Eitan Chemerinski grabbed two offensive rebounds all game, and they couldn’t have come at more opportune moments for Cornell, which beat Binghamton 79-77 at the Events Center on Sunday afternoon.
After Binghamton (2-11) had cut a 22-point second-half deficit to four with 1:25 left, Chemerinski grabbed an offensive rebound and deposited it through contact, connecting on the basket and drawing the foul. He missed the free throw, and Binghamton freshman guard Jordan Reed nailed a quick pull-up three with 48 seconds left to make it 78-75. But following a Cornell (6-8) miss with 13 seconds left, Chemerinski battled for another offensive rebound and handed the ball to freshman guard Galal Cancer, who hit 1-of-2 foul shots with eight seconds left.
Binghamton junior guard Rayner Moquete’s answer at the buzzer was inconsequential.
But even though Binghamton fell short, the team’s inspired, determined effort in the second half served as another reminder that head coach Tommy Dempsey has the program headed in the right direction amidst a season in which wins are not the only results that matter.
Cornell led 41-26 at halftime after converting 7-of-17 three-point attempts and dictating the pace, and the lead bloated to 22 with 14:33 left. The Big Red thwarted every mini-run by Binghamton, keeping their lead at 16 with a three-pointer from junior guard Johnathan Gray at the 8:24 mark.
Then the Bearcats, who buried nine threes on 11 second-half attempts, hit eight of their next nine field goals. But timely answers by Cornell and Chemerinski’s offensive rebounding prevented Binghamton from earning its first win since Nov. 24.
Reed notched his seventh double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He finds himself tied with Louisiana-Lafayette’s Shawn Long for most double-doubles by a freshman.
Cornell’s help-defense frustrated Reed in the first half to the tune of 2-for-9 shooting from the floor, but the second half was a different story as the freshman sunk two pull-up threes and shot 4-for-5. The two threes served as an encouraging sign for Reed, who had hit just two threes all season, as did his 9-of-10 performance from the charity stripe.
Moquete (19 points), senior guard Jimmy Gray (14 points) and senior forward Taylor Johnston (14 points) joined Reed in double-figures. For Moquete, who looked a lot more like the player that dominated Susquehanna back on Nov. 3, the scoring output was a career-high.
Chereminski finished with 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting for Cornell, and his presence in the offensive post proved to be crucial in stabilizing the Big Red. Johnathan Gray, who shot 5-of-13 from three, led Cornell with 18 points.
The Bearcats are set to open conference play on Wednesday at Hartford. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Chase Arena.