For Immediate Release: December 11, 2004
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton men's basketball loses at No. 4 Syracuse 86-56
Bearcats within striking range at half before SU runs away

Box score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Binghamton (2-5) had its best first-half performance in four tries against Syracuse (8-1) but the No. 4 Orange still rolled to a decisive 86-56 win Saturday night at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse has now won 32 consecutive games against New York State opponents, dating back to the 1999-00 season.

Junior guard Andre Heard (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and sophomore guard Troy Hailey (Hyattsville, Md.) scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, and BU trailed by just eight points at the break before the Orange took over. Syracuse scored 24 points in the first 6:22 of the second half, stretching a 36-28 margin to 60-36. Senior forward Hakim Warrick and junior guard Gerry McNamara scored six points apiece during the run. The two SU stars combined for 38 points for the game.

"I thought the first half was very well played," head coach Al Walker said. "We made shots and rebounded the ball. I was really pleased with the first half and disappointed with the second half. We felt good coming out of the locker room. We battled back from a double-digit deficit. But we just didn't get the job done in the second half."

Senior center Nick Billings (Kodiak, Alaska) showed signs of returning to his form of old, collecting eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 10 minutes of action.

Binghamton capped a solid first half with an 11-6 run, cutting a 13-point deficit to eight, 36-28. Hailey scored nine points and Billings added six points and four rebounds in five minutes of action. But Syracuse flexed its muscle right from the opening tip of the second period, using a 7-0 run to push the margin back to double digits. The Bearcats missed their first four shots and turned the ball over six times in the first eight minutes of the half.

"The press bothered them a little bit," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. "They got some opportunities against our man-to-man, but our defense was the difference in the second half."

Binghamton opens its 18-game America East slate with an away contest at two-time defending conference champion Vermont next Sunday, December 19. The game is the America East Game of the Week and will be broadcast on MSG and NESN among other other carriers.