Between the return of Maine’s leading scorer in freshman guard Kevin Little and making the arduous trek up to Bangor, the Binghamton men’s basketball team fell, 67-64, at Cross Insurance Center on Saturday. Once again, time proved unyielding for the Bearcats, whose solid second-half performance came up short as the buzzer cemented their loss.
“Maine played better than us today … give them credit,” Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey said, according to a press release on bubearcats.com. “We were immature offensively in the first half (1-for-10 3-pointers) and you can’t dig that kind of hole on the road. We competed hard in the second half to get back into the game but it wasn’t enough.”
Even down to the wire, however, it looked like the Bearcats (4-22, 3-8 America East) would pull off their comeback. Though they relinquished an early lead in the first half and allowed Maine (3-21, 2-9 AE) to gain an advantage as large as 13 points by halftime, coming out of the locker rooms, Binghamton pulled together. The Bearcats shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep in the second half to post a 40-point performance over Maine’s 30.
Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez, sophomore guard Marlon Beck II and freshman guard Romello Walker led the Bearcats during that stretch. The three combined for 38 of BU’s 40 points in the half. Beck shot 8 for 9 at the line and dished out five assists while Rodriguez and Walker converted 5 of 6 and 4 of 6 from the floor, respectively.
But all that efficacy was for naught when Maine sunk every one of its six free throws in the last 14 seconds. Binghamton had brought the game to within one, 57-56, with a jumper from Rodriguez with 2:34 to go, but Maine hung on tight.
Little hit a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game once more, 61-57. By the time Rodriguez brought it back to a two-point margin with another layup, there were just 19 seconds remaining on the clock. The Bearcats then set to fouling, and despite another 3-pointer from Rodriguez — who scored seven of the team’s last 10 points — Maine hit every last shot.
The Black Bears ultimately prevailed with a three-point victory after Rodriguez’s final attempt — a heave from half-court with one second on the clock — sailed over the backboard.
Just like that, the worst team in the America East took its third win and Binghamton distanced itself just a bit more from its two-game winning streak.
Things actually started well for Binghamton. Beck scored the first points of the game with a 3-pointer, and in the first five minutes, it seemed that Binghamton would cruise over Maine for the second time this season.
But though Binghamton shot well from the floor in the first half, Maine shot better. The Black Bears converted 62 percent of their shots in the opening 15 minutes, and Binghamton’s 48 percent clip paled in comparison. The Bearcats’ ensuing 0-of-9 shooting from deep didn’t help much, either.
Maine used a 9-2 run to secure a 15-13 lead, capped off by a trey from Little with 11:19 left in the half. Binghamton snuck back to tie the score at 22 with a spurt of its own, but that was the closest the Bearcats would get to their fifth win.
The Black Bears closed out the half on a 15-2 run to secure a 13-point lead, 37-24. That kept them in the green the rest of the way through.
Little led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds. Maine junior guard Shaun Lawton followed up with 15 points and seven rebounds.
On BU’s side, Rodriguez led the team in rebounding with seven boards, and freshman center Bobby Ahearn followed up with six points and five rebounds.
Freshman forward Justin McFadden, who led the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding against Hartford last week, played just six minutes due to illness.
Next up for the Bearcats is a home contest today against league-leading Albany, who remains undefeated in conference play. The Great Danes (16-7, 11-0 AE) have been playing without their leading scorer in junior guard Peter Hooley — who returned to Australia for family matters — in the last seven contests. Despite the lack, Albany has outscored its opponents by an average of 10 points through the span.
Tip-off against Albany is set for 7 p.m. today at the Events Center.