The Binghamton men’s basketball team had its foot on the gas until midway through the second half, when five consecutive 3-pointers by New Hampshire secured the Wildcats’ 68-56 win over the Bearcats at Lundholm Gymnasium Saturday evening.
While Binghamton (3-24, 1-13 America East) outscored New Hampshire 34-26 in the first, the Wildcats (8-18, 4-10 AE) overwhelmed BU in the second, 42-22.
In their previous matchup on Jan. 26, UNH had no trouble with the Bearcats at the Events Center, winning comfortably 63-45.
“We were dominated by New Hampshire when they came here a month ago,” Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “This time around, I thought we went out and fought really hard and played good basketball. Unfortunately, the game got away from us a little bit in the second half, but I thought we played well.”
Binghamton maintained control through the first 10 minutes of the second half until the Wildcats got to within three points with 9:39 to play. From there, New Hampshire junior forward Patrick Konan knocked down three 3-pointers in a span of 1:22 before junior guard Scott Morris followed suit with two consecutive treys of his own in a 47-second span. When the dust cleared, the Bearcats found themselves down 57-46 with 5:38 left.
“They were all tough shots,” Dempsey said. “Four of the five were contested threes. To New Hampshire’s credit, they made them, and they made them all in a two-minute stretch. That was the key stretch of the game. It was more a credit to what they did than anything we didn’t do.”
Though the Wildcats got the better of the Bearcats in the second half, Dempsey was able to draw a lot of positives from his team’s play in the first half. Binghamton shot 54 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes while holding its opponent to 35 percent.
“I think we played with really good emotion [in the first half],” Dempsey said. “We shot the ball well and played really good defense. New Hampshire struggled a little against our press and zone in the first half and that allowed us to get out and score some points. They played much better against the zone in the second half, and I thought that was more the key to the game than anything.”
The loss overshadowed another impressive night for Binghamton freshman Jordan Reed. The 6-foot-4 guard posted game-highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds, in addition to five assists, and continues to lead the America East in both points and rebounds per game with 16.8 and 9.5, respectively. Reed’s performance also helped him garner America East Rookie of the Week Honors for the sixth time this season.
BU junior forward Brian Freeman posted 14 points to go along with six boards, while senior guard Jimmy Gray added 10 points.
Thursday night at the Events Center will be Senior Night, the last home game for this year’s graduating players. BU is scheduled to take on Vermont, which boasts a 10-4 conference record and an 18-9 overall record. The Catamounts currently sit in third place in the conference standings, behind Stony Brook and Boston University.
Binghamton snapped its winless drought last season with a home win over Vermont in game No. 27.
“I’m expecting a real spirited effort from our team,” Dempsey said. “Not only from the seniors but from the other players who will be playing to honor their seniors. Senior Day is always an emotional game. I hope we can create a great atmosphere for the seniors and hopefully give a real spirited performance against a very good Vermont team.”
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.