When Kevin Broadus, head coach of Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team, made a preseason promise that those who came to watch his team play would see a new kind of athleticism out of his new recruits for the 2008-09 season, perhaps it was as much a warning to opposing teams as it was an expectation for Binghamton fans.
The Bearcats downed the Mansfield Mountaineers, a Division II school from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, 80-62, last night in their season opener at the Events Center.
Junior transfer D.J. Rivera set the tone for the Bearcats early with his tenacious style of play. The Bearcats used their athletic advantage to pressure the Mounties into turnovers and rushed shots all game. Rivera and junior transfer Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben were especially successful at getting past their defenders and creating offense for themselves or for their teammates. Senior Reggie Fuller was also a presence on the inside, finishing missed shots with a dunk on multiple occasions, as well as blocking three shots.
With the aggressive play came sloppy mistakes. While the Mounties turned the ball over 19 times mostly due to Bearcats pressure, Binghamton had 15 turnovers of their own, which Broadus attributed to sloppy play and a lack of concentration.
Inopportune Bearcats turnovers and strong inside play for Mansfield enabled the Mounties to stay in the game until midway through the second half. Yuseff Carr, a 6-foot-6-inch mountain of a man gave the Bearcats a lot of problems in the paint. He put senior center Jaan Montgomery into immediate foul trouble, with Montgomery committing two fouls in the opening minute of the game. Carr, a sophomore from East NY Transit Tech in Manhattan finished with 16 points despite playing only 24 minutes due to his own foul trouble. The team’s sixth man, guard Ryan Callahan, finished the game with 17 points on 6-16 shooting from the field and 5-6 shooting from the foul line.
The Bearcats were not quite as successful from the foul line, converting on only 16-37 free throws, or 43.2 percent. Broadus thought that the team could have done a much better job focusing at the line, and that he may dedicate more time to foul shooting in practice to try to fix the problem.
Broadus also felt that the team could have played more cohesively and had a stronger focus as a unit during the game.
“I saw a lot of being ‘too cool’ out there,” Broadus said. “They were being nonchalant.”
Rivera finished the game with 28 points — a school record for a player’s debut — and 10 rebounds. He was also the first player in Binghamton history to record a double-double in his first game.
Mayben also finished the game with an efficient stat-line, despite three first-half turnovers. The team’s starting point guard played nearly the entire game at 36 minutes and was a good influence and playmaker on the court. He scored 16 points on 5-7 shooting and dished out seven assists with four turnovers.
Despite the 18-point victory, Broadus made the point that he was far from content with the win, and that the team has a lot of work ahead of them in order to compete in the America East.
“If any of [the guys on the team] are satisfied, then this isn’t the program for them,” he said.
Next stop for the Bearcats will be in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University. The game should bring back memories for Broadus, as he was an assistant coach for the school for three years. Broadus played an important role for the school, as he claimed to have recruited all three of the school’s recent NBA players: J.R. Pinnock, Mike Hall and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.