ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior guard
Jacob Falko poured in a career-high 28 points and Binghamton men's basketball (5-6, 2-0 America East) moved to 2-0 in conference play with an 88-79 road win over Albany (4-9, 0-1 AE) Thursday night at SEFCU Arena.
The Bearcats shot 59 percent from the field, hit 12 3-pointers and put four in double figures to snap a 10-game losing skid at SEFCU. The Great Danes entered the night having won 19 of the last 20 head-to-head. The win also gives BU its first 2-0 start to America East play in 11 seasons.
"That was a remarkable effort by our guys," associate head coach
Brian Johnson said. "We shot the ball well and did a good job of sharing the basketball and being aggressive." Johnson was acting head coach for the game as head coach Levell Sanders was out due to COVID protocols.
Up six at the break, BU hit 8-of-11 to start the second half and take control. Junior
Christian Hinckson drilled three 3-pointers in a four-minute span to spark BU to a double-digit cushion less than three minutes into the half and the Bearcats kept the lead throughout the entire period. Hinckson wound up with 12 points, a team-high seven boards and two blocks. Sophomore
Kellen Amos scored 17 points and junior
Tyler Bertram added 11.
Falko, the reigning University
Athlete of the Week, hit 10-of-13 shots to reach the 20-point mark for the second straight game (21.0 ppg. over his last three). He added a career-best eight assists.
Falko led a sharp first-half showing for the Bearcats, who closed the period with an 11-1 run to take a 46-40 lead to the locker room. He netted 17 points and had back-to-back 3-pointers during the key run, which spanned the final 1:38. Amos added 10 points as BU enjoyed its best shooting first half of the season (59%). Neither team led by more than six points and there were nine lead changes.
Binghamton returns home on a short turnaround to host unbeaten NJIT (7-5, 2-0 AE) Saturday afternoon at the Events Center. Tip-off is set for approximately 4:15 p.m. (30 minutes after the end of the preceding women's game).
