Coach Al Walker’s shift to shirt and tie didn’t work Saturday afternoon, but neither did Binghamton’s defense in the final minutes of the second half.

Up eight points with 12 minutes to go in the game, the Bearcats (3-3) were outscored 34-12 by Rider for the remainder of the game.

“We had a couple guys who were playing very fatigued down the stretch and our ball screen defense gave up open buckets,” Walker said. “We didn’t take care of business down the stretch.”

Binghamton is going to have to play all 40 minutes of basketball tomorrow night at the Events Center, as it faces a very strong Akron team.

The Zips (4-1) are on a four-game win streak and are coming off a two-point road victory over Oral Roberts, who beat then No. 3 Kansas earlier in the year.

“They are a terrific team and have a lot of returning top shelf players,” Walker said. “They are probably the best team on our schedule, including Miami and New Mexico.”

Akron, who beat Temple in the first round of the NIT last season, was picked to finished first in the MAAC conference and are currently ranked No. 8 in the mid-major Top 25 polls, right behind Creighton.

The Zips are lead by Romeo Travis, who was one of 25 players to be named to the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team. Romeo, a 6-foot-7 senior and high school teammate of Lebron James, is averaging 15.4 points, six rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Along with Travis, 6-foot-6 junior forward Jeremiah Wood is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game. Both of these players are not a threat from behind the arc as the two have combined for one three-point field goal attempt, which means the Bearcats’ interior defense is going to have to step up.

If Binghamton struggles to make shots like they did in the latter part of their Saturday loss to Rider, they are going to have to rely on their aggressive man-to-man defense, especially against an Akron team that is averaging 77.8 ppg and shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

“It should be a great challenge for us and a great opportunity,” Walker said.

Game time is set for 7 p.m.