For Immediate Release: November 11, 2006
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Men's basketball drops season opener 73-59 at Long Island

Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Long Island University (1-0) built a 10-point halftime lead and held visiting Binghamton (0-1) to 34% shooting in a 73-59 victory in the season opener for both teams Saturday night from the Wellness Center.

The Blackbirds opened the game with a 10-0 run and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the contest as the Bearcats struggled to find any offensive rhythm. Binghamton did use an 8-2 run to pull within four, 48-44, with 10:31 remaining, but LIU immediately responded with a 9-0 run to regain its margin.

Long Island put four players in double figures, led by senior guard James Williams, who scored a game-high 17 points.

Senior guard Troy Hailey (Hyattsville, Md.) and junior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) led the Bearcats with 11 points apiece. Junior guard Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) scored nine points - all in the second half - and added four steals in 22 minutes. Freshman forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in 23 minutes of action before fouling out late in the contest.

The Bearcats struggled offensively out of the gate, missing 10 of the team's first 12 shots and digging the early 10-point deficit. A modest 6-0 run cut the margin to six with 4:53 left before the Blackbirds stretched their lead back to 10, 35-25 at the break. To compound its offensive woes, BU racked up 15 turnovers in the first half and hit just 2-of-10 three-point attempts (4-of-24 for game).

"I'm disappointed that we played so poorly in the first half and didn't give ourselves a chance," head coach Al Walker said. "We played hard but you're not going to beat people turning the ball over 15 times in the first half. We did have a couple of good spurts in the second half. We're going to get better."

Binghamton returns to action with an away game at Niagara on November 16.

NOTES:
Binghamton drops its season opener for the fourth straight season ... counting the two exhibition games, BU is shooting just 17% from three-point range (10-for-59) ... Trifunovic's 12 rebounds are the most by a BU freshman in its Division I era.