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 quarterfinal contest. BU advanced to Sunday’s semifinal round against second-seeded Albany, while the Bearcats ended their season at 13-16.

Binghamton had a 12-point lead 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 Binghamton head coach Al Walker. ‘I want to reiterate, we did not lose this game. Boston University won this game.’

But the 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’ D suffocated the Terriers, forcing a shot-clock violation.

With the game on the line, they went inside to Lazar Trifunovic, who was whistled for a push-off with 1:17 remaining ‘ the rookie’s sixth turnover of the night.

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

The Terriers would then take the lead on a lay-up 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.’

BU’s Carlos Strong hit two free throws to ice the game with 22 seconds remaining.

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.

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

After the game, the Bearcats seemed very optimistic about the upcoming 2007-08 season.

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

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