-point halftime lead with 13 second-half turnovers, two crucial scores in the final 10 seconds sealed BU’s victory.

“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.