It’s go time.
Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team will play its biggest game of the season tomorrow against America East Conference foe Boston University.
“It’s all about pushing hard each and every game,” said Bearcat head coach Kevin Broadus. “We have to put it all out there.”
The Terriers, who were voted the top team by America East coaches in the preseason poll, currently sit tied for second with the Bearcats.
The first meeting between the two teams was an up and down affair, although it ultimately had a disappointing outcome for the Bearcats. After falling behind 12-0 just three minutes into the game, Binghamton was able to go on a few short runs to keep the score close. The team entered halftime down by just four points.
The Bearcats managed to stay in the game for the first few minutes of the second half as well, though Boston scored 13 unanswered points between the 16:30 and 13:16 marks and did not look back. Super-talented sophomore swingman John Holland from the Bronx, who had a dunk against Vermont on Tuesday that made the number one spot on the Wednesday edition of Top Ten Plays on “SportsCenter,” led all scorers with 28 points on 10-16 shooting. Junior point guard Corey Lowe, Boston’s leading scorer, netted 16 points in the contest on 5-9 shooting.
Binghamton never led in the game.
However, the Bearcats were a very different team a month ago when the game was played. Former guard Dwayne Jackson was one minute short of leading the team in playtime in the first meeting. The senior has since been suspended indefinitely from the team. Junior guard Emanual “Tiki” Mayben, who has emerged as one of the team’s top offensive threats alongside junior wing player D.J. Rivera, played only 12 minutes in the contest and did not take a single field goal or free throw attempt.
“We know that we were fortunate and we played well to beat Binghamton the first time,” said Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff. “Binghamton has played very well the last few weeks and regardless of the game being played here [in Boston], it’s going to be a difficult game.”
The team will also get the benefit of contributing guard Malik Alvin returning to the lineup after missing the past two games with lower body injuries. Alvin will give Binghamton some much needed depth. Broadus has been keeping a very tight rotation since a few former contributing players became unavailable (see article on Theo Davis).
Binghamton will battle to regain first place in the conference and Boston will strive to stay in second place in the conference.
“At this point, given where we are and where they are [at the top of the conference standings], we can’t afford to lose,” Wolff said. “Every game has ultimate importance to try to get the best seed that you can get for the tournament.”
The America East Tournament will be held in Albany between March 6 and 8, with the championship game to be held on March 14 at the home court of the higher seed in the championship game.
“This is one of the greatest seasons yet for the America East,” Broadus said. “At this point, anything can happen. We just have to keep on doing what we have been doing these last games.”
Boston University is coming off a loss in a battle for first place in the America East against Vermont. Despite Holland’s impressive highlight reel dunk, Boston was defeated by a whopping 28 points, 75-47. The Bearcats swept the season series against the Vermont Catamounts, although both games were very close.
“Everyone has their bad days,” said Broadus of Boston University’s loss to Vermont Wednesday. “We had one out at Central Connecticut State [in the beginning of the season].”
The Bearcats, on the other hand, are riding a four-game win streak, including victories over Albany and Stony Brook who are currently tied for fourth place in the conference, Maine and Vermont.
The game will be played tomorrow at 1 p.m. at “the Roof” in Boston.