VESTAL, N.Y. - Cornell senior guard Matt Morgan poured in 38 points to pace the visiting Big Red (1-0) in an 86-75 win over Binghamton (0-1) in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

Morgan scored 26 of his points in the decisive second half when the teams dueled back and forth with 12 lead changes. 

The loss overshadowed an exceptional collegiate debut for BU freshman guard Sam Sessoms, who tallied a team-high 27 points with four assists in 33 minutes. Sessoms hit 12-of-20 from the field and many of his acrobatic buckets drew roars from the crowd of 2,108. 

The Bearcats, which led by as many as eight points in the first half, took their last lead of the game when Sessoms cashed in a jumper to make it 71-70 with 5:58 remaining. But Cornell embarked on a 13-0 run (spanning 4:41) that featured seven points from Morgan. The Big Red sealed the win by hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:32.

"Both teams found pretty good pace and flow offensively and it was a fun game to watch but we had a dry spell in the second half and couldn't get stops and that's when they got separation," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "It was blow for blow for a long way ... but obviously you can't let a guy come into your building and get 38 points - it's tough to win when that happens. We know what we have to clean up ... it's a long season. There were some real positives out there."

Binghamton had to fend off foul trouble throughout the game and the discrepancy at the free throw line was substantial. Cornell went to the line 34 times and converted 25 while BU made just 6-of-17 attempts.

In addition to Sessoms, junior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. had a solid debut in a Bearcats uniform. Caldwell hit 5-of-12 from the floor and finished with 12 points before fouling out. Senior guard J.C. Show added 11 points and three steals. 

The Bearcats will remain home and host NJIT in another women's-men's doubleheader on Friday. 

NOTES
Sessoms' 27 points were the most scored by a BU freshman in his collegiate debut since Ben Dickinson also tallied 27 on Nov. 12, 2011 (vs. Colgate) ... Morgan's 38-point night was the most points an opposing player has scored against Binghamton in eight years (Hofstra's Charles Jenkins netted 40 on Dec. 8, 2010).