VESTAL, N.Y. – Rafael Pinzon led all scorers with 27 points and Connor Withers notched his second double-double of the season on Saturday to help the Bryant men's basketball team outlast the Binghamton Bearcats and win 78-71 in Vestal, N.Y.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 15-10 overall and 9-1 in America East play. Bryant gets back into the win column after having their eight-game winning streak snapped by UAlbany on Thursday. Bryant returns to the court on Thursday when they host NJIT.
 
Rafael Pinzon led three players in double figures with 27, while Earl Timberlake added 13 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. Connor Withers got his 2nd double-double nine days with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 39 minutes.
  
Game Information
Bryant 78, Binghamton 71
Records: Bryant 15-10, 9-1 | Binghamton 13-12, 5-5
Location: Dr. Bai Lee Court (Vestal, N.Y.)
Attendance: 3,081

Key Moments

• Trailing 55-54, the Bulldogs would go on a 10-0 run to help seal the victory.
• Bryant outscored Binghamton 38-26 in the paint.
• Pinzon knocked down 4-9 shots from three in the win.

How it Happened

• Binghamton's Tymu Chenery and Bryant's Connor Withers exchanged pull-up three pointers to start the scoring in Vestal. 
• Barry Evans gave Bryant their first lead of the day driving for a layup at 17:56 to take a 5-3 lead.
• Binghamton's Gavin Walsh asserted himself early, working down low for two early scores.
• After playing limited minutes on Thursday, Rafael Pinzon would get into the scoring column with a pull up three pointer over Walsh at 16:14 in the first.
• The Bearcats tied the game at 12-12 after Gavin Walsh fed Chris Walker for a three pointer, they then took the lead at 14:07 off a Nehemiah Benson layup.
• Jakai Robinson provided an early spark off the bench. He scored on back-to-back possessions for the Bulldogs; first fighting through traffic near the rim for an and-1 and finishing with a layup off an Earl Timberlake assist at 13:20.
• Keyshawn Mitchell stripped Binghmton's Ben Callahan-Gold under the basketball, Bryant took advantage of the turnover as Mitchell would flip the ball to Jakai Robinson who then found Earl Timberlake for a left-handed lay-in.
• Pinzon stayed hot from beyond the arc, drilling a three at 7:36 off a Kvonn Cramer assist.
• Evan Ashe knotted up the game at 26-26 for the Bearcats with a three pointer at 6:52.
• Consecutive layups from Timberlake and Cramer gave Bryant the lead back ahead of the under-four media. They would lead 30-26 with four minutes to play in the first.
• Connor Withers fired a pass to Kvonn Cramer in the key who finished with a two-handed slam at the rim at 3:11.
• Cramer beat out two Bearcat defenders for a hard offensive rebound and drew a foul under the rim at 2:11. 
• Withers finished with a reverse layup at 1:25 off an assist from Timberlake putting the Bulldogs up 35-30.
• Withers then hit a pull-up three over Wes Peterson with 55 seconds remaining to extend the Bulldogs lead to six.
• Withers would finish the first half in double-digits with 10 points on 3-10 shooting. He also had four boards and a pair of assists through the first 20 minutes.
• The Bearcats started the second half on an 11-2 run which featured a pair of threes from Chenery. They would take a 43-40 lead over the Black and Gold.
• Cramer deflected a jumper from Ashe at 16:37. Withers would recover and then passed the ball to Cramer who drew a foul on a layup attempt. Cramer made 1-2 at the line.
• Pinzon rose up for a contested jumper on the right side of the key and got the and-one at 14:36.
• Pinzon then threw up a floater in the paint that found the bottom of the net at 13:58.
• Binghamton reclaimed the lead off an Ashe three pointer at 13:28 and extended their lead to two possessions following a Walker dunk at 13:07.
• Ashe kept the run going; flying past a pair of Bulldogs for a right-handed layup.
• Timberlake would find Pinzon in the corner for a fadeaway three with 10:36 to play.
• Mitchell got his second bucket of the day at 8:46 after banking in a left-handed layup.
• Pinzon got his signature up-fake to fall at 7:27 after getting Ashe to jump.
• Pinzon found space on the elbow at 6:42 and drained his 8th basket of the afternoon.
• Timberlake would throw up a lob from beyond the three point line and connect with Barry Evans at the rim for the two-handed flush at 5:22.
• Evans then created an alley-oop opportunity of his own, finding Keyshawn Mitchell with 4:09 to play.
• Pinzon got his third three pointer of the day to fall with 2:45 to go in the second half; pulling up over Wes Peterson near the Bulldogs' bench.
• After drawing a foul with 57.5 to play, Earl Timberlake knocked down a crucial pair of free throws giving the Black and Gold a 71-66 lead.
• Binghamton quickly responded as Tymu Chenery would drive for a reverse layup to cut the lead to three at 49.0.
• Barry Evans worked past a pair of Bearcat defenders and got a right-handed layup to fall with 27.0 to play.
• Bryant would hold off a final rally from the Bearcats and win 78-71.

Stats

• Bryant finished the game 27-of-64 (42.2 percent) from the field, 6-of-18 (33.0 percent) from three and 18-of-24 (75.0 percent) from the line.
• Bryant held a 45-38 advantage on the glass.
• Bryant blocked 4 shots and outscored Binghamton 38-26 in the paint.
• Pinzon led Bryant with 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 4-of-9 from three.
• Withers posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. He also had two assists and a steal.
• Timberlake collected 13 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
• Mitchell finished with eight points, 10 boards and a block.
• Evans tallied eight points (4-9 FG) along with four boards and an assist.
• Cramer finished with six points, six rebounds, and a block in the victory. 

Game Notes

• Bryant improves to 6-2 all-time against Binghamton. The Bulldogs have won their last four against the Bearcats.
• The Bulldogs improve to 7-6 on the road this season. They are 5-0 when facing conference opponents.
• Timberlake finished in double-figures for the 21st time this season and the 74th time in his career.
• Timberlake became just the fourth player in DI program history to record 700+ career rebounds after record nine today in Vestal. Timberlake now has 705 rebounds with the Black and Gold.
• Withers recorded his 2nd double-double of the season and the 4th of his career.
• Withers finished in double figures for the 14th time this year and the 54th time in his career.
• Pinzon tallied his 20+ points for the 9th time this season and the season and the 16th of his career.
• Pinzon posts his double-figure 19th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 48th of his career.
• Pinzon is now 10 points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career.
• Mitchell recorded his 6th double-figure rebound game of the season. 

Up Next
Bryant returns to Smithfield for a two game home stand beginning with NJIT on Thursday, Feb. 13. Tip is set for 6:00 pm.