VESTAL, N.Y. -- Troy Hailey scored 19 points and Andre Heard added 18 to lift Binghamton to a 76-70 victory over Albany in the quarterfinals of the America East Basketball Championship Saturday.
It was the first conference tournament victory in program history for the 12-16 Bearcats, who were 0-3 in their first three seasons in the league.
Albany (13-15) chipped a 15-point deficit down to three, 73-70, when Aquawasi St. Hillaire made a pair of foul shots with 8.9 seconds left.
Sebastian Hermenier, who finished with 13 points for Binghamtom, clinched the win with two foul shots with 4.1 seconds to go.
Binghamton broke away from a 9-9 first-half deadlock with three consecutive 3-pointers to open an 18-9 lead with 10:55 remaining until halftime.
The Great Danes pulled to within two, 24-22, on a Lucious Jordan driving layup with 4:42 to go, but the Bearcats closed with a 10-4 run for a 34-26 halftime advantage.
Binghamton took the largest lead of the game, 46-31, on Heard's 3-pointer with 14:07 left. Albany cut its deficit to six, 59-53, with on a Jamar Wilson basket with 6:03 in the game. Brent Wilson led the Great Danes with 18 points.
Mike Gordon converted a steal into a fast-break dunk with 5:34 remaining to give the Bearcats a 63-53 lead, but the Great Danes were back in it when Binghamton missed nine of its final 22 shots from the line.
