Syracuse outlasts Binghamton 72-54, advances to 10-1

Jake Klein | @kleinjake_

In last year’s matchup between Syracuse and Binghamton, the Orange went on the road to Vestal and blew out the Bearcats.

This time around, Tuesday’s matchup was much closer.

Syracuse (10-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) beat Binghamton (6-4, 0-0 America East) 72-54, but it didn’t come easy. The Bearcats cut the Orange lead to just six points with an 11-0 run in the second quarter before Syracuse pulled away.

“I said ‘you didn’t punch first and you didn’t punch second,’” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said postgame. “‘When are you going to fight?’ I shortened the bench a little bit because it took us so long to get into a rhythm.”

“Sometimes, the better team wins when you stay locked on ready. I think we were the better team, no disrespect to anybody, but we stayed ready too.”

It was another clinic for Syracuse on the glass. The Orange out-rebounded the Bearcats 26-8 on the offensive boards and pulled down a season-high 55 total rebounds.

“We were getting rebounds,” Legette-Jack said. “On defensive boards, we were waiting for the guard to come. We’ve still got to get better. We’ve got to get better in attack mode. It’s going to be tough.”

“Our conference is thankless. They’re going to exploit every little thing that you’re weak at. And so, we’re going to figure out how we can play against anybody in our conference with toughness. Today wasn’t a tough win. We didn’t play tough enough, and that concerns me.”

Syracuse is 10-1, tied for the best 11-game start under Legette-Jack. Next up, the Orange round out non-conference play with a Friday morning School Day tilt against Mercyhurst (0-10, 0-0 America East). Tipoff is set for 10:30 a.m. Follow @CitrusTVSports on X for updates.