Binghamton defeated UConn 32-29 in a rain-soaked battle of one-loss conference teams at the Liberty Challenge in Fairfield, CT, on Saturday.

The Bearcats fell behind early, battled back to lead 20-12, lost that lead, and scored a try with four minutes to go to win. It was a gutsy performance from Binghamton, led by flyhalf Brandon Healy’s smart kicking game and a sterling effort from the front row.

The Huskies grabbed an early 5-0 lead after scoring and pinned the Bearcats in their own 22 for much of the first quarter of the game. That pressure produced another try for UConn, as a dropped pass off the back of the scrum by Binghamton gifted Huskies flanker Adam Horne a try.

It seemed as if the Bearcats couldn’t get out of their own way, and things looked dire when the restart kick went into touch on the full, resulting in a scrum-center for UConn.

However, the Huskies had handling problems their own in the rain, and Binghamton pressured for more mistakes. After a yellow card on UConn for a tip tackle, BU was finally able to string something together and No. 8  Brian Burke powered in at the corner.

More penalties in their own 22 put the Huskies in trouble, and Bearcats scrumhalf Pierce Butler tapped quickly and caught UConn napping to tie the game at 12 apiece.

Soon after, Healy kicked a penalty to nudge Binghamton ahead 15-12, and more UConn penalties would set up another chance for the Bearcats. Following a BU lineup and maul, Burke spotted some space off the back and peeled off to slide over.

That made it 20 unanswered points for Binghamton in perhaps a runaway scoreline — except not.

UConn started to use its maul to good effect. Binghamton tried to counter by not engaging the maul (therefore, with no opposition, there is no maul) and forcing UConn to run, but that worked out fine for the Huskies anyway as they stayed on the front foot. Some lovely ball-handling set up a try for wing Ethan Finn, and then the UConn pack hit on the idea of grabbing a Binghamton forward and pulling him in to force him to engage the maul, which led to UConn scoring the go-ahead try to give the Huskies a 24-20 lead.

Binghamton replied by using the tap penalty move again and running the forwards repeatedly at the UConn line. Lock Jason McKenna surged over, but it was all about good continuity and smart ball movement.

Down 25-24, the Huskies scored once more, again using the maul (although this time Binghamton stopped the initial drive). In the final few minutes, the Bearcats had the ball inside the UConn 22 and almost blew it, losing possession in contact. However, the Huskies spilled the ball forward, giving the Bearcats a scrum and another chance. From there it was a simple weak side move. 

Butler took off from the base of the scrum and angled wide to outpace the flanker and the scrumhalf covering him. He drew the attention of one more UConn defender before lofting a pass to sub wing Henry Ray, who got it down just as he was tackled for the winning try.