And… exhale.
After a rough start to a season that started with expectations through the roof, Binghamton’s men’s basketball team finally put a win on the board Saturday, as the Bearcats beat the host St. Francis Terriers 64-56 at the Pope Physical Education Center.
The Bearcats, now 1-5 on the season, were relieved to finally get a win in the books.
“It feels good, we’re hoping this will get us started,” said sophomore center Jordan Fithian, who scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. “All we needed was to get one, now we’re ready to go.”
Junior guard Troy Hailey, who led the Bearcats with 19 points in just 24 minutes, agreed.
“I can’t even describe it, it’s about time,” Hailey said. “We’ll keep this going as long as possible.”
The Bearcats took the lead two minutes into the game, and they would not relinquish it, leading St. Francis (2-3) at the half, 28-23. BU then opened the second half on a 17-1 run, holding the Terriers without a field goal for over eight minutes, to expand its lead to 49-29. But St. Francis mounted their own charge, holding the Bearcats to one field goal in the final nine minutes to cut the deficit to single digits.
While the Terriers did score 27 points during their run, Binghamton’s clutch free throw shooting helped seal the victory. The Bearcats hit 15 of 18 during that stretch, including 11 in a row, to fend off the St. Francis surge.
As for why Binghamton was able to pull this game out when the others had slipped away, the players didn’t feel they did much differently.
“We hit free throws, we finished more around basket, and we took care of ball,” Hailey said. “We should be doing that every game. I wish I could say we were doing something different, but our shots were just falling.”
Hailey has also picked up his game as of late. He has now averaged 17 points during the last three games after struggling mightily to open the season.
“Troy’s one of those guys that when his shots go down he feels better about his entire game,” said head coach Al Walker. “It’s good to see him making shots.”
Sophomore guard Mike Gordon also had another strong game, contributing 14 points, six rebounds and two steals, while senior forward Sebastian Hermenier added 13 points and six rebounds.
Fithian’s effort Saturday was also encouraging. After struggling in the paint much of this season, including shooting 35 percent the last two games, he shot 50 percent from the field against St. Francis, and didn’t miss a free throw.
“I should have been 14-for-20 (from the field) the last two games,” Fithian said. “There is no excuse for not shooting above 50 percent when you’re five feet from the basket. I still missed a few easy ones today but a few more fell in.”
Senior Sean Dantzler led the Terriers with 15 points in a losing effort, while junior Allan Shepard added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Walker credits his team’s strong defense with preserving the win.
“We really held them to limited good opportunities,” Walker said. “Our defense was strong. We matched up well against these guys.”
The Bearcats hope to build on the win when they return home this Saturday to host Brown at 1 p.m.