During winter break, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team went a perfect 6-0, but since students have returned the Bearcats have lost two straight, both at home.

A week out of the Events Center’s spotlight could be exactly what BU needs to right its ship.

“Getting away may help,” said BU head coach Kevin Broadus. “The girlfriends won’t be there, mom and dad won’t be telling them how good they are. They won’t be able to read articles telling them how good they are.”

Turning things around won’t be easy, as the first game of that road trip will be Saturday at conference-leading University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Retrievers lost a tight one to Binghamton at the Events Center 62-59 on Jan. 19. The Bearcats nearly squandered an 18-point lead in that game, but Reggie Fuller stole an inbounds pass with three seconds left and hit both his free throws to steal the victory.

The win moved the Bearcats into a first-place tie in the America East with UMBC and the University of Hartford. Since then BU has gone 2-2, winning a pair of road games before two consecutive home losses.

“Since school has come back in, [the media and the students] have told the players how great they are,” Broadus said. “Nothing wrong with that, but reality has set in. We are who we are, and we’re not great — far from it.”

In the AE, UMBC can be considered great. The Retrievers sit alone in first place, and the only team within one game of them, Vermont, lost both times the two met.

Three Retrievers rank in the top 10 of the AE in scoring, including Brian Hodges, who averages 16.5 points per game. Point guard Jay Green leads the conference in assists, with 7.13 per game, averaging over two more than the next player on the list, Vermont’s Mike Trimboli. To complete their stats trifecta, Darryl Proctor ranks second in the AE in rebounding and teammate Cavell Johnson places sixth.

UMBC is currently on a four-game win streak and hasn’t lost since the Binghamton game. Most recently the Retrievers took care of last place Stony Brook, 75-63, at UMBC on Wednesday.

A win keeps Binghamton in the top of the conference, while a loss could drop it as far down as sixth place.

“I don’t know what place we’re in, and truthfully, I don’t care,” Broadus said. “All I care about is winning the next one.”

Broadus also said that a return to a grind-it-out defensive style, the staple of the five-game win streak, will be the answer for the Bearcats.

“We’re a grit-tough ballclub,” he said. “And when we get away from that toughness, we’re not good.”

Despite the losing streak, the players said they know if they play hard they can beat anyone.

“Basically, we just gotta win,” said Dwayne Jackson. “We already dropped two in a row, and we don’t want to fall back to into the pack. Just knowing that is going to be enough for us.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on WBGH, Binghamton’s NBC affiliate, channel 5 on campus.