The Northwestern men's basketball team beat the Binghamton Bearcats 86-60 in the season debut at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats were heavily favored going into the game, but the memory of their two exhibition losses made it a crucial test for a Northwestern team hoping to build confidence heading into regular-season play.
The Wildcats proved up for the test, finishing with better numbers in every category and a strong showing from transfers, first-years and returners alike.
The standouts for the Wildcats included sophomore Jake West, who achieved a double-double with 10 minutes to go in the second half and finished with 20 points and 12 assists. Graduate transfer Jack Karasinski finished with 24 points while junior Angelo Ciaravino had the other Northwestern double-double of the night with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Binghamton's box score was noticeably sparse, but senior Demtrius Lilley had the most rebounds on the team, 13, and the most points with 11. The other of Binghamton's America East preseason all-conference players in addition to Lilley, Jeremiah Quigley, scored just nine points off ten attempts from the field and fouled out with 22 minutes of floor time.
Binghamton won the tip-off, but was forced into a contested miss late in the shot clock. On the other end, Ciaravino grabbed West's missed three to open up the scoring. Binghamton scored their first point two possessions later off a free throw to make it 4-1. Karasinski answered on the other end with a three-pointer to push the lead to six.
Both sides went cold for the next few minutes, but the Wildcats put up a couple more buckets to make it 12-3 with 16:09 to go in the first half. The two teams traded buckets for the next three minutes, but a three from Binghamton's sophomore Jake Blackburn cut the deficit to six for the Bearcats.
It took nearly three minutes for Northwestern to get their next field goal, but Phoenix Gill put it in off a Karasinski offensive rebound to make it 19-10. Meanwhile, Karasinski was quickly becoming the biggest weapon on the court, going 3-for-4 from distance to start the game, the third of those giving the 'Cats a nine-point lead.
The two most hyped returners came out of the break energized, with West and Ciaravino combining for a 5-0 run. Karasinski added two more, forcing a Binghamton timeout where head coach Levell Sanders looked less than happy with his team. The Wildcats extended their run to 11-0 with six-straight made field goals, making it 41-22, its largest lead of the half.
Binghamton cut the deficit to 11, before the Wildcats came right back with five unanswered to finish the half. With three seconds left, LA Pratt pulled up from three to make the score 51-35 at halftime in favor of the Wildcats.
In the first half, the clear best player on either team was the man with the most expectations: Jake West, who finished with the most points (14) and most assists (eight) of all players. The Wildcats won the battle on the glass, 14-12, with Ciaravino leading the team with four.
Through the first four minutes of the second half, NU put the lead back to 19 with a three from Karasinski and two free throws from West. Binghamton responded, and both types of cats made one and missed one in the next minute. West made a behind-the-back layup to bring the difference back to 19 for the third time, 64-45.
Karasinski stayed hot out of the break with his fifth three-pointer of the night, then his sixth in quick succession, bringing his total to 21 in his Northwestern debut and making it 72-52. After a Binghamton dunk, Karasinski made his seventh, topping his all-time high from his four years at Bellarmine, where he shot 40% from three in his final and best year. He ended the night 7-for-11 (64%) from beyond the arc.
The two teams combined for more than three scoreless minutes towards the end of the game when a West-to-Ciaravino alley-oop broke that streak with 4:02 remaining, giving NU a 24-point lead with 4:02 remaining. The Northwestern defense stopped Binghamton cold for another three minutes while putting up a 9-0 run without a single field goal themselves for almost three minutes. Both teams scored twice more to end the game, bringing the final score to 86-60 and sealing a nice victory for the 'Cats in their first game of the season.
The Wildcats look to keep the momentum going when they host Stony Brook at 7 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 6, in Welsh-Ryan Arena. That game will be televised on Big Ten Plus.
