NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Central Connecticut State (3-3) crashed the glass for 15 offensive rebounds and held off visiting Binghamton men's basketball (2-5) 64-56 Sunday afternoon at Detrick Gym.
The Bearcats trimmed a nine-point halftime deficit to just two on back-to-back 3-pointers from graduates
Ben Callahan-Gold and
Tymu Chenery early in the second half. The treys capped a 13-6 Binghamton run to open the second half – a run that brought Bing back to 34-32 down with 14:23 left. But CCSU countered with a 14-4 run spanning five minutes and the Bearcats drew no closer than six the rest of the way.
Binghamton made one final push with an 8-0 run in the closing three minutes. The run featured three-balls from Chenery and sophomore forward
Gavin Walsh and brought the Bearcats to within six, 58-52 with 1:29 left. But CCSU sank 4-opf-4 free throws in the final 38 seconds to seal the outcome.
Chenery led the Bearcats with 16 points – 13 coming in the second half. Senior forward
Nehemiah Benson added 14 points and six rebounds and Walsh chipped in nine points and eight boards.
The Bearcats outshot CCSU but the rebound margin gave the Blue Devils nine more shots.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds to start the game and that gave them energy," head coach
Levell Sanders said. "We were battling from behind all game. We are giving teams extra opportunities to score and they take advantage. We also have to find a way to put points on the board, together as a team. But we will have a short memory and get ready for the Lafayette tourney. We have to keep working … right now it's the little things and we can fix those."
In the first of five straight road games, the Bearcats had a sluggish first half, hitting just 2-of-11 out of the gate. Binghamton entered the game as one of the top rebounding teams in the America East but were outrebounded 27-11 in the first half. The 23 offensive boards surrendered translated into 11 more CCSU shots. The Blue Devils closed the half with a 12-5 run to take a 28-19 cushion into break.
The Bearcats next travel to Easton, Pa. for the three-day Lafayette Classic, which begins with a Friday afternoon matchup against Niagara.
