For Immediate Release: February 6, 2005
Contact: John Hartrick
Phone: 607-777-6800

Hailey and Heard spark Binghamton men's basketball to 67-60 win over Maine
Bearcats rally in second half to secure first road win of season

Box score

ORONO, Maine - Sophomore guard Troy Hailey (Hyattsville, Md.) scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the pivotal second half, leading visiting Binghamton (7-14, 4-8 America East) past Maine (10-11, 5-7 AE), 67-60, in the America East men's basketball TV Game of the Week Sunday afternoon from Alfond Arena. The win, Binghamton's first road victory of the season (1-9), pulled the Bearcats to within one game of the Black Bears for fifth place in the conference standings and completed BU's season sweep of Maine.

"We really persevered," head coach Al Walker said. "It was a great second half. We played with a lot of guts. We've been sitting on a cliff and every time we've been in this situation we've folded, so it feels so good to finally win on the road and put two wins together. This is a tough place to play. Everybody in that locker room is overjoyed."

Hailey netted 7-of-12 from the floor, including four three-pointers, and junior guard Andre Heard (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Binghamton, which trailed the entire first half, rallied to take its first lead on a layup from junior forward Sebastian Hermenier (Rockville, Md.) with 14:35 to play. The Bearcats stretched the lead to seven, 56-49, with 5:23 left before Maine countered. Clinging to a 58-56 lead with 1:49 left, Heard hit a turnaround baseline jumper, boosting the lead back to four. Heard, Hailey and Hermenier then combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the win.

"Things looked a little grim late in the game but Andre stepped up and hit a big shot," Walker said. "And that was certainly Troy Hailey's best game in quite a long time. Nick (Billings) did a great job defensively. He was the difference maker down the stretch."

Hermenier and freshman forward Jordan Fithian (McPherson, Kan.) scored eight points apiece, and senior center Nick Billings (Kodiak, Alaska) chipped in six points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Maine was led by junior guard Kevin Reed, who scored 21 points.

The Bearcats struggled with their shooting out of the gate, misfiring on 11 of their first 14 shots and digging a 10-point hole, 20-9, midway through the period. But BU shot 53% the rest of the period (8-for-15), closing out the half with a modest 16-8 run to cut the deficit to three, 28-25, at intermission.

Binghamton returns home to face longtime SUNY rival Albany Wedensday at 7 p.m.

NOTES
The Bearcats won for the first time at Alfond Arena (1-3) ... BU also overcame a halftime deficit for the first time this season (1-9) and have now put together their first win streak of the 2004-05 campaign.