Sports News

BU earns rave reviews after hosting America East Men's Basketball Championship

Binghamton University heated up an otherwise frigid winter season with some big-time basketball at the Events Center in early March. The campus hosted the 10-team 2005 America East Men's Basketball Championship, and the three-day event was an unqualified success. After nearly a year of preparation, Binghamton welcomed thousands of players, school officials, fans and media to the Events Center, where fans witnessed eight exciting basketball games, including two Binghamton games that rank as the most-watched home athletic events in school history.

After a stunning upset of Boston University in the regular-season finale, head coach Al Walker's team earned the No. 5 seed for the tournament, and faced No. 4 seed and longtime SUNY rival Albany in a quarterfinal game. In front of a standing-room-only crowd of 5,222, the Bearcats built an eight-point halftime lead and held off the Great Danes, 76-70, much to the delight of the raucous Events Center crowd. After the game, several players were quoted as saying they could feel the basketball court vibrate. One day later, Binghamton lined up against two-time defending champion and heavily favored Vermont in a semifinal, which was broadcast live on satellite across the country. An equally electric crowd of 5,003 urged on the underdog Bearcats, who stayed within eight points at halftime before the senior-laden Catamounts pulled away. Junior guard Andre Heard, a second-team America East all-star, scored 20 points, and senior forward Alex Adediran netted 21 points in his final collegiate game.

Men finish strong
The tournament attendance figure of 15,977 was more than double the attendance at the previous championship, held in Boston, and the single-day total of 8,284 for the quarterfinals represented the third-highest figure in the 24 years of the championship. "There was not one aspect of this entire weekend we wouldn't consider a success," America East Associate Commissioner Julie Ruppert said. "From the organization to the fans, the community, the atmosphere, everything was first rate, first class."

First class could also describe the personality and basketball career of popular seven-foot center Nick Billings, who ended his collegiate tenure during the tournament. Billings wound up with 336 career blocks, which ranks first at Binghamton and second in America East history.

The men's team shook off a slow start to win seven of its final 10 games, thanks to a Division I-best five-game win streak in February.

Women show promise
On the women's side, head coach Rich Conover led a young Bearcats team to 10 victories and a fifth place finish in the conference. Junior forward Rachel Laws became the first Binghamton basketball player to earn back-to-back first-team all-conference honors, and freshman Laura Sario was named to the all-rookie team. The Bearcats showed their promise by shutting down America East champion Hartford, 51-37, in a late-season win, and will return all five starters and 10 letter winners next season.

Other winter highlights
Several other winter-sport athletes excelled in their respective seasons, highlighted by pole vaulter Rory Quiller and swimmer Kaan Tayla. Quiller, just a sophomore, became the first Binghamton track and field athlete to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship when he cleared a school-record 17 feet 6 1/2 inches at the America East Championship. At the world-class national meet hosted by University of Arkansas, Quiller placed 12th in the field. Also a standout hurdler and heptathlete, Quiller boosted his own school record in the heptathlon during the indoor season and broke the University record in the 60-meter hurdles. Among his numerous accolades were a pole vault title at the Penn State National Open and recognition as the Most Outstanding Field Events athlete for a second straight year at the America East Championship. Quiller was the lone America East athlete to advance to the NCAA Men's Championship.

In the pool, freshman Kaan Tayla showcased his Olympic-level talent for the men's team, leading the Bearcats to a runner-up finish at the America East Championship. Tayla, who swam for Turkey at the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece, was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer and the Most Outstanding Rookie at the conference meet after racking up seven first-place swims, including individual titles in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. Tayla's winning time in the 100 free (45.11 seconds) matched the University of Maryland-Baltimore County pool record held by fellow Olympian and American sensation Michael Phelps. In all, Tayla was part of three America East-record relay performances. One week later, he shattered ECAC Championship records in winning the 50 and 100 free, achieving NCAA provisional qualifying marks in each race.

Also during the winter season, former NCAA finalist and two-time All-American Tony Robie was hired to lead the wrestling team back to the mat for the 2005-06 campaign. Robie was a top assistant for a University of Michigan program that earned national top-10 status during each of his four years. He will become just the fourth head coach in Binghamton's illustrious wrestling history, which includes four national champions and six NCAA top-10 finishes.