King Rice wanted the Binghamton coaching job left vacant by Al Walker in 2007. The job went to the infamous Kevin Broadus, but Rice finally had the opportunity to make his Events Center debut, when his Monmouth team visited Binghamton on Monday night.

The Hawks pressured the Bearcats into 20 turnovers and held a double-digit lead for most of the second half, giving Rice a 77-65 victory in his homecoming.

“It feels great,” said the Binghamton High School alum, who was named a McDonald’s High School All-American in 1987. “It’s kind of bittersweet and I promise you that. I’ve been pulling for Binghamton for a long time.”

Rice proudly told the media his childhood address, 47 Carroll Street in downtown Binghamton. He said he took his team to Columbus Park because it was such an important place to him growing up. But for all the time Rice has spent in Binghamton over the years—he said he visits his mother about every three weeks—he had never been to the Events Center until Monday night.

“Everybody’s been telling me since they had this building how beautiful it was,” he said. “I’m proud to be from Binghamton when you have a building like this. I know Tommy [Dempsey’s] gonna have this thing full.”

Monmouth won nine games the year before Rice joined the program. That’s a far cry from the two-win mess Dempsey inherited in May. But Rice compared this year’s Binghamton squad to his team last year, his first season at the helm.

“They remind me of our team last year,” he said. “And what I mean by that is they just continue to play hard and they never give up and they just keep fighting. And that’s a big step when you first take over, and he has them doing that already.”

Jimmy Gray’s leadership has been a key factor in developing the trait noted by Rice. Coming from the same city and high school, Rice and Gray share a common path to Division I basketball. But Rice earned a scholarship to the prestigious University of North Carolina while Gray joined Binghamton as a walk-on with uncertain expectations. Rice praised Gray’s ability to constantly exceed others’ expectations of him.

“Jimmy did things that not many people thought he could do,” Rice said. “I remember when he was young and no one thought Jimmy was a D-I player. Even when he decided to come here, people were like, ‘Oh, what’s he doing.’ And sometimes when you’re from a small town, a lot of people doubt you. But Jimmy had a dream he was a Division I basketball player. He just knew he was. And he’s a pretty doggone good one.”

With Monmouth leading by 15 with less than nine minutes left, the Hawks clearly possessed the game’s momentum. But Gray, who had struggled from the floor, nailed a three-pointer from straightaway to cut Binghamton’s deficit to 62-50 with 8:09 left. He would hit another shot on an ensuing possession to keep the Bearcats alive.

“He jumped up and made those threes, and I’m like here we go, the younger dude’s gonna knock me out the box in my home game,” Rice said.

The older dude would prevail, but not before Gray had convinced his predecessor of something.

“I’m proud of him,” Rice said. “I told him to keep those kids’ heads up, keep pushing because their best basketball’s in front of them.”