BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Gabe Stefanini's runner in the lane as time expired lifted the Columbia men's basketball team to a 65-63 victory over Binghamton Wednesday night. The Lions led by as many as 19 in the second half, but had to hold off the Bearcats a frantic charge down the stretch that saw the home team take the lead with 6:51 left in the contest.
 
Jake Killingsworth answered with a triple to give the Lions the lead back, but Binghamton knocked down back-to-back treys to go in front, 55-52. Adlesh came up with seven key points, including five in a row to push Columbia to 63-60 advantage with 1:24 remaining. However, Sam Sessoms provided the first round of theatrics and drilled his seventh triple of the night to even the score with nine seconds to go before Stefanini's clutch shot.
 
"A lot of these games have been decided by a couple of possessions here-or-there, so coming out with a win on the road is something we were focused on and I'm happy for our guys," head coach Jim Engles said. "We're still learning how to win. I thought we played well up until a certain point and then got a little bit tentative. You just have to break through it and Gabe came up with a big play."
 
Quinton Adlesh led the way with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Randy Brumant tied a career-high with 16 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor. Patrick Tapé registered nine points and a career-best 11 boards.
 
Columbia (4-9) went in front 45-26 after a pair of Tapé free throws with 16:01 left in regulation to cap a 10-2 spurt before Sam Sessoms heated up for Binghamton. Sessoms knocked down a flurry of 3-pointers during the Bearcats' (4-11) rally, his fifth tied score at 49-49 with 8:40 remaining.
 
The Lions brought the ball up to half court and used a timeout with 2.2 seconds to set up the final play. Killingsworth inbounded to Brumant, who shoveled the pass to Stefanini on the right wing. The sophomore drove to the free throw line and let the ball go just before the horn to provide Columbia its first road win of the season.
 
The Bearcats capitalized on some early Lion turnovers to jump out to a 15-6 lead with 13:31 left in the first half before Columbia took charge. Brumant scored 12 of his 14 first half points during the 22-3 outburst that put the Lions on top, 31-20, at the 4:00 mark and Columbia took a 13-point advantage into the break.
 
Columbia shot 53.8 in the first half, but just 32.0 percent in the second. Binghamton was just 32.1 percent in the first 20 minutes, but converted on 65.2 percent after halftime, including a 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) clip. The Bearcats were just 3-of-10 from the foul line, while the Lions sank 13-of-16.
 
Sessoms had 25 points to lead all scorers and was 7-of-9 from beyond the arc.
 
The win snapped Columbia's 18-game road losing streak that dated back to last season's win at Longwood on November 14, 2017. The Lions also improved to 2-5 in games decided by six points or fewer.
 
The Lions return to Levien Gymnasium to face Elmira College on Sunday, January 12 at 2 p.m. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11.