Like last year, the Binghamton University men's basketball team traveled to Syracuse University and ran into a high-powered squad that was playing at the top of their game. Despite an effort that was closer than the score indicated, BU fell to the Orangemen 94-58 in front of an announced crowd of 19,770.

"The guys are a year older," said Binghamton senior guard Anthony Green. "But it still seemed like a couple of us were in awe of being here. We just gotta understand that we came to play, we're playing to win. Not to just to be in it."

Early on, the Bearcats were able to keep the contest close and play nearly even with their opponents. Six minutes and 48 seconds into the game, senior guard Charles Baker hit a three to cut SU's lead to 18-13, but Syracuse then answered with a run that created some separation between the teams.

The Orangemen went on a 20-4 spurt that carried the lead to 38-17 with just over eight minutes remaining in the half. Five different SU players scored points during this stretch. Freshman sensation forward Carmello Anthony scored seven points, grabbed two boards and had one assist during the run. Anthony finished with game-highs of 24 points, 11 rebounds and tied a game-high with 5 assists.

"He's been getting 25 and 9 against everybody," said Binghamton head coach Al Walker. "So it wasn't as if it was a surprise. Carmello Anthony is going to be a great NBA player."

For many parts of the contest BU tried to double-team Anthony and play him in a physical style, but he was able to counter the defense by either finding open teammates or doing the scoring himself.

"It was pretty much what we expected," said Anthony. "They tried to play physical with us, but our physical ability was much stronger than theirs."

Binghamton continued to play strong despite Syracuse's effort to take full control of the game and with just 1:29 left in the opening half BU cut the lead down to 12. Senior forward Stanley Ocitti hit his second three-pointer of the half to put the score at 48-36. That was Binghamton's final score of the half and they entered the locker room down 52-36.

Syracuse shot 67.7 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent from beyond the arc, making it difficult for the Bearcats to make a run. BU shot only 36.8 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but their 5-for-14 shooting from three-point range helped them stay in the contest.

"If we had missed a few shots in the first half it would have been an eight or ten point game," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "They played well."

The second half opened with Binghamton on a small 6-2 run that got the lead back down to 12. Just like in the first half and last week against Iowa State, BU got within striking distance but was unable to make a second push to bring the game to under 10 points.

"We're just gonna try and look at the tape and see if we can go over the hump of that 12-point area," said Green. "Coach said we should try to go in the half down by single-digits and we didn't do that today."

The Bearcats went scoreless during the next 5:16 of the contest and they were never able to get back into the game. With seven minutes and four seconds left to play, the under eight minute media timeout was called and Syracuse had a more-than- comfortable 78-49 advantage.

Less than a minute later, BU sophomore center Nick Billings committed his fifth and final foul to send Anthony to the line for a three-point play. That brought the lead to 30 points and it never dropped below that total the rest of the way. Billings finished with eight points and only one rebound, block and steal.

Syracuse's second group finished up the game with many of Binghamton's bench players seeing the floor as well. The Bearcats finished the second half with only 22 points on 8-of-34 shooting..

"We're better than we played tonight," said Walker. "We had to fight so hard to try to get back in the game because Syracuse shot the ball so well in the first half. We didn't come in here to put a performance of minus-35 up on the board. We came in here to make a good basketball game of it, and we're disappointed that we didn't do so."

Green was BU's only player in double figures with his 11 points. Last weeks America East Conference Player of the Week also added five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Senior forward Jeffrey St. Fort suffered one of his worst games in a Binghamton uniform going 2-12 en-route to a four point game that saw him take only one second-half shot in just three minutes of action.

The Orangemen put five players in double figures, finishing the game shooting 58.8 percent from the field. The biggest stat of the game came from the points in the paint, where SU had an overwhelming 56-18 advantage. BU was on the low side of a 53-33 rebound total, something that does not often happen to the Bearcats.

"Syracuse, like all teams at this level, has some very big athletic people," said Walker. "We knew it was going to be a very, very big challenge to do a good job on the glass, and we just weren't up to it. I take my hat off to Syracuse, I thought they played really well."

Binghamton will be off until the 27th of December when they head to Philadelphia to take on another Big East opponent in Villanova. This game will be a homecoming for Green who is from the area. Green will look to play his best against the Wildcats, who were one of the teams who showed an interest in him before he chose Binghamton for his final two years of eligibility.

"Not saying that I got a point to prove," said Green. "But I definitely just want to play well in front of my home fans and show all the people that had something to do with me being around them, that all the work they put in helped me."