NEWARK, N.J.--- Binghamton men's lacrosse (5-6, 3-1 AE) picked up a 18-8 win on the road against NJIT (0-11, 0-4 AE). The Bearcats were dominant on both sides of the ball from the jump. BU used a 5-0 run early in the first quarter and followed it with another string of five goals to push the lead to 13-2 in the second quarter.

Senior attack Kevin Winkoff had a career day in the first half. Winkoff tallied a career high six goals and added two assists in the half.

"I'm proud of the team for traveling on short rest and getting a big conference win," said head coach Kevin McKeown. "Winkoff had a great first half and really found his shooting stroke."

At the faceoff position, junior Matthew Desouza and sophomore Ross Chazanow were able to take control winning a combined 17-29 faceoffs on the day. Seven Bearcats were able to find the back of the net in the game, including senior Drew Furlong who scored his first goal of the season.

On the defensive side of the ball, seniors Max Verch and Furlong continued to put their stamp on the game. Furlong finished with three caused turnovers and Verch followed with two caused turnovers. In the net, redshirt junior Teddy Dolan followed his career high and program record 20 save performance against Stony Brook, with 19 saves against NJIT. 

In the second half, BU added five goals in the second half to put the game away. Freshman Griffin Chernoff and junior Declan Ferris both picked up their first assists of the season in the fourth quarter off of goals by graduate student Justin Roderka in the final minute of the game.

"Teddy came up big in the second half. Our seniors have done a great job of leading us all season and we'll continue to lean on them moving forward," said McKeown.

With the win against NJIT, BU clinched an America East Playoff berth for the first time since 2017. The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday at Noon when they travel to take on the defending America East Champs Vermont.