For Immediate Release: January 12, 2006
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton men's basketball storms past Maine on road 71-53
Heard pours in season-high 26 points, BU uses 20-7 run to pull away

Box Score

ORONO, Maine - Senior guard Andre Heard (Oklahoma City, Okla.) pumped in a season-high 26 points to lead visiting Binghamton (6-9, 3-1 America East) past Maine (5-10, 0-4 AE) 71-53 in a men's college basketball game Thursday night from Alfond Arena. The Bearcats blew open a close game with a 20-7 run to open the second half and picked up the team's third consecutive win and fourth in five games.

Binghamton held a 36-33 edge at intermission and tightened up its defense and rebounding en route to the pivotal run. The Bearcats held Maine scoreless for nearly six minutes and junior guard Troy Hailey (Hyattsville, Md.) sparked the offense with nine of his 15 points during the run. In the second half, BU shot 50%, canned 6-of-10 three-pointers and held the Black Bears to just 20 points.

"It was a good defensive effort in the second half," head coach Al Walker said. "We weren't very strong in the first half but it was a great second half. We've come a long way since the beginning of the season. If we shoot that way (47%) and defend the way we did in the second half, we have a chance to beat anyone in this league."

Senior forward Sebastian Hermenier (Rockville, Md.) recorded eight points and a team-high nine rebounds and freshman forward Ian Milne (Winkler, Manitoba) added nine points.

Heard scored 17 points in a back-and-forth first half that featured 13 lead changes and three ties. For the game, he wound up hitting 9-of-15 from the floor, including stellar 6-of-8 marksmanship from beyond the arc.

Binghamton continues its road trip with a game at Boston University on Sunday.

NOTES
Junior guard Steve Proctor (Largo, Md.) saw his first action in a BU uniform. Proctor returned to the lineup after missing the first 14 games of the season with a wrist injury. He scored two points in 10 minutes... Binghamton made a season-high 12 three-pointers (12-of-24) and also posted the team's highest shooting percentage of the season (47.3%)... The margin of victory (18 pts.) was BU's highest of the season.