On their longest road trip of the year, the Bearcats found some consistency as well as their second win of the year.
During a stretch of five games in nine days, which included three games on three straight days, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team went 1-4 but showed marked improvement by the end of the road swing.
This past Saturday the Bearcats traveled to Rider University in a non-conference matchup, and despite holding the lead for most of the game, fell to the Broncs 58-50.
“[Rider] hit shots, they went on a run and we just never recovered as a team,” Binghamton interim head coach Mark Macon said.
Following a layup by junior Umur Peten with 14:03 remaining in the first half, which put Binghamton up 11-10, the Bearcats held the lead through halftime. However, a 13-1 run by Rider put the Broncs back on top just five minutes into the second half. A back-and-forth game stayed close until an 11-2 run by Rider that closed out the game. The Broncs hit four free throws and the Bearcats had two turnovers in the last minute to seal the game.
Despite the loss, the Bearcats had plenty to hang their hats on.
“We played well as a unit,” Macon said. “I think defensively we came out and played about as good as we could in that first 20 minutes or so.”
The Bearcats had the best shooting night of their season with 52.4 percent from the floor, but were undone by 19 turnovers. Both teams struggled from behind the 3-point line in the first half; BU went 2-10 while Rider missed all 12 attempts. The Broncs turned the tables in the second half with 7-for-11 3-point shooting, while Binghamton missed its four attempts.
“We scored on offense, we attacked on offense,” Macon said. “[We’re] looking cohesive while we’re out there; [we’re] playing as a full unit.”
Last season, the Bearcats defeated Rider 69-58 at the Events Center. With their play this season, Macon feels that his team has proved its ability to play with any team.
“We can compete with every team and I think we have shown that,” he said. “Rider’s just a good team; they have good size, guys that can switch every position. They doubled the post a lot early, but we got openings to Kyrie [Sutton] late in the game to try to keep us afloat.”
Binghamton participated in the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience Classic last week as part of their road swing. The Bearcats played three games in three nights; they opened the tourney with a 70-52 loss to Duquesne University, followed by a 73-44 loss to Western Carolina University.
“It was difficult,” Macon said of the tournament. “They [all] were teams that ran the floor and crashed the boards.”
The final day of the tournament provided the Bearcats with their second win of the season, a 66-56 win over Division II University of Arkansas at Monticello. Freshman guard Dylan Talley scored 21 points, leading Binghamton to a 49 percent shooting performance on the night.
Talley was named America East Rookie of the Week on Monday. Talley, who has started all seven games for the Bearcats, led all America East rookies by averaging 11.8 points in four games last week. He also leads the team with 2.1 assists per game.
“Monticello [wasn’t] shooting the ball well,” Macon said. “Our defense was working, our guys were playing well and they stuck together.”
The road trip gave the Bearcats the opportunity to see their weaknesses as well as their strengths.
“The most important thing out there on the trip [was] that we stayed together as a unit,” Macon said. “They continue to grow; it’s small baby steps, but the pieces are coming together.”
With so many new faces, the team has had to adjust to the rigors of a basketball season, with long road trips and late practices in addition to the academic responsibilities.
“We’re learning every day,” Macon said. “Our road trips and games we’ve played help us every day in practice. [There are] certain things we got to work on, certain guys we’ve got to work on, and how we have to get better as a unit.”
After six straight games on the road, the Bearcats will return to the Events Center for a two-game home stand. It starts with Bucknell University on Friday and concludes with Marshall University on Monday. The team plans to use this week to get back on track.
“We got three or four days of practice, we can put some stuff in and get back in the groove of things,” Macon said. “[On] defense, [there are] mistakes that we make that we want to correct in late games and early in games.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the Events Center.