NEWARK, N.J. – Binghamton men's basketball (12-13, 4-8 America East) shot 52 percent and put four in double figures to push past NJIT (7-17, 3-9 AE) 69-55 Saturday afternoon at the Wellness and Events Center.

Up four at the break, BU opened the second half with a 6-0 run to stretch its lead to double digits. The Bearcats shot 55 percent in the second half and didn't let the Highlanders closer than seven points down the stretch, thanks to some strong finishes at the rim and four free throws in the final 1:27.

Graduate forward Armon Harried scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to lead the charge as BU completed a season sweep of NJIT and moved into a tie for sixth place in the standings (a half-game out of fifth) with four regular season games remaining.

"We were much better defensively today," head coach Levell Sanders said. "We needed to be committed and much more disciplined on defense than last game and I thought we were. We made it tough for Francis (NJIT leading scorer) and stuck together and played as a team on both ends of the floor."

Harried made 9-of-12 free throws to lift his scoring total and added four assists in a full 40 minutes. Senior center Tariq Balogun hit 5-of-6 shots for 14 points and graduate forward Dan Petcash also had 14 points. Senior guard Tymu Chenery chipped in 11 points and graduate point guard Symir Torrence returned to the lineup after missing the last three games and contributed eight assists and a team-high eight rebounds in 29 minutes. Torrence ranks fifth in the country in assists (7.3/game).

In the first half, BU used a 12-2 run spanning 4+ minutes to go up by seven, 20-13. The Bearcats hit 10-of-17 shots to start (59%) and wound up at 50% for the half. leading by as many as eight points, 30-22 with 3:51 left, BU settled for a 32-28 edge at intermission.

Binghamton next travels to Lowell for a Thursday night tilt with third-place UMass Lowell.