BOSTON ‘ The Bearcats played well, but the Terriers played a little bit better.

In a hotly-contested contest, No. 3 Boston University edged No. 6 Binghamton, 62-58, in Saturday’s final America East quarterfinal contest. The loss would be the last in Binghamton head coach Al Walker’s seven-year tenure as he resigned from his position yesterday afternoon.

Host Boston advanced to Sunday’s semifinal round against Albany where they lost, 59-49, while the Bearcats’ season ended at 13-16.

Binghamton had a 12-point lead with 14:55 remaining in the second half, but a few clutch shots by the Terriers, including a miraculous three-pointer by Carlos Strong with one second remaining on the shot clock, gave the Terriers just enough momentum to pull ahead in the last minute.

‘We didn’t let this game slip away,’ said Walker, who will now assume a to-be-determined administrative position with the athletics department. ‘I want to reiterate, we did not lose this game. Boston University won this game.’

But his Bearcats did have their chances.

Binghamton trailed by three with two minutes remaining, but senior guard Steve Proctor, who finished with a game-high 22 points, came off a screen to drain a three to tie it at 58.

On the ensuing possession, the Bearcats’ defense suffocated the Terriers, forcing a shot-clock violation.

With the game on the line, Binghamton went inside to Lazar Trifunovic, who was whistled for a push-off with 1:17 remaining ‘ the rookie’s sixth turnover of the night. The freshman still finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 36 minutes.

‘Lazzy just struggled a little bit,’ said Walker. ‘He was a little discombobulated.’

The Terriers would then take the lead on a layup by freshman guard Corey Lowe. Walker would call two consecutive time-outs with 36.8 seconds remaining, drawing up a play for ‘Magic’ Mike Gordon, who had three game-winning shots for Binghamton this season.

But despite Gordon’s erstwhile heroics, his flailing desperation drive barely scraped the rim.

‘We got exactly what we wanted,’ Walker said. ‘I think maybe Mikey thought he was fouled in that situation.’

Boston freshman Carlos Strong hit two free throws to ice the game with 22 seconds remaining and a desperation three at the buzzer by Gordon missed by several feet.

Gordon fell victim to uncharacteristic foul trouble early on, picking up his second with 13:32 remaining in the first half, but still played 37 minutes.

Binghamton seemed in control for much of the game, including almost the entire first half. Proctor opened the game with nine straight Bearcat points, giving Binghamton an early 9-2 lead.

But the Bearcats seemed to fade down the stretch. Binghamton only got four points from its bench ‘ two from Duane James, who returned from a mild concussion, and two from Minja Kovacevic ‘ while Boston got 28 from its reserves, including 11 from seldom-used forward Valdas Sirutis.

Boston head coach Dennis Wolff insisted that the Terriers’ slow start was in large part due to Binghamton’s strong defense.

‘It was a combination of us being a little bit jittery and them playing really good defense,’ he said. ‘We had a number of guys make big plays.’

Troy Hailey, Binghamton’s only four-year senior, scored the first seven points of the second half for Binghamton. The guard finished out his career with eight points, one rebound, two assists and a steal.

After the game, the Bearcats seemed very optimistic about the upcoming 2007-08 season, with Gordon returning for his senior season and post-players like Ian Milne, Trifunovic and Kovacevic each a year more mature.

‘We have an excellent foundation for next year,’ Walker said.

A national search for a men’s basketball coach officially began yesterday, with Binghamton athletics director Joel Thirer saying he hopes to have a coach in place ‘by the Final Four.’

Check the March 16 issue of Pipe Dream for more analysis of the 2006-07 Binghamton men’s basketball season.