After losing all three games on their recent road trip, the Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team hoped the return home would change its fortune.

Instead, it was another disappointing loss as the Bearcats fell to Colgate, 73-55, Wednesday night in a non-conference game at the Events Center, thanks to an anemic offense and a 22-6 run by Colgate in the second half.

At halftime Binghamton (1-7) only trailed by two, and they were only down by one four minutes into the second. But then the Raiders (6-3) went on their run, aided by a 4-for-22 performance from the field by the Bearcats, as Binghamton shot 9-for-37 (24 percent) in the second half after shooting 12-for-25 (48 percent) in the first half.

‘It was a tale of two halves,’ said head coach Kevin Broadus. ‘We have to get better in that second half. We can’t wait to get down and push forward. We can’t keep waiting until late in the game to have that sense of urgency.’

The Bearcats, down 17 points with 5:44 left, managed to fight back thanks to their full court pressure, forcing three turnovers in four possessions to cut the lead to 11 with 3:12 left. But Binghamton was unable to take advantage, missing several layups and open jump shots. Instead, Colgate expanded its lead back on an 11-4 run in the final minutes.

‘One or two more made shots and I think it’s a different ball game,’ Broadus said. ‘The ball just wouldn’t go down. We are getting open shots but just not making them.’

While Binghamton struggled from the field, finishing the game shooting 34 percent, senior guard Richie Forbes shot 8-for-16, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Forbes, who had struggled from the outside in the past couple of games, made it a point to be aggressive and drive the ball more.

‘I feel my job is to get in the paint and create for myself and everybody else,’ said Forbes, who also shot 4-for-6 from behind the arc, which accounted for all of Binghamton’s 3-pointers as the team shot 4-for-12.

Bearcats senior guard Mike Gordon has struggled with back spasms the past couple weeks, but seemed to be healthier, scoring 10 points with five assists and five rebounds. But after Gordon and Forbes, there wasn’t much help offensively; the duo combined for 20 of the Bearcats’ 26 second-half points.

Sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic, whom Binghamton usually can count on for double digits in scoring and/or rebounds, only managed five points on 2-for-8 shooting, all coming in the first half. He added four rebounds and an uncharacteristic five turnovers.

‘Lazar has to trust in his teammates,’ Broadus said. ‘When you struggle offensively, you have to do other things. There are two sides of the court and that is the thing I’m trying to get these guys to understand.’

One side of that is defense, where BU junior transfer Reggie Fuller was a force, finishing with five rebounds and five steals while adding eight points.

Junior center Jaan Montgomery saw his first minutes of the season after dealing with injuries and was a presence on the floor, picking up one block and four fouls in just six minutes of action.

The season doesn’t get any easier for the Bearcats, who will host George Washington at 7 p.m. Thursday night.

Broadus liked the full court pressure with his smaller lineup and the Bearcats may look to implement that from now on.

‘We have to go back and evaluate a lot of things,’ Broadus said. ‘Like I told the guys, we are not going to give up. We are not going to quit. We are going to fight and we are going to try to find a way. We are going to go down swinging.’

But Broadus knows that everyone is still in the learning process. While it has taken maybe longer than expected, he knows it takes time.

‘One thing I’m smart enough to know is you can’t change the color of sand in one day,’ he said. ‘The sun won’t change it ‘ it takes time. You can’t change snow to water when it’s cold outside right away. It takes time.’

‘Right now we are snake-bit,’ he added. ‘We are gonna get our medicine and we’ll get better soon.’