BRONX, N.Y. – Host Fordham (2-1) built a 10-point halftime lead and withstood a gritty effort from visiting Binghamton men's basketball to beat the road-weary Bearcats (1-3) 78-63 Tuesday night at Rose Hill Gym.
Down 16 early in the second half, Binghamton stormed back with a 16-6 run to pull within six, 56-50, with 10:20 left. Graduate forward
Ben Callahan-Gold drilled a 3-pointer and added a layup in a one-minute span to make it a two-possession game. But the Rams responded with a 14-0 run over 4:11 to put the game away.
Graduate guard
Tymu Chenery tallied a team-high 16 points and sophomore forward
Gavin Walsh added his second straight double-double with 10 points and 19 rebounds. His huge night on the boards tied the school rebound record (D-I era) set by Thomas Bruce in 2018. Senior forward
Nehemiah Benson chipped in 11 points and Callahan-Gold netted all 15 of his points in the second half to give the Bearcats four in double figures.
Binghamton outshot Fordham throughout the game but the whistles (25) and turnovers (18) hampered the team's upset bid.
"We did some things well but it's hard to win when you are giving the other team the ball," head coach
Levell Sanders said. "We have to get better at executing and showing poise and patience."
The Bearcats were strong out of the gate, forcing Fordham into 1-for-8 shooting and forging a 13-6 edge seven minutes into play. But the Rams embarked on a 22-3 run spanning 7:17 in the middle of the period to turn a deficit into an 11-point lead. Led by three points apiece from Walsh and senior guard
Chris Walker, Binghamton countered with an 8-2 run to bring it back to six, 28-22, with 3:36 left. But Fordham hit a corner three in the closing seconds to push its lead back to double digits, 38-28 at intermission.
Walsh grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half alone and the Bearcats outshot their Atlantic 10 hosts throughout the period but the Rams hit seven 3-pointers to boost their point total.
After playing three of its first four games on the road, Binghamton returns home for two straight, beginning with a Saturday afternoon encounter with Misericordia.
