I held off on posting something about this one in the hopes of talking to Coach Dempsey first, but it looks like I won’t be able to reach him today.

Basically anyway you look at this one, a close 71-68 defeat, Binghamton (2-12, 0-1 America East) lost on the glass and via the turnover. Hartford (8-6, 1-0 AE) won the overall rebounding battle 31-27, but the disparity on the offensive glass was wider (14-3) and proved to be crucial, as the Hawks scored 14 second-chance points. Hartford could not convert its last three offensive rebounds into points, otherwise Binghamton’s fate would have been sealed earlier.

Hartford has forced turnovers on almost 25 percent of its opponents’ possessions this year, and Wednesday night, the Hawks scored 21 points off 22 Binghamton turnovers. The Bearcats scored just nine points off nine Hartford turnovers. After entering halftime with a 26-23 lead, Binghamton turned the ball over on its first four possessions of the second half to spur a 10-0 Hartford run.

From there, Binghamton would stay close, and two Mike Horn foul shots with 48 seconds left made the score 64-62. But Wes Cole buried a dagger three with 25 seconds left — it was the only trey he converted on eight attempts, but it could not have come at a more opportune moment for Hartford.

As a team, the Hawks shot a ridiculous 10-of-38 from deep — they attempted 22 two-point field goals. But a few of those threes severely restrained Binghamton’s momentum.

Jordan Reed, who was named AE Rookie of the Week on Monday, scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven boards. But he is finally receiving some consistent help offensively.

Jimmy Gray scored a career-high 24 points while shooting 6-of-7 from deep. He’s now 10 for his last 17 from long range.

Rayner Moquete, who scored a career-high 19 points against Cornell, had an efficient 13-point outing on 4-of-8 shooting.