Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Freshman forward Ben Dickinson scored a game-high 27 points in his collegiate debut but Binghamton men's basketball dug itself an 18-point second-half deficit and came up short against visiting Colgate, 78-74, in the season opener for both teams Saturday night from the Events Center. The Raiders shot 49% for the game and despite having three players foul out, held off the Bearcats. Senior guard Mike Venezia scored 22 points and classmate Sterling Melville added 17 for Colgate. The game drew 4,760 fans - a school record for a home opener.

"This is just one game," head coach Mark Macon said. "We didn't have a good first half and getting into foul trouble hurt us. Our youth exposed itself tonight but we did some good things. We played a good second half but it wasn't good enough. I know we'll play better."

Colgate went on a 16-6 run late in the first half to go ahead 28-18 as the Bearcats were bogged down by poor outside shooting and a steady stream of fouls. A total of 21 fouls were called in the opening half and Colgate shot 46% to build a 39-27 cushion at intermission. The Bearcats hit just 2-of-10 from three-point range and shot just 31% in the opening period.


In the second half, Dickinson, BU's America East Player of the Game, and sophomore guard Robert Mansell started to heat up. The pair combined for 36 points but Colgate stretched its lead to 18, 47-29, two minutes into the frame. The Bearcats slowly began to chip away and after Dickinson and Mansell each hit a pair of free throws (Colgate foul plus technical), BU was within six, 69-63, with 4:01 left. Dickinson trimmed the deficit to five when he drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:25 left, making it 73-68. But Colgate held steady and made five free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win. With the game on the line late, BU had three freshmen and four underclassmen total on the floor.

Dickinson made 7-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-14 free throws. He added seven rebounds (six offensive) and three steals in 38 minutes. His 27-point output was the most of any BU freshman in his collegiate debut.

"Ben's maturity is not his age ... it's his game," Macon said. "He understands how to play the game and we knew he could do that."

But while Dickinson shot 54%, the rest of the team hit just 28% (15-of-54), including 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Mansell made 7-of-21 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the line for a career-high 24 points. He was limited to 28 minutes after picking up two fouls in the first half.

Freshman Jabrille Williams added seven points and five rebounds in 17 minutes and sophomore Alex Ogundadegbe chipped in eight boards in a foul-plagued 16 minutes..

The Bearcats begin a four-game road stretch to close out the month with a 7 p.m. tip Monday at Cornell.