After such a promising start to conference play, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team has managed to sink to rock bottom, and then some.
The Bearcats (6-19, 3-9 America East) again failed to break their losing streak, which reached nine straight games after a loss at Vermont (21-5, 12-2 AE) by a 60-51 score. After a 3-0 conference start, Binghamton’s season has taken an inexorable downward turn.
The past five losses for the Bearcats have been decided by single digits, which is indicative of how close these games were. Their battle with the Catamounts was no exception. There were nine lead changes in the first half; as Vermont beat up the Bearcats on the glass, they stayed alive by shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in the opening frame.
The Bearcats were without 6-foot-9-inch junior center Kyrie Sutton for the game, and 6-foot-8-inch freshman forward Alex Ogundadegbe played just three minutes, so Binghamton was undersized for most of the contest. As a result, Binghamton shot 26 3-pointers compared to just 12 from Vermont.
“We have to go with the lineup that we think is gonna be successful for us out on the floor,” said BU head coach Mark Macon. “Size hasn’t made too much of a difference this year anyway because we’re getting beat on the boards … We have to rebound better; that’s been one of our Achilles heels all season.”
Down 32-30 at the end of the first half, the Bearcats continued to fire away, but after shooting 44 percent from the field in the first half, they shot just 25.9 percent in the second. The game was actually tied at 49 after a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Taylor Johnston with just over eight minutes left. Then, an all-too-familiar flaw doomed the Bearcats once again.
After tying the score, Binghamton proceeded to miss 13 consecutive shots, not surprising for a team that has had trouble finishing games during the nine-game skid, including a 22-point blown lead to Maine.
“It’s just something that we’ve been working on, and we just haven’t closed out games,” Macon said. “We’re getting better … you just have to move on to the next game.”
Vermont took advantage of the Bearcat misfires and turnovers to put in 11 points and seal the deal to remain atop the America East Conference standings.
However, after nine consecutive losses, Macon isn’t about to change the game plan.
“No, you don’t get frustrated,” he said. “You’re always in a mode of teaching and trying to let guys play and learn as they go. You want them to learn on their own, you want to let them go ahead and do certain things on the floor … We have a tournament to go into as well. We have to look at the next game and try to win.”
Macon added that dropping so many contests in a row is certainly not for a lack of effort.
“We’re not going into games to lose,” Macon said. “We’re busting our butts and those kids are giving me everything they have out there on that floor to win those games. We’re just coming up on the short end of the stick. We’re not frustrated, we’re definitely not frustrated; we’re just trying to win every game … Those kids don’t like losing as well as I don’t like losing, but you have to just continue to play and hopefully you get a win in the next game.”
Senior forward Greer Wright led the Bearcats in scoring with 15 points, despite shooting just 5-of-15 from the field and 3-of-6 from the charity stripe as well as playing with four fouls. Wright has battled an ankle injury this season.
“We got Greer back playing at a better level,” Macon said. “He’s getting healthier, so that’s a plus for us.”
Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi shot just 2-of-8 but grabbed 11 rebounds, and sophomore guard Jimmy Gray chipped in 11 points and four assists.
The Bearcats’ next shot at halting their losing streak is set for tomorrow night against the Hartford Hawks. Binghamton dropped a 72-61 decision at home in the previous matchup, the second of their nine straight losses.
“We know what happened last time they played us; they stagnated us with their zone,” Macon said. “We’ve prepared for it, but we still have to make shots … The last game we played them, we had more turnovers than I would have liked to have had, and we couldn’t do anything with their zone. We know what we have to do; we just have to do it.”
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow at Hartford.