VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (0-3) led by as many as 15 points and played with the lead for more than 26 minutes before visiting Youngstown State (2-0) closed strong for a 79-65 win Sunday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

The Penguins used a decisive 27-7 run to turn a BU lead into a double-digit road win. The Bearcats last led on a jumper from sophomore guard Hakon Hjalmarsson (9 pts., 4 assts.) with 9:52 left that gave BU a 53-50 edge. But Youngstown leading scorer Darius Quisenberry hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the guests embarked on the big run to show their merit in being picked second in the Horizon League preseason poll. 

"We played a very good team today and we had to play a full 40 minutes to beat them," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "We did some good things at times but they have a lot of ways to beat you and when the game was tight down the stretch, they stepped up. They looked great when they needed to be and we weren't able to respond."

The Bearcats looked the better team for the opening half, using a 25-9 run to take control of the game. Sophomore guard Brenton Mills scored eight of his team-high 15 points during the run (and 11 points in the first half) - a run that ended in a 34-19 BU lead with 4:15 left in the half. Binghamton still led 37-24 with 2:11 left before Youngstown State closed the half with a mini 7-1 run to head into halftime down just 38-31. 

In the second period, the teams traded baskets and BU still led by eight, 46-38, with 14:30 to play after a pair of free throws from sophomore center Ogheneyole Akuwovo (10 pts., 6 rebs.). Quisenberry began to heat up, however (15 second-half points) and the Penguins shot 55% and used the ensuing big run to beat BU for the third time in as many matchups.

Sophomore forward George Tinsley tallied 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Akuwovo added 10 points (4-for-4 FG) and six boards. Mills was absent for the final 5:09 after hurting his leg on a hard foul while driving to the hoop. When Mills departed, BU was still within six points and the sharpshooter was headed to the free-throw line. After he left, BU went scoreless for the next 2:35 and YSU sealed the win.

"We found more rhythm today," Dempsey said. "Saviour had a nice game ... Thomas was in foul trouble, which hurt us. So we asked a lot out of Saviour and he gave us a solid game. Brenton is continuing to play well ... and George is playing better. There were steps in the right direction and now we have one more game under our belt to get ready for conference play next weekend. Although the three games haven't gone the way we wanted, we've played against three good defenses and got some reps together. Now we play for real next weekend and the stakes are higher. We will look to have a solid week of practice and try to become a better version of our group as we get ready for Stony Brook." 

The Bearcats host Stony Brook on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19-20. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. on both days.

Courtesy: Binghamton University Athletics