VESTAL, N.Y. – In a see-saw game between the two longtime SUNY rivals, visiting UAlbany (10-10, 2-3 America East) made four free throws in the final 31 seconds to sneak past Binghamton men's basketball (9-11, 1-4 AE) 70-65 Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The "Throwback" game drew 2,162 fans for the 113
th game between the two programs. The Bearcats wore the traditional "Colonials" white jerseys with yellow trim in a nod to their original nickname.
Neither team led by more than eight in the game, but UAlbany used a 23-8 run spanning eight minutes midway through the second half to turn the game in its favor. The Bearcats turned the ball over 17 times, including 11 in the pivotal second half.
"It's the same thing game after game," head coach
Levell Sanders said. "Albany had 21 points off our turnovers today. When we guard teams in the half-court, we do a pretty good job. But we aren't giving our defense a chance to get set up because we are committing unnecessary turnovers. We have to get better at executing at a much higher level and not having the breakdowns."
Binghamton trailed 66-63 with the ball in the final minute but the 17
th turnover was most costly underneath the UAlbany basket as the Bearcats were looking for a bucket. After the Great Danes left the door open with two free throw misses with 22 seconds left, Binghamton had one final shot to tie but a contested 3-pointer was off the mark with seven seconds left. UAlbany closed out the scoring with two free throws with 1.2 seconds left.
Graduate guard
Tymu Chenery scored a game-high 23 points (16 in first half) and earned his second double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds. Chenery hit 8-of-14, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range to reach 20 points for the third time in four games. Graduate forward
Nehemiah Benson gave the Bearcats two in double digits with 10 points.
Binghamton, which trailed 33-32 at half, shot 57% in the second half. But UAlbany used 12-of-16 free throws to aid its offensive cause.
The Bearcats have the midweek bye before heading to Rhode Island to face first-place Bryant next Saturday.
