WEST POINT, N.Y. – Host Army (6-7) outscored Binghamton men's basketball (3-11) 19-9 in overtime to defeat the Bearcats 95-85 Tuesday afternoon at Christl Arena.

The Bearcats trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half before rallying to force the extra session. Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley tallied 20 points and a career-high 12 assists and the Bearcats came back from eight down in the final 2:30 to force overtime.

But the Black Knights pushed ahead with a layup just four seconds into the OT, padded their 3-point total with two more (11 made 3s after halftime) and held off the Bearcats with six free throws in the final minute. The game featured six ties and four lead changes. 

Playing without leading scorer and rebounder Demetrius Lilley and only dressing eight scholarship players, the Bearcats put up a strong performance with a season-high point total on 51% shooting.

"I thought we played pretty well," head coach Levell Sanders said. "We came back and got it to overtime … we just needed a few more 3-pointers to fall. We just have to do a better job starting halves and put it all together for 40 minutes."

The Bearcats led 32-30 at half but Army opened the second half with a 19-6 run in the first 7:10. Junior forward Zyier Beverly (6 pts.) and graduate guard Jackson Benigni (5 pts.) sparked a 17-8 Bearcats run that tied the game at 64 with 4:15 left. Then after Army pushed its lead back to eight, Beverly scored eight points in a frantic final 2:18 – each off a feed from Quigley. The athletic post player took lobs from Quigley and flushed home two dunks in nine seconds – the final of which tied the score at 76-76 with 11 seconds left. Benigni then forced an Army airball on their final possession to send the game to overtime.    

Beverly wound up with 14 points (6-of-8 FG). Benigni scored 13 of his season-high 19 points after halftime and senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. finished with 18 points. Quigley posted his second double-double of the season and came up one assist shy of the school record (Anthony Green vs. Northeastern on Feb. 23, 2003).

Quigley led the first-half charge for the Bearcats with 11 points, including the go-ahead layup in the closing seconds to give Binghamton a 32-30 intermission edge. Midway through the period, Army led by seven points before Benigni tallied five points to ignite a 10-2 Bearcats run. Twice in the final two minutes Binghamton tied the game, including a three-point play from Peterson, Jr. Binghamton led for just 18 seconds of the half.

The Bearcats play their final non-conference game when they host Elmira on Monday, Dec. 29 at the Events Center.