Men's Basketball Falls at Binghamton, 72-70, on Wednesday

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team fell at Binghamton, 72-70, on Wednesday night at the Events Center. The Blue Devils erased a six-point deficit in the second half to take a late lead before a Bearcats three-pointer provided the difference in the contest.

CCSU falls to 1-2 on the season, while Binghamton improves to 2-1.

Central erased a 64-58 deficit with 4:58 to play with six unanswered points on layups by seniors Tafari Whittingham and Khalen Cumberlander and another by freshman Tyson Batiste to tie the game with 2:34 to play.

A three-pointer by J.C. Show gave the Bearcats a 69-66 lead with just over a minute left before two foul shots by Whittingham and a steal and layup by Cumberlander put CCSU in front 70-69 with 37 seconds left.

Following a timeout, BU took the lead on Show's eighth three-pointer of the night to make it 72-70 with 0:17 remaining. After a timeout of its own, CCSU was unable to find the tying basket as the Bearcats held on for the win.

Binghamton, which shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half, outscored CCSU, 10-3, to open the second half to take its first lead of the night at 34-32.

The Blue Devils shot 60.9 percent after halftime, but would trail by as much as 53-46 before grabbing the lead with under a minute to play.

Central led throughout the first half after senior Whittingham opened the scoring  and he and junior Mustafa Jones combined for Central's first 12 points. A three-pointer by freshman Chris Williams gave CCSU its largest lead of the half at 15-7.

Cumberlander found freshman Harrison Kay under the basket for a layup with :07 before halftime to make it 29-22. BU drew a foul just before the intermission and converted both foul shots to make it 29-24 at the break.

Four players scored in double-figures for CCSU, led by Jones' 16 points. Whittingham added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Cumberlander finished with 12 points Sophomore Austin Nehls finished with 11 points. 

The Blue Devils had 16 assists against 10 turnovers, led by sophomore Eric Bowles who dished out four assists with no turnovers.

Central shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) for the game and was 3-of-11 (.273) from three-point range.

Show finished with 34 points on 12-of-16 shooting (8-of-11 three-pointer) to lead Binghamton. Ahearn scored 15 points and was the only other Bearcat in double-figures, as BU shot 46.4 percent overall as a team. BU was 10-of-19 from three-point range.

The Blue Devils will host Penn on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 7:00 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.