Eight out of 10.
The last-place Bearcats found yet another way to lose last night, allowing a 6-foot-2 freshman guard to shoot eight out of 10 from downtown, as host Boston University handed the Binghamton men’s basketball team a 66-54 loss.
The Bearcats (10-14, 3-9 AE) have now lost, yes, eight out of 10, and have again been relegated to sole possession of last place. They’ll return to a potentially volatile Events Center crowd on Sunday afternoon against Maine.
‘I don’t think there were any bright spots,’ said Walker. ‘None of the guys, none of the coaches [were] at a high level today. We didn’t make stops and we lost the game.’
Carlos Strong, who came in averaging just 8.4 points per game for the Terriers, drilled eight 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points.
‘We needed to crowd him a little bit more,’ said Walker. ‘He’s gone to the free-throw line 16 times the whole year. We knew exactly where he was, and he made a few of those buckets towards the very end of the shot clock.’
Adding injury to insult, seniors Troy Hailey and Duane James both left the game with injuries. Hailey departed with a foot injury early on, and James suffered a ‘significant’ head injury late in the second half, showing signs of a concussion, according to Walker.
Boston (10-13, 7-4 AE) was not at full strength either; a severely sprained ankle forced the Terriers to play without center Omari Peterkin, who had 12 rebounds and three blocks in the teams’ last meeting.
But the story of the game was Carlos Strong. His 30 points ‘ 22 points above his average ‘ is the most any current Terrier has ever scored.
‘Mike [Gordon], Troy [Hailey], Richie [Forbes], Steve [Proctor], they all guarded him, and he just shot the ball right over everybody,’ said Walker.
For the game, Boston out-rebounded Binghamton 35-26 ‘ even without Peterkin.
‘We’ve been out-rebounded the whole year,’ a flustered Walker said. ‘I don’t remember the last time we out-rebounded an opponent.’
Despite those statistical disparities, the game went back and forth and was closer than the 12-point final deficit indicated.
Boston looked like it might put the Bearcats away early, taking a 13-point lead early in the first half.
An 11-0 run to close the half gave Binghamton a one-point lead, 33-32, but the Terriers opened the second half on a 20-7 run of their own.
The Bearcats would again make it close, with a Lazar Trifunovic jumper cutting the Terrier lead to four. On the ensuing possession, Gordon stole the ball and ran the length of the court, but missed a lay-up that would’ve cut it to two with 1:50 remaining.
When Strong’s eighth 3-pointer swished true with 1:12 left, the Bearcats’ spirits were snapped. The Terriers would add five free throws to complete the 12-point margin.
Trifunovic led Binghamton with 14 points. Richie Forbes played 30 minutes following the injury to Hailey, and Minja Kovacevic saw a career-high 17 minutes of action.
Gordon finished with 11 points and four steals.
The Bearcats next take on Maine at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Events Center. According to Walker, there is pride on the line.
‘I’m not sure it’s embarrassing, [but] it’s disappointing,’ he said. ‘We’re doing the best that we can, we’re just not getting the job done.’