SMITHTOWN, R.I. – Host Bryant (10-4, 1-0 AE) made five three throws in the final 26 seconds to hold off Binghamton men's basketball (4-10, 0-1 America East) 82-78 in a New Year's Eve matinee Saturday afternoon at Chace Athletic Center.

The Bearcats went toe-to-toe with a Bulldogs team that ranked sixth in the nation in offense (85.8 ppg.) and was picked to finish second in the America East. Binghamton was within four points over the entire final 15 minutes of the game and had a last shot to tie it with four seconds left.

The Bearcats led for nearly half the game and there were 10 lead changes.

Senior guard Dan Petcash led BU's offense with a season-high 22 points. Graduate forward Miles Gibson had 15 points, senior guard Jacob Falko had 14 and junior forward Armon Harried added 12. Harried just missed a double-double as he pulled down nine rebounds and packed his production into just 19 minutes due to game-long foul trouble.      

"Both teams had a lot of energy today," head coach Levell Sanders said. "Bryant is a good team and they can score a ton of points but I like the way we fought and competed. A few bounces here and there and it could've been a different result. We know we have a good team … we just need to keep doing the things we need to do on both sides of the ball. It's a long conference season … anyone can beat anyone and we have to have that approach every time we hit the floor."

Petcash hit a 3-pointer with 8:51 left that gave the Bearcats a 65-63 lead. It was, however, BU's last lead as Bryant went on a 7-2 run to take the lead for good. Three times Binghamton pulled to within one in the final five minutes but couldn't make the shot to forge ahead. Graduate forward Christian Hinckson's three-point play with 54 seconds left cut the margin to one, 77-76. After Bryant made a pair of free throws, Falko responded with a driving layup to again bring BU within one, 79-78, with 13 seconds left. But after two more Bulldog free throws, Falko missed a contested 3-pointer from the wing and Bryant added their 26^th made free throw of the afternoon for the closing margin.

The Bulldogs made 26-of-31 from the charity stripe.  

The Bearcats opened the game with a roar, jumping out to a 16-5 lead less than four minutes in. Harried tallied six of those points and four different players scored as BU hit 5-of-7 to start. Binghamton led 21-12 with 13:05 left before a Bryant 10-0 run brought them back. The lead changed hands seven times in the first half before BU pulled ahead 41-40 at intermission.

The first half offensive performance was the highest of any this season and it was done despite a lopsided fouls count. Four of BU's starters were tagged with two fouls, including second-leading scorer Harried, who was limited to just five minutes after receiving his second. Petcash led all scorers with 10 points in the period.

After playing four of its last five on the road, Binghamton returns home to host New Hampshire (6-7, 1-0 AE) Thursday night at the Events Center.