For the better part of this season, Mike Black and Jacob Iati have carried Albany. The backcourt duo entered last night’s game against Binghamton averaging 31.2 points per game.

But the Bearcats, who have allowed opponents’ stars to dominate several times, held Black and Iati to 11 points on 3-of-22 shooting. The Great Dane frontcourt stepped up in a way it hasn’t all year, though, and led Albany (13-4, 1-1 America East) to a 71-59 win at the Events Center.

“We had to force their big guys to beat us, and to their credit, they played very well and put up some big numbers,” Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey said.

Albany’s Aussie trio of Sam Rowley, Peter Hooley and Luke Devlin combined for 43 points on 17-of-24 shooting and 21 rebounds. John Puk added 13 points on a perfect 6 for 6 night from the floor.

Albany head coach Will Brown said he suspected Binghamton would employ a unique strategy against his backcourt, after reading in the Press & Sun Bulletin that Dempsey wanted to focus on containing opposing star players. Brown proved to be right, as Dempsey started Mike Horn, who has the ability to shut down opponents of equal quickness. With Horn suffocating Iati on the perimeter and deftly fighting through screens, the senior played a key role in limiting the America East’s purest shooter.

“If there was one guy in our program that I was going to put on somebody and say, ‘Hey, don’t let him get any shots,’ then that’s Mike,” Dempsey said. “Mike is very bought into whatever he can do to help the team win, and we told him, ‘The only thing you have to do tonight to help the team win is to take this kid out of the game.'”

While Iati didn’t have the chance to find his stroke, senior forward Taylor Johnston had the hot hand early for Binghamton (2-13, 0-2 AE), burying four threes in the first half and keeping the Bearcats within one point 14 minutes into the game. But Albany would close the half on a 13-3 run to hold a 32-21 advantage at the break.

In the first five-plus minutes of the second half, Albany extended its lead to 44-26, the game’s widest margin. From there, the Great Danes did not allow Binghamton to come any closer than 11 points.

The Bearcats’ inability to contain the frontcourt and hit crucial foul shots were two keys down the stretch. Binghamton shot 9-of-16 from the charity stripe, missing the front end of three separate one-and-ones.

Johnston finished with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from three. The senior said getting hot early always helps.

“I don’t feel like I can miss [when hot],” Johnston said. “The basket gets a lot bigger.”

Senior guard Jimmy Gray (15) and freshman guard Jordan Reed (13) joined Johnston in double-figures. Reed has now reached double-digits in each of his 13 games played. The rest of the team scored nine points, but sophomore forward Jabrille Williams’ play off the bench gave Binghamton a boost. The forward scored four points and grabbed six rebounds.

Junior guard Rayner Moquete, the Bearcats’ co-captain, dressed but did not play. Dempsey said the guard had violated team rules, and his status for Wednesday’s game against Stony Brook is not yet determined.

“My principles are more important than wins and losses,” Dempsey said. “I have to do what’s best for the program to create the right messages.”