Experts will tell you that the great teams will never overlook any opponent, even if that team boasts an inferior record to their own. However, at the same time, that team will also gut out wins over great teams.
The Binghamton University men’s basketball team proved that they may in fact be one of those teams with a 62-44 road win over Hartford on Wednesday evening.
The Bearcats (18-8, 11-3 AE) came into the Chase Arena hoping to extend their winning streak, which now stands at six games, the second time this season that the team has accomplished that feat. In contrast, the Hawks (6-22, 2-12 AE), last year’s conference runner up, are now on an 11-game skid, with their last victory coming on Jan. 14 over Maine.
Despite their recent woes, Hartford was not an opponent to be taken lightly, something that Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus has been wary of in the past.
“Hartford had a great game plan and never gave up,” Broadus said in a Binghamton University press release. “We made some shots against their zone and were fortunate. We were sloppy in spurts, but pulled away at the right time.”
The Bearcats have now won eight of their last nine games.
Junior guard Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben led all scorers with 15 points, while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Fellow junior and AE leading scorer D.J. Rivera had 13 points and 12 rebounds to record a double-double in his second straight game, and sixth of the season. Rivera had scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a Valentine’s Day matchup against Boston University.
The Bearcats had to defend two Hawks who are ranked in the top 20 in the conference in scoring: seniors Jaret von Rosenberg (12.5 points per game) and Michael Turner (11.6). Turner led all Hartford players with 13 points, while von Rosenberg had six. Von Rosenberg also leads the conference in free-throw percentage (.841 percent), but did not get any opportunities from the charity stripe in the game.
Binghamton’s defense held the Hawks to just 44 points on 37.8 percent shooting. The Bearcats also had 17 points off turnovers, versus just four for the Hawks.
Senior Reggie Fuller and freshman Kyrie Sutton notched a block apiece and are currently ranked second and third, respectively, in the conference in the category with 1.6 and 1.4 blocks per game.
The Bearcats next game will be against New Hampshire on Sunday and will be their penultimate contest of the regular season. The Wildcats (10-14, 6-7 AE) are coming off a 63-54 victory over Maine last night. Sophomore Dane DiLiegro posted a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Events Center.