A promising start turned sour as Binghamton fell 75-52 on Wednesday night at Navy.
The Bearcats (0-3) led at various points in the first half, with their biggest favorable margin being 12-7. With 5:05 left, a three-pointer from Rayner Moquete gave Binghamton a 24-21 lead, and though Navy closed the half on a 16-2 run and led 43-30 less than four minutes into the second, the Bearcats fought back and cut the deficit to 50-45 with 10:47 left.
Jordan Reed, making his collegiate debut after completing his three-game suspension, took over as Binghamton clawed its way back. The freshman incessantly drove the lane, drawing contact to get to the line. He led the Bearcats with 11 points during their 15-7 run to narrow the deficit.
But from there, Binghamton couldn’t buy a bucket and the rarity of defensive stops only heightened as the game wore on. After Reed’s two free throws brought Binghamton within five, the Bearcats scored just two field goals and went 1-for-8 from the line over the final 10:47.
Navy scored 25 points off 18 Binghamton turnovers, one of the leading factors tonight. The Bearcats, who simply couldn’t shut down Tilman Dunbar, forced just eight turnovers and scored eight points off them. Dunbar shot 5-of-10 from the floor for 16 points. And early on, it was his penetration and distributing that hurt Binghamton. Tilman finished with 11 assists to just one turnover.
Though the Bearcats grabbed 10 offensive rebounds of their own, they allowed the Midshipmen to snatch 11. Navy outscored Binghamton 34-20 in the paint.
Players
Reed showed his potential. When a reporter asked Tommy Dempsey on Sunday if Reed would be in the rotation in his first game following the suspension, the head coach laughed as if it should have been a rhetorical question and said “he’ll make a difference.”
Without a doubt, Reed made a difference. The freshman, who averaged 24.5 points as a high school senior, was the Bearcats’ most valuable player on offense.
The offense had stagnated over the last five minutes of the first half and first three-plus minutes of the second. Binghamton needed a boost.
Reed provided it.
He drew a total of nine fouls for shots by driving the lane, and though he shot just 3-of-14 from the floor, he’ll make more shots as he adjusts to the college game.
And, also, it’s worth mentioning that Reed, in his first collegiate game, notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Taylor Johnston, who led Binghamton with 14 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting against Brown, did not launch a shot all night. The senior battled foul trouble in the second half, but he still finished with 24 minutes of playing time.
Roland Brown was at the forefront of Binghamton’s foul-shooting woes down the stretch, but he shot 5-of-7 from the floor for 12 points and grabbed seven boards. Once again, Brown scored in a variety of ways — layups, jump-hooks and mid-range jumpers. But his 2-0f-8 foul-shooting and four turnovers proved to be costly.
Jimmy Gray and Moquete had flashes of crucial involvement, but they couldn’t find a rhythm against Navy. The backcourt duo combined to shoot 6-of-20 from the floor and 2-of-11 from three for 15 points.