Despite having its only senior on the roster dismissed from the team and losing its starting point guard to injury, the new-look Binghamton University men’s basketball team showed it still has plenty of bite.
The Bearcats started their season off on the right foot with a 79-64 exhibition win over visiting Division II Mansfield University on Monday night, aided by its brand new core of role players. Binghamton used a slew of young talent and solid shooting to take down the Mountaineers.
BU had to do it all without 6-foot-9-inch senior center Kyrie Sutton, who was dismissed from the team on Friday. The team also played without floor leader Jimmy Gray, who missed the game with a shoulder injury.
But the Bearcats that did play showed the Events Center crowd of 2,101 fans what it has to look forward to this year. Sophomore guard Robert Mansell led the charge with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, including hitting all seven of his free throws. Junior guard Carlyle Francis, playing his first game in a Bearcats uniform, chipped in 17 points, three assists and two steals, but also committed seven turnovers.
The young starting lineup for the Bearcats included Mansell, Francis, freshman Chris Longoria, sophomore Alex Ogundadegbe and freshman Ben Dickinson. Dickinson contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, while Longoria put in eight points and grabbed five boards. Freshman Omar Richards also got big minutes and chipped in 10 points and nine boards.
“I thought the freshmen played very well,” Mansell said, “And all the other new guys played really well for their first game, and that’s a good sign. I thought our offense was pretty good, but we just need to keep working on it and keep getting better.”
After a 2010-11 season of sub-40 percent shooting from the field, the Bearcats hit 48 percent from the field and 94 percent from the line. However, they also committed 18 turnovers and allowed the visitors to score 64 points on their home floor.
“We had a lot of spots where we played good defense, but too many where we just took off plays,” Mansell said. “We can’t do that, and if we want to win, we’re going to have to D up and play every play.”
Despite the loss of big man Sutton, who was a defensive presence in shot blocking in the past, Macon liked what he saw out of his post play.
“It was pretty good, wasn’t it? All [of our big] guys can step off the post, as well as play in the post,” Macon said. “I think that Omar is going to do well in that area for us. He’s undersized, he might have to play a bigger guy, but he can step off the post. You can also put Ben in the post. I think they play well together.”
When asked about the crucial loss of a 6-foot-9-inch body on his roster, Macon didn’t seem too worried.
“Less one 6’9″? So be it. Guys gotta pick up and got to do other things,” he said.
Next up for the Bearcats is Colgate University in their first regular season tilt. Last season, Binghamton also opened its season against Colgate and squeaked out a 62-60 win, but proceeded to lose ten of its next 12 games. The Bearcats are looking to emphasize team defense in order to sustain their winning ways.
“Guarding on the ball, never taking breaks and defensive transition,” Macon mentioned as the three things he would like to see on defense. “A lot of times, when [Mansfield] got buckets, it was because they got back and beat us down the floor, so that’s something we’ll look at in practice. We’re going to be on defense a lot in practice; offense will probably be the last thing we do.”
The season-opening match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Events Center. Despite the defensive lapses, Macon is optimistic about what he saw as his team’s strengths in the Mansfield game.
“If they continue to share the ball and play well with each other, good things will happen,” he said.