Following a rocky opening day of play, the Binghamton University golf team used a tournament-best final round score of 285 (+1) to land a fifth-place finish at this weekend’s CCSU Blue Devils Fall Invitational, jumping four spots in the event’s standings from the day prior. After battling poor weather conditions on Saturday, BU chopped its first day score by 31 strokes on Sunday to finish its season-opener with a final score of 601.

“For the first tournament of the year out of the gate, it was OK,” Binghamton head coach Bernie Herceg said. “We could’ve definitely played a little bit better, but we showed up on the second day and kind of proved ourselves of where we can be and how we’re going to hopefully play the rest of the fall. It was a good tournament for us and we’ll learn from our bad round there — the first day competition in the bad weather — and we’ll build off of it.”

Junior Bryce Edmister propelled the Bearcats’ final round run with a 68 (-3) on Sunday, rebounding from a first-day score of 80 (+9). Edmister finished eighth overall, marking the fifth top-10 tournament finish in his career.

“I know [Edmsiter] was a little frustrated after day one, but he had a great round [Sunday], to come back and post that score and [have] a top-8 [finish],” Herceg said. “It was just good to see because he’s playing really good and he was able to make a few putts and show where he’s at.”

Sophomore Josh Holling closed out the weekend tied with Edmister for eighth place with a total score of 148 (+6). After leading the team with a 75 on Saturday, Holling chopped two strokes off his score in the final round on Sunday. The eighth-place finish marked a career best for the sophomore.

“[Holling had] two very consistent rounds, especially the first day, in the tough conditions … and that was a big help,” Herceg said. “Both [Edmister and Holling] had a very good event.”

Senior captain David Cellura finished third for the Bearcats and 21st overall with a final score of 151, while freshman Jesse Perkins finished his collegiate debut in 34th overall. After recording an opening day score of 83, Perkins bounced back on Sunday with a 71.

Sacred Heart University took first in event with a 591 finish, and host Central Connecticut State University captured second with a final team score of 592.

The Bearcats are scheduled to head to Farmingdale, N.Y. next weekend for The McLaughlin, hosted by St. John’s University at Bethpage State Park Golf Course on Saturday and Sunday.