In the Binghamton men’s basketball team’s 85-66 win over Delaware State on Saturday, the understudies played the starring role.

Just three days ago, the Bearcats’ leading scorer received news that he would need season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured left tricep. Wearing a white collared shirt and a polka-dot tie, redshirt sophomore guard J.C. Show was relegated to the end of the bench where he spent all of last year as a redshirt.

Making up for Show’s offensive production for the remainder of the season won’t be an easy task for BU (8-5), but freshman guard Fard Muhammad and redshirt junior guard Yosef Yacob managed to do so for at least one game. The duo largely tasked with replacing Show combined for 30 points against the Hornets on Saturday afternoon.

Dempsey said during a press conference on Friday that he will now rely on the committee of Muhammad, Yacob and senior guard Marlon Beck. But he then singled out Muhammad to start contributing more. After defeating the Hornets, Muhammad didn’t think much of the heightened expectations.

“I’ve just been focused on the things I need to work on,” Muhammad said. “Just knocking down shots and adding more to my game to help the team.”

So far this season, Binghamton has relied on its depth. It did so while junior forward Willie Rodriguez sat out of the Bearcats’ first 10 games. But now, BU will find out if its guard corps is deep enough to carry it the entire season.

The Bearcats shot a 60.8 percent clip from the field  — their highest of the season  — including 8-for-20 from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard DeVaughn Mallory led Delaware State with 16 points, going 7-for-13 from the field while his teammates combined to shoot 42.9 percent.

The victory comes only a week after BU’s 90-85 overtime heartbreaker against Loyola (Md.). The Bearcats’ kept that game in mind all week at practice.

“I was pleased with the way we came out today for sure,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “It’s been a tough week, losing the lead as we did on our home floor to Loyola … and finding out midweek that lost J.C. [Show] for the year. There was a lot going on that could have been a distraction, but I thought that the players prepared well.”

Against Delaware State, Muhammad led Binghamton in scoring. He tallied 16 points in 19 minutes on the floor, shooting 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Yacob added 14 points in 23 minutes.

Dempsey aimed to play as many players as possible against the Hornets — 11 Bearcats played over 10 minutes.

“That allows us to continue to develop players in the program,” Dempsey said. “We still have a lot of young players, and it keeps practices very competitive because everybody is preparing as if they’re going to play.”

Before getting injured, Show averaged 13.3 points per game and shot a 42.5 percent clip from the field, including 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. Even though he won’t be playing, Show’s influence will still be felt on the court.

“J.C. [Show] texts me all the time,” Muhammad said. “Everytime he sees me down, he makes sure he talks to me about it. He does a good job of mentoring me.”

Binghamton is set to face Army on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Christl Arena in West Point, New York.