For Immediate Release: January 12, 2008
Contact: Anthony Naglieri (sports@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Gordon leads BU men's basketball over Albany 71-57
Senior guard drains record eight three-pointers, scores 32 points

Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Senior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) connected on a school-record eight three pointers for a career- and school-record tying 32 points to lead visiting Binghamton (6-10, 2-2 America East) to a 71-57 victory over Albany (7-9, 2-2 AE) in an America East game Saturday afternoon from SEFCU Arena.

The win is Binghamton's first on the road this season (1-8) and the first in Albany over three seasons. The Bearcats last road victory against the Great Danes was a 59-53 win on January 14, 2004.

From the start-to-finish, Gordon had an answer for everything the host Great Danes threw at him, finishing 8-of-11 from three point range and 11-of-17 overall.

"This was a great win," head coach Kevin Broadus said. "You saw a big-time defensive effort by our guys out there today. This has been a tough week after losing the way we did at Hartford on Wednesday. To come in and get our first road win in this spot is just terrific. We have a long way to go still, but today is a start."

Trailing 44-36, the Danes went on a 8-0 run, capped off by a three from guard Jon Iati to even the score at 44-44 with 11:05 left to play.

Gordon connected on a pair of long-range shots, the second from 30-feet out as the shot clock was winding down, to ignite BU on an 11-2 run of its own, to forge ahead 57-48.

Iati added his second three of the afternoon at the 2:05 mark to cut the deficit to 60-55, but BU fought off the Albany full court pressure and sank 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch to record its first win away from the Events Center this season.

The Bearcats finished the afternoon shooting 11-of-18 (58.8%) from three point range. Over its last three games, the Bearcats are shooting 31-of-55 (56.3%) from beyond the arc.

Led by the sharpshooting of Gordon, the Bearcats came out on fire jumping out to a 16-9 lead. Gordon connected on each of his first five field goals, including four-of-four from beyond the arc, and scored 14 of his team's first 16 points to stake BU to the early advantage. In the first half alone, he would convert 6-of-7 three-point attempts tying a school single game record for most threes in a game.

BU would lead by as many as ten points, 29-19, in the first period, but the host Great Danes closed out the final 5:58 on a 7-2 run cutting the deficit to 31-26 at the break. As a team, the Bearcats shot 55 percent from the floor and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes of action.

Sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and junior Dwayne Jackson (Akron, Ohio) joined Gordon scoring in twin figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Trifunovic added a team-high seven rebounds.

Senior guard Brian Lillis led the Great Danes with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Brent Wilson, a preseason all-conference selection, was held scoreless on 0-4 shooting in 35 minutees.

The Bearcats return to action on Tuesday, hosting Stony Brook at 7 p.m. The game will be televised regionally on Fox Sports New York (FSNY).

Notes
Gordon and Albany's Lillis were selected as the America East Players of the Game ... Gordon's previous career high came of 22 came versus Pepperdine on December 28, 2006. He has now started 88 consecutive games…freshman guard Brandon Herbert (Baltimore, Md.) made his first collegiate start…the Bearcats debuted their seventh different starting lineup of the season…Four different BU players had previously hit for six three pointers in a game. Former Bearcat Andre Heard was the last player to complete the feat in an America East semifinal against Vermont on March 5, 2006...Heard was also the last BU player to score 30 or more points in a game. Heard went for 32 points versus Colgate on December 28, 2004.