When a Division II team goes up against a Division I team, the latter is supposed to be bigger and better in almost every way.

But that was not the case on Saturday, as the Binghamton men’s basketball team was outplayed by visiting Division II St. Rose and lost, 61-59, in the Bearcats’ final exhibition game.

BU overcame a 14-point deficit early in the first half to take a six-point lead with 2:22 to go in the game. But St. Rose junior forward Shanty Robinson, after making the first of two free throws, missed the second but grabbed his own rebound and made a basket, cutting the lead to three. Then a Troy Hailey turnover led to a Steve Dagostino layup, and all of a sudden it was a one-point Bearcat lead with 44 seconds left.

Hailey hit two free throws to increase the Binghamton lead to three with 23 seconds left, but St. Rose senior forward Clayton Longmire was left open at the top of the key and drained a three, tying the game with just 15 seconds remaining. Trying to hold on for one last shot, BU junior guard Richard Forbes turned the ball over while driving through the lane. It was picked up by Robinson, who dished the ball out to senior forward Michael Epperson at half-court; Binghamton junior Giovanni Olomo fouled him with 0.3 seconds left.

Epperson needed to hit only one free throw to secure a St. Rose victory but nailed both, as the Golden Knights outscored Binghamton 10-2 in the game’s final two minutes en route to the win.

“We had a nice run in the second half and had the game in hand, and didn’t make a couple plays at the very end,” said head coach Al Walker. “I just tip my hat off to the St. Rose kids, who made the plays at the end to win the game.”

The St. Rose trio of Longmire, Epperson and Steve Dagostino single-handedly shredded the Bearcat defense as they had 23, 15 and 14 points, playing 32, 30 and 36 minutes, respectively; junior point guard Dagostino didn’t turn the ball over once while dishing out seven assists, one more than the Bearcats had overall.

But despite a bad game from usually dependable junior guard co-captain Mike Gordon (five points, three assists, two turnovers) and poor shooting as a team from behind the arc (4-for-17), the backcourt was not Binghamton’s largest problem; Hailey led the team with 17 points while Forbes added 14 off the bench. The lack of productivity from the frontcourt was the Bearcats’ downfall.

“Our guard play is athletic and tough-minded, but our front line is struggling,” Walker said. “We need to address that and figure out some answers.”

Of the big men, sophomore center Jaan Montgomery has played consistently this preseason; he had six points and four rebounds in 11 minutes. With 5:58 to go in the game, Montgomery battled for an offensive rebound, got fouled and hit both free throws to tie the game and briefly spark the Bearcat offense.

But the rest of the frontcourt, consisting of sophomore Ian Milne, senior co-captain Duane James and Olomo, is struggling to prove it can be dependable. Milne had just six points in 32 minutes, James did not score, attempting one shot and grabbing one rebound in eight minutes, and Olomo had just two points, six rebounds and four blocks.

“We got pushed around way too much,” Hailey said. “There are going to be some changes. Without a doubt, it will be interesting to see what happens.”

Walker alluded to possibly playing freshman Lazar Trifunovic at the power forward spot. But the Bearcats have less than a week to figure out what their plan will be, as they open the regular season this Saturday at Long Island University.