No leadership?

Mike Gordon. Mike Gordon. Mike Gordon.

Enough said.

Gordon has put this team on his back the entire season and despite some Bearcat midseason struggles, he has brought this team together.

He is the emotional leader and leads by example at both ends of the floor.

The junior captain runs a Bearcat offense that is third in the conference in scoring as Gordon himself as been more of an offensive threat than in past years, averaging 10.9 ppg compared to 8.5 last season and 3.0 his freshman year.

Gordon leads the conference in steals with 2.41 spg and has the Bearcats defense playing the best it has all season. Binghamton’s defense, which has been the staple to this program, seems to have re-emerged as a dominant force.

When the Bearcats lost by three at Albany earlier in the month, head coach Will Brown said that the Bearcats defense ‘played the way that Binghamton has played the past couple years defensively.’

And on Tuesday, the Bearcats held New Hampshire to 37 points, 14 in the first half.

You don’t play aggressive, physical, tight defense without leadership and communication. Every player on the floor has to want it, and no team is hungrier than the Bearcats.

After Binghamton beat Maine by 27 points a couple of weeks ago, Gordon said, ‘Everybody wants it more now. You can want something but it’s how bad you want it. We were relentless today and did not want to lose and had no fear.’

That type of attitude starts with their leader and trickles down to the rest of their team.

This team respects Gordon’s leadership and his performance inspires the others to follow.

When the Bearcats were down 11-0 on Senior Night, who was it who hit a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and took it in for a lay up to start a Binghamton 10-2 run?

That’s right. Mike Gordon.

And with the Bearcats down two with 22 seconds left in that same game, who hit the game winning 3?

That’s right. Mike Gordon.

And that won’t change going into the America East tournament.

The Bearcats have spent most of the season close to or in last place, yet they are confident and have now reeled off two wins in a row to end the regular season.

‘I know for a fact we are going to win the conference if everyone plays the way they are supposed to,’ Forbes said after that blowout victory over Maine.

Most of the Bearcats’ conference games have come down to the wire and they could find themselves in the same position in the tournament. Of Binghamton’s 10 conference loses, six have been by five points or less. So when that time comes around, they’ll know exactly what to do.

Get the ball in the hands of their leader, Gordon.

A leader who would be the first to tell you he would rather have two points and 12 assists than 18 and two. Gordon is averaging 36 minutes a game, 38 in conference play and does what it takes to lead his team to victory.

It says on Gordon’s left shoe, ‘Team first.’ That’s the sign of a true leader.

So even though on paper, Binghamton’s seed is not high, don’t doubt this team’s leadership, energy, fire and desire.

These Bearcats’ problem isn’t finding a leader. When this team wants it and goes after it, it’s proved nobody can get in its way.

And they have the leader, Mike Gordon, to lead the way.