VESTAL, N.Y. - Senior guard Chris Walker scored 13 of his team-high 21 points in the closing seven minutes as Binghamton men's basketball (9-7, 1-0 America East) pushed past visiting UMBC (8-8, 0-1 AE) 87-82 in the conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

Walker sparked a game-deciding 18-5 second-half run that turned a 64-60 Retrievers lead with 9:54 left into a 78-69 Bearcat lead. That run, spanning 5:33, featured 10 points from Walker - a pair of 3-pointers, a jumper and two free throws. Binghamton sealed the win by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final 2:06. 

"It was a total team effort," head coach Levell Sanders said. "Defensively we got some stops and then offensively, guys made plays today. That's a good offensive team that puts a lot of pressure on you because they can space you out and they have a bunch of shooters. But I really thought we went out and won this game. We took it and it's a credit to the guys."

Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continued piling up big numbers with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Walsh, who leads the America East in rebounding and ranks eighth in the nation, nearly had a double-double in the first half alone when he had 12 points and nine boards. After notching his conference-leading sixth double-double of the season, he is now averaging a double-double with 10.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. 

Senior point guard Wes Peterson, Jr. also produced his best game of the season with a career-high 14 points. He sank a pair of key free throws with 2:06 left that kept the Retrievers at bay. 

The Bearcats put five in double figures, shot 55% for the game and hit their season-high with 87 points. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson hit 7-of-8 for 14 points, despite being limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery also was nursing four fouls but got to 10 points. Binghamton made 17-of-21 free throws to aid its cause. 

Binghamton next heads on a five-day, two-game road trip to Maine (Thurs.) and New Hampshire (Sat.).