The Binghamton men’s basketball team hosted Cazenovia on Monday night for its first game of the 2022-23 season. After a relatively slow start with multiple turnovers for both sides, the Bearcats pulled away in the middle of the first half and did not look back, getting a decisive first win 87-56.

“Last year at this time, we were super nervous coming out, and it was the same thing today,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “I thought we settled down a little bit in the second half, and we started to guard a little bit better and our ball pressure gave us opportunities to get some stops and get out and run a little bit.”

BU (1-0) opened the first half with two turnovers on its first two possessions. Despite the initial sloppiness with the basketball, the Bearcats began to find their footing as they gained a 13-10 lead on Cazenovia just over five minutes into play. Recent transfer junior forward Tariq Balogun got out to a quick start, offensively tallying seven of the team’s first 17 points in the first six minutes, including five free throws.

“It was great,” Balogun said. “It was electric in [the Events Center]. Just getting the first chills out, first time playing and it was great. I felt like as a team, we had little rough parts, but overall as the season goes … we’re gonna be great.”

Midway through the first half, the Binghamton lead ballooned to 25-12 after senior guard Jacob Falko drove into the lane, elevated and finished a posterizing dunk over the Wildcat defender. This capped off a 12-2 run for BU as the Bearcats settled into the game.

“If [Falko and junior guard John McGriff] can take good shots, then they’re gonna be OK,” Sanders said. “Those two guys are really good on the ball, pressuring the ball, so they were solid today.”

Consistent scoring from BU distributed between several Bearcats allowed them to gain a 53-32 lead going into halftime. McGriff and Balogun led Binghamton scorers with 12 and 13 points, respectively.

“It lifted a lot of weight off of my shoulders,” Balogun said. “I was nervous [because] when you’re a transfer, everyone is looking to see what you’re gonna do, and to have a good game and win is great.”

To open the second half, the Bearcats came out hot and continued to control the game, starting things off with a 20-4 run, putting them up 73-36 with a little over 10 minutes to play. The Wildcats made attempts to come back into the game, including a 7-0 run late in the half, but any effort was too late to make a significant dent in BU’s lead. Binghamton shot an efficient 49.1 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from three and 75.8 percent from the free throw line en route to its 87-56 win.

“We’re gonna score a lot in general,” Sanders said. “I really like what [junior guard Armon Harried] does defensively. You can put him on anybody. He’s super competitive. [Balogun] didn’t have any blocks today, but I think he’s gonna be a guy that can change shots at the rim. I want him to be a much better rebounder. He has to rebound the ball better.”

Nine different Bearcats got on the board, with five finishing in double digits. Four of the five players in double figures are recent transfers to Binghamton. Balogun ended the game with 17 points, Harried added 16 while graduate student forward Miles Gibson and sophomore guard Matt Solomon both scored 11. Additionally, McGriff contributed 15 points to kickstart his second season at BU.

“One of the things we do in recruiting is we try to get guys that are versatile,” Sanders said. “We have so many guys that can handle the ball, that are good with the ball … We have a bunch of different lineups we can play.”

Binghamton will return to action to face Marist this Saturday, Nov. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, New York.