TROY, N.Y. – Junior center Tariq Balogun scored a career-high 18 points and first-place Binghamton men's basketball (8-10, 4-1 America East) shot 63 percent in the second half to pull away from host UAlbany (6-15, 1-5 AE) 65-54 Thursday night at McDonough Sports Complex on the campus of Hudson Valley CC.

The win gave BU a four-game conference win streak for the first time in 13 years and also gave the Bearcats their best five-game start to America East play since 2005-06 (17 years). With the win, BU maintained its hold on first place in the standings – also the first time in 17 years that the team has had sole possession of the top spot in the America East.

Binghamton used an 11-2 run to start the second half and never looked back. They led by as many as 16 points before the Great Danes trimmed it to seven, 59-52, with 4:32 left. But senior guard Jacob Falko stopped Albany's run with two free throws, graduate forward Miles Gibson took a key charge that negated a UA bucket and then scored on the other end with 2:51 to restore BU's double-digit lead.

"We came in at halftime and knew we needed to just win the second half," head coach Levell Sanders said. "We did good job of coming out and getting the lead. It's a game of runs but we maintained our composure and I'm happy we were able to pull this out. We still have a lot of work to do but from where we came from … it's moving in the right direction. We have to work hard and stay humble … and understand that anyone can beat anyone on any given night. These road games aren't easy to win and we have to be locked in and greedy … never be satisfied. We'll try to get another one on Sunday."

Balogun provided a key presence on both ends of the court. He scored 10 of his points in the first half and hit 7-of-9 shots from the field and all four free throws. On the defensive end, he blocked three shots and did all his work in 26 minutes off the bench.

"Tariq is staying locked in and prepared," Sanders added. "It's a lesson for all of our guys. It's a long season and you never know when your number will be called. He came through for us again tonight."

Falko added 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds, senior guard Dan Petcash scored nine points and Gibson and graduate forward Christian Hinckson added eight points apiece.

It was a see-saw first half that featured six ties and five lead changes, with Albany scoring the last five points to draw even 30-30 at intermission. Balogun led BU with 10 points (in a seven-minute stretch) and Petcash added seven points. The teams traded seven-point runs midway through the period before the Bearcats used a 13-6 spurt to pull ahead 28-23 with 5:30 left. Binghamton led 30-25 before two turnovers in the final 48 seconds aided the Great Danes' final push.

Binghamton continues its travels to Bangor, Maine and a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Black Bears.