A late-arriving bus caused the Binghamton University basketball team to show up 40 minutes before tip-off Saturday night at Chicago State.

Then things got bad. The Cougars (2-2) opened an 11-2 run and never trailed en route to an 81-60 victory over BU (1-2).

‘Everything,’ said head coach Kevin Broadus when asked what went wrong. ‘We didn’t box out, we didn’t pay attention to detail.’

The Bearcats were flat on both ends of the floor, shooting just 34 percent from the floor while getting out rebounded 53-31.

Binghamton’s offensive woes were especially evident from 3-point range, as the team shot 23.1 percent with Mike Gordon, Moussa Camara, Richie Forbes, Brandon Herbert and Milos Klimovic combined to go 3-for-21 from downtown.

‘The team has individual talent, but we can’t win like that,’ Broadus said. ‘We have to do things as a team. If we play as a team we can win; if we don’t, we’ll be on the losing end. That’s a habit we need to break.’

The rebounding differential was another glaring problem for the Bearcats ‘ a problem exacerbated by injuries to Jaan Montgomery and Minja Kovacevic.

‘It’s had a big effect because they’re big bodies going in there,’ Broadus said. ‘Minja is a physical specimen, Jaan too. Having them would help.’

Broadus added that despite the absence of the two big men ‘ Montgomery will be out for another month while Kovacevic is out indefinitely, according to the coach ‘ the team has the talent down low to succeed.

‘[The injuries] are no excuse,’ he said. ‘The other guys have to step up. It’s rough, but we have to get through it.’

Junior transfer Reggie Fuller started at center for the third consecutive game, picking up two points, two rebounds, two fouls and one block in 12 minutes of play. The coach was unsure of whether Fuller or senior Gio Olomo would start the next game.

‘I’m gonna give Gio some practice ‘ he’s gonna get better,’ Broadus said. ‘Reggie will play, I don’t know how much. I still have faith in him, he is a good player.’

One player who once again impressed was Dwayne Jackson. The junior guard scored 10 points in 20 minutes and was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.

‘DJ’s learning his role, he’s playing hard,’ Broadus said. ‘He’s shooting 70 percent from the three, 66 percent overall. That was the only good thing.’

Jackson was one of three Bearcats to score in double figures. Forbes led the way with 15 points while sophomore Lazar Trifunovic added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Bearcats have now lost both road games they have played, allowing 97 and 81 points in the two games. Broadus said the only way to start winning road games is for the squad to show more teamwork.

‘We have to stick together,’ Broadus said. ‘We have to have each other’s back and we have to trust each other.’

‘It’s only three games in ‘ I’m not panicking,’ he added.

For Chicago State, David Holston led the way with a game-high 20 points. John Cantrell added 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Cougars are currently a Division I independent, but had been members of the Mid-Continent Athletic conference from 1994-2006.

Bearcats set to host 2007 NCAA team CCSU: Binghamton will look to bounce back Tuesday night, when it hosts the defending Northeastern Conference Champion Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils are currently 0-3, but Broadus said that record is deceptive.

‘They’re a tough team,’ Broadus said. ‘They’ve lost to some very good teams.’

CCSU has lost to a Princeton team that Broadus described as ‘very talented,’ and America East teams New Hampshire and defending champion Albany.

Broadus says he is not concerned about the fact that two AE teams have already beaten the Blue Devils.

‘The whole thing with us is us,’ Broadus said. ‘It’s not what other teams do. We just gotta stick to what we do best.’

What the Bearcats do best is score, but if they want to win they must crash the boards better than they have in the first three games.

‘The thing we can’t let them do is outrebound us,’ Broadus said. ‘We have to let the system work for us.’

Binghamton has been outrebounded in each of its first three games.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Events Center.