WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Binghamton golf team gained ground during the second day of the NEC Men's Golf Championship, rising two spots to sixth place Friday at the Kingsmill Resort's River Course.

Harrison Blech, Brandon Conner, Ryan Millevoi and Jackson Vesper each improved their score when compared to Thursday's opening round, helping the Bearcats surge up the leaderboard. Binghamton finished Friday at 290/6-over par, bringing its overall score to 310-290 = 600/32-over par.

Blech shot 71/even-par on Friday to climb 12 spots to a tie for 19th. That is the lowest round that Blech has shot since the first 18 holes at the Carpetbagger Classic on March 22, when he shot 72/even-par en route to finishing tied for 22nd. The Montebello, N.Y., native posted four birdies throughout the second round, including back-to-back on the 14th and 15th holes. Blech's score now sits at 78-71 = 149/7-over par.

Conner remains the leading Bearcat in the tournament, with the junior gaining five spots to move into a tie for 14th after he shot 72/1-over par. The Cincinnati, Ohio native's tally through two rounds is 75-72 = 147/5-over par.

Vesper is just outside the top 20 with the sophomore in a tie for 22nd following his outing on Friday where he posted a score of 74/3-over par. Vesper enters the final day of the tournament at 77-74 = 151/9-over par.

Millevoi made the largest improvement among his teammates, bouncing back from his opening day score of 87/16-over par with a tally of 73/2-over par on Friday. The senior is tied for 42nd at 87-73 = 160/18-over par. Joining Millevoi in that spot is Sean Shen, who for the second day in a row shot 80/9-over par.

LIU remains in first place at 283-281 = 564/4-under par. Fairleigh Dickinson's Pyae Phyo Thu took over first place on the individual leaderboard at 69-68 = 137/5-under par.

The final round of the NEC Men's Golf Championship begins Saturday at 8 a.m., with double tee times.

Matthews Auto is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Golf.