Shamir Bogues was pesky all night. He intercepted a bounce pass intended for Binghamton’s Tymu Chenery, for his seventh steal of the night.

On the ensuing offensive possession, TJ Hurley found Bogues cutting towards the basket and the senior guard converted a backdoor layup with two minutes left to seal the game.

“That’s the whole Shamir we know,” Hurley said. “I mean seven steals is crazy.”

Hurley and Bogues combined for 42 points as Vermont basketball sent its fans home happy earning a 72-64 win over Binghamton in the Catamounts’ America East home opener.

For much of the first half there appeared to not be a hangover from Vermont largest America East loss in 20 years.

Bogues got the Catamounts started with a pair of layups and a steal to set the tone. He wasn’t the only player to find a groove offensively.

Nick Fiorillo helped Vermont (10-9, 3-1) build a double-digit lead hitting three 3-pointers on four possessions as the Catamounts found quality looks to start the game 9 of 13 from the field.

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Binghamton (9-10, 1-3) was also efficient to start the game converting on 7 of its first 8 shots, but the team’s 10 turnovers caused problems.

Binghamton got into a rut, failing to score for over 5 minutes allowing Vermont to swell its lead to 30-16. Yet the Catamounts let up on the gas. Binghamton closed out the half on a 15-7 run to trim Vermont’s lead down to 37-31.

In the second half, Vermont struggled to pull away as Binghamton shrunk the Catamounts lead down to one possession several times. The Bearcats’ hot 3-point shooting (7 of 13) kept them within the game after trailing by as much as 14 points in the first half.

“That would have been a big swing if Binghamton was able to get the lead there,” Hurley said. “Our moto is we want to win every possession.”

Yet every time, Vermont had an answer.

First it was Bogues grabbing his fourth steal of the game and dunking the ball on the other end. Other times it was Hurley hitting 3-pointers or tough jumpers as he set a new career-high with 26 points.

“TJ is kind of understanding that he needs to be that guy,” coach John Becker said. “I know he was frustrated after a great game against UMass Lowell and then being shut out against Bryant.”

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Vermont led Thursday’s game wire-to-wire and have now defeated Binghamton 22 consecutive times.

Despite some poor free-throw shooting down the stretch, Vermont sealed the game with an 8-4 run before a well deserved weekend break.

UVM women’s basketball win fourth straight game

The Vermont women’s basketball team was also in action on Thursday traveling to play Binghamton. The Catamounts (9-10, 4-1) left Vestal with a 55-46 win, extending their winning streak to four.

Keira Hanson led the Catamounts with 14 points off the bench while Nikola Priede added 13 points. The Catamounts pulled away in the third quarter after shooting 50% from the field while converting eight field goals.

Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.