BURLINGTON, Vt. – Host Vermont (18-10, 12-2 America East) made eight free throws in the final 1:14 to hold off Binghamton men's basketball (12-15, 8-6 AE) 81-70 Wednesday night at Patrick Gymnasium.

The third-place Bearcats stood toe-to-toe with the regular-season champion Catamounts throughout the game and were within six until the final minute.

BU led 51-46 after a 3-pointer by graduate Miles Gibson (season-high 23 pts.) with 12:09 left. The teams traded big shots for a few minutes and senior guard Jacob Falko gave the Bearcats their final lead, 54-53, with a 3-pointer with 8:55 left.

Vermont countered, however, with a 19-5 run that gave them a 65-56 edge with 4:57 left. Binghamton brought it back to six points but couldn't draw closer and the Catamount free throws in the final two minutes closed it out.

"Once we took the lead in the second half, Vermont became a little more aggressive and we didn't respond to that," head coach Levell Sanders said.

Gibson hit 11-of-18 from the floor to pace BU's offense. Falko wound up with 17 points – 13 coming in the second half. Senior guard Dan Petcash netted 13 and graduate forward Christian Hinckson added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Bearcats trailed 15-2 to start but used an impressive 25-8 run spanning 8+ minutes to pull ahead late in the half. Binghamton hit 11-of-14 in the run, which began with a 15-0 stretch that Vermont fans aren't used to seeing on their home floor. Gibson tallied 10 points in the span and when Falko hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, BU led 30-25 with 5:55 left. But Vermont countered with a 16-7 run to end the half and take a 41-37 lead into the break.  

Binghamton plays the first of back-to-back home games to end the regular season when it hosts Maine Saturday afternoon at the Events Center.