VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (10-10, 7-4 America East) tallied 45 points in the second half to pull away from visiting Maine (4-18, 1-10 AE) 69-60 Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

The Bearcats shook off a sluggish first half with 65 percent shooting in the final frame and won for the fourth time in six games to strengthen the team's No. 2 playoff position in the conference standings. Leading scorer Jacob Falko scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and sparked an 11-2 run that stretched a one-point margin into double digits early in the second half. Binghamton then extended the lead to as many as 17 points before the Black Bears brought it back in the closing two minutes.

"I'm happy we won," head coach Levell Sanders said. "It's always tough to get wins, especially in a league like ours where there isn't much separation between the teams. Maine played zone and a lot of times it makes the offensive team passive and that's exactly what happened to us in the first half. Instead of attacking, we were passive. But in the second half John (McGriff) did a good lob of pushing tempo, attacking and getting easy shots. And our defense held us the whole game."

Junior forward George Tinsley hit 6-of-7 off the bench for a season-high 17 points. He was the team leader in plus/minus with a +19 in his 24 minutes of action. Juniors Tyler Bertram and Dan Petcash added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Junior center Taveion White chipped in six points, nine boards and three assists. 

Binghamton missed its first 12 shots of the game but recovered to take a 24-23 lead at intermission. 

The Bearcats now brace for a road game Wednesday night at league-leading and unbeaten Vermont (10-0). 

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