2005-06

W-L record: 16-13, 12-4 AE (2nd)

Big-name win: vs. Boston University

Leading scorer: Andre Heard

The Bearcats entered the 2005-06 season coming off a No. 5 finish and semifinal appearance in the 2005 America East tournament. While expectations were high, the team performed miserably out of conference, winning just three of eight and losing the first five games. But when the calendar turned to 2006, the Bearcats exploded for a six-game win streak that culminated in a 61-60 overtime win against longtime tormentor University of Vermont. Binghamton could not find a way to beat the regular season champ University at Albany, but with a second-place finish hosting the conference tournament in Vestal, the Bearcats were a good bet to reach the finals.

In a twist of fate that will make Binghamton fans forever wonder “what if” the team’s best defender and post player, Sebastien Hermenier, went down with an injury before the tournament started. Without Hermenier — the team’s heart and soul — the Bearcats still rolled over the University of Maine in the quarterfinals. But against a young, up-and-coming Vermont team with size on the interior, the Bearcats melted down when a few questionable calls went against them in the second half. Binghamton lost, ending the most promising season in the school’s young Division I history.

2006-07

W-L record: 13-16, 6-10 AE (6th)

Big-name win: at Miami

Leading scorer: Steve Proctor

Following the graduation of Hermenier and Andre Heard, head coach Al Walker declared that Binghamton was “Mike’s Team,” referencing junior point guard Mike Gordon. But Mike’s team turned out to be a poor defensive team as the Bearcats could not recover from the loss of its two best defenders from the year before. Binghamton actually began the season with a solid showing out of conference, defeating a good Niagara team, Cornell and the ACC’s Miami. In conference play, however, Binghamton’s defensive shortcomings became apparent early.

The Bearcats went 2-7 against the first half of the schedule and were fighting to stay out of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 play-in game when Stony Brook came to town. Gordon, who hit four game-winners that year, made the most memorable play of the Events Center’s history with 0.6 seconds left in the game and Stony Brook leading by one point. Inbounding the ball under Binghamton’s basket, he bounced it off a Stony Brook defender’s back and laid the ball in as time expired. The play made it to SportsCenter’s top 10 and cemented Gordon’s clutch reputation and nickname: Magic Mike. As the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, the Bearcats faced host Boston University in the quarterfinal. Binghamton blew two 12-point leads in the game and lost, 62-58, leading to the resignation of Walker and the hiring of Kevin Broadus as the new men’s basketball coach.

2007-08

W-L record: 14-16, 9-7 AE (5th)

Big name win: vs. George Washington

Leading scorer: Lazar Trifunovic

Hopes were high that new coach Kevin Broadus could win right away after inheriting two All-Conference players in Gordon and sophomore Lazar Trifunovic. The early returns were not encouraging; Binghamton started the season 1-7 and lost six straight games. The reeling Bearcats knocked off George Washington at home, prompting Broadus to call the win “the biggest win in school history.” By the time conference play started, the Bearcats got their act together and were actually tied for first place after the first half of the schedule, including a win over the eventual champs, UMBC. Things unraveled after students came back from winter break, as Binghamton lost four straight. When Albany came to the town for the penultimate regular season game, Broadus took exception in the media to Albany head coach Will Brown’s comments, stating he was an “Al Walker guy” and that Binghamton University forward Reggie Fuller was not Dikembe Mutombo.

After Brown’s team defeated Binghamton, the coaches had words in the postgame handshake line, culminating in Broadus pushing Albany assistant Chad O’Donnell. Broadus and O’Donnell were suspended for one game each, and the Binghamton-Albany rivalry reached a new fervor.

In the conference tournament, No. 5 Binghamton faced the one team it could not seem to beat when it mattered most: No. 4 Vermont. Despite Mike Gordon’s 23 points, the Bearcats were no match for the Catamounts, and fell by eight points after Vermont rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit. Gordon graduated, Trifunovic transferred, and a new era of Binghamton basketball was ushered in with the 2008 recruiting class.

2008-09

W-L record: 22-8, 13-3 AE (1st)

Big name win: vs. Rutgers

Leading scorer: D.J. Rivera

After a rocky offseason, some bad losses early in the year and off-court suspensions, the Bearcats tuned out all their distractions to finish the AE regular season 13-3 and win the school’s first postseason tournament berth.

Will Binghamton win the conference tournament crown and make it to the NCAAs? Or will it stumble and go to the NIT instead? Tune in on Saturday at 11 a.m. to find out. The 2008-09 story is yet to be written.