New Hampshire beats Binghamton 58-43

Jan 9, 2016, 03:14 pm

DURHAM, N.H. -- Jaleen Smith scored 15 points, Jacoby Armstrong had 14 and New Hampshire won its America East opener Saturday, 58-43 over Binghamton.

Both Smith and Armstrong hit half their shots to boost the Wildcats, who shot just 34 percent. Leading scorer Tanner Leissner was only 3 of 13 for nine points with nine rebounds. Ronnel Jordan, who had scored 16-plus points in three straight games, left with a first-half injury.

The Wildcats (8-6, 1-0) trailed 34-33 before outscoring the Bearcats 25-9 over the final 10 minutes. In that stretch, Smith, coming in as the nation's co-leader in free-throw percentage at 95.4, was 6 of 6 from the line with two baskets.

Willie Rodriguez notched his third double-double this season with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats (3-12, 0-2), who shot 36 percent and were 3 of 20 on 3-pointers.

UNH won its conference opener for the first time since 2007-08.