So much for putting the exhibition season in the past.

Trying to forget a preseason that saw them struggle mightily, the season opener was more of the same for the Binghamton men’s basketball team. The Bearcats never found their rhythm on offense and turned the ball over 22 times, as Long Island University defeated BU, 73-59, at the LIU Wellness Recreation and Athletic Center on Saturday.

The start of the game was a sign of things to come as the Blackbirds jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 4:07, a span that saw Binghamton miss five shots and commit two turnovers. The Bearcats would miss 10 of their first 12 shots.

“We can’t shoot the ball any poorer than we’ve shot it in these three games,” said Binghamton head coach Al Walker. “I’m shockingly surprised how poorly we’ve shot the basketball.”

Binghamton spent much of the first half trying to play catch-up, using several small spurts to cut into the lead, trailing by only four at one point at 15-11.

But the Blackbirds responded with a run of their own, bringing the lead back to 12 with 6:21 to go in the first half. The lead would hover around 10 for much of the remainder of the half as LIU took a 35-25 advantage into intermission.

Binghamton needed a strong start in the second half to get back into the game, but showed few signs of life. LIU came out of the locker room and promptly went on a 7-0 run, increasing the lead to 17, the largest of the day for the Blackbirds.

The Bearcats would make several small runs, but like in the first half, they were not enough. A layup by junior Richard Forbes did cut the lead to four at 48-44 with 10:30 remaining, but that was as close as Binghamton would get in the second half, as Long Island responded with a 9-0 run to stretch its lead back to 13 with 8:16 to go; the Bearcats would never again get within eight points.

This marks the fourth consecutive season that Binghamton has opened its season with a loss.

“We did get off to a slow start, we’ve had trouble with that the last three games,” Walker said. “We obviously need to address that and fix that.”

The Blackbirds were led by James Williams’ 17 points. He was one of four LIU starters to reach double digits, joined by Tyrone Mattison’s 13, Paska Morkeliunas’ 12 and Aubin Scott’s 11.

While there was no single reason the Bearcats came up short, the turnovers were the real problem for Binghamton, as the 22 they gave away led to 18 points for the Blackbirds. The Bearcat defense was not spectacular, but when one quarter of the opposition’s points come off of turnovers, there is little it can do anyway.

Issues from the preseason also remained unresolved. Three-point shooting continued to haunt Binghamton, which shot four of 24 from long distance in the game. Forbes, despite his nine-point, three-assist effort in his first game for the Bearcats, missed seven of eight shots from beyond the arc.

Despite the struggles of the big men and the team’s shooting woes as a whole, Walker remains confident that the offense will start to click.

“We’re really struggling shooting the basketball. I’m really surprised at the struggles we’ve had shooting the ball,” Walker said, adding, “I’m also surprised at the lack of better production in the post, but we’re going to get better — that I’m certain of.”

Junior point guard Mike Gordon started his season on a shaky note, scoring only three points in the first half. He finished with 11 and only one assist, though he cannot be blamed on a night when the team shot just 34 percent.

Binghamton will try to rebound on Thursday as they head to Niagara to take on the Purple Eagles.