VESTAL, N.Y. - Seniors Dan Petcash and Jacob Falko scored 20 points apiece and Binghamton men's basketball (11-13, 7-4 America East) outscored visiting Albany (6-21, 1-11 AE) 17-3 in overtime to pull out an 80-66 win in front of a boisterous 2,746 Saturday afternoon at the Events Center.

With the team's seventh win in the last 10 games, BU moved into second place in the America East standings with five regular season games left.

The Bearcats trailed for much of the game and were down seven with under four minutes to play in regulation before rallying. Binghamton closed regulation with an 11-4 run that was capped with a pair of clutch free throws from Falko that tied the game at 63-63 with 16 seconds left. A strong team defensive effort on Albany's final possession forced a miss at the buzzer to sent the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Petcash opened the onslaught with a corner 3 after a fantastic touch pass from junior forward Armon Harried. Then on the other end, Petcash stole the ball and Falko made Albany pay with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Up 69-65, Falko went to work again with a floater in the lane and then on the Great Danes' next possession, Falko got a strip in the post to give possession back to the Bearcats. Graduate forward Miles Gibson then made six straight points to extend BU's lead to double digits and put the game away. 

"We defended down the stretch," head coach Levell Sanders said. "We were able to tighten it up on defense and then in overtime, Dan's first 3 settled us down and we kept the momentum up from there. It feels really good ... it's such a different atmosphere when the students come and create that energy - it's electric. When we got that last stop in regulation, I thought the top was going to come off the building, it was so loud. It really energizes the guys and we appreciate it so much. We want to try to keep putting on great performances so they keep coming back."  

Binghamton didn't miss a shot in overtime, going 4-for-4 from the field, including two 3-pointers. Albany, meanwhile, hit just 1-of-9. 

Petcash posted his first collegiate double-double with 10 rebounds to go with his 20 points. He hit 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Graduate center Ogheneyole Akuwovo gave BU a big lift with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Gibson finished with 12 points and Harried added nine points and four steals. 

The Bearcats trailed 20-11 out of the gate before Harried keyed a 9-0 run that evened the score at 20-20 with 6:19 left in the half. The teams went back and forth before a 9-4 BU closing run gave the Bearcats a 35-33 edge. Petcash had 11 of his points in the first half and the Bearcats shot 56 percent. 

In the second half, BU led by five before managing just one field goal over a 7+ minute span, which opened the door for the Great Danes, who built a 59-52 lead with 4:16 remaining. But BU rallied for its second overtime win of the season and completed its first season sweep of its longtime SUNY rival in 11 years. 

Binghamton next hosts NJIT Wednesday night at the Events Center.