For Immediate Release: February 17, 2008
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU men's basketball steamrolls visiting Maine 80-55
Jackson scores career-high 26; Bearcats improve to 9-4 at home

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Junior guard Dwayne Jackson (Akron, Ohio) exploited Maine's zone for a career-high 26 points and Binghamton (12-14, 8-6 AE) rolled to an 80-55 win over the visiting Black Bears (7-18, 3-9 AE) in front of 4,385 Sunday afternoon at the Events Center.

Jackson hit 11-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-3 three-pointers, and added a career-high five steals on the defensive end.

"My teammates got me the ball and I made a lot of open shots," Jackson said. "Coach has had confidence in me and I've been working on my mid-range game."

After building a 19-point cushion at the break, BU shot 58% in the second half to discourage any Maine comeback bid.

Sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) produced 14 points and eight rebounds and junior forward Reggie Fuller (Missouri City, Texas) recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) had a solid all-around game with seven points, seven assists and five steals.

"It was a team effort today - offensively and defensively," head coach Kevin Broadus said. "We played a good solid game. We started out slow but then we got some separation. I like the way we rebounded today."

The Bearcats used a huge run to build their halftime bulge. After missing 10 of its first 12 shots, BU drilled 8-of-11 and broke away from a 12-12 tie. Binghamton held Maine to just one field goal over the final 7:46 of the half and outscored the Black Bears 23-4 to forge a 35-16 lead. Jackson hit 4-of-4 shots for nine points in the opening stanza and Trifunovic added eight points. Gordon sparked the run with seven points and five steals on the defensive end.

Binghamton takes a brief break from conference play to take on Manhattan on February 23. The road game was part of the original Brackbuster series.

NOTES
It was the 14th double-figure scoring game for Jackson this season. His previous career-high was 24 points vs. Hartford on January 9... BU established a season-high with 19 steals... Gordon started his 98th consecutive game.