Even though Binghamton University’s men’s basketball team (12-8, 5-3 AE) was leading conference opponent University of Maryland Baltimore County (9-11, 3-5 AE) by nine points at halftime, there was something unsettling about the way in which the Bearcats had built their lead.
This is thanks in large part to guards Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben and Brandon Herbert, who converted on all four and 4-5 3-point shooting respectively, while the Bearcats shot an astounding nine of 13 from 3-point range before intermission.
However, the team fell back down to earth in the second half, in which they shot six of 14 from long range. It was not enough, however, to match the 52 second half points scored by the reigning America East Conference champions.
Binghamton would eventually lose the game, 84-78.
The Bearcats struggled to defend themselves against the Retrievers, hence the team’s second half outbreak that had them on a pace to score 104 points in the 40 minute game. Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus has been stressing defense all season long and thinks that this game just confirmed his thoughts regarding where his team’s focus needs to be.
“I’m not worried about [taking too many] threes, we just need to play defense,” Broadus said. “UMBC took advantage [of our poor defensive play].”
He also is a firm believer that the team’s effort could improve.
“We have to play 40 minutes of each game,” said Broadus. “We only played about 30 minutes of this one.”
An extra 10 minutes of aggressive play could be the difference between a win and a loss, especially in this game, where the team had a comfortable lead at halftime.
Binghamton racked up 24 fouls in the game, which led to 32 free throw attempts by the Retrievers. UMBC did not allow this opportunity to pass them by, as they converted on 26 of the 32 free throws. The Bearcats drew only 11 fouls and shot nine of 13 from the line — a decent percentage at 70 percent, but not a high enough quantity.
The number of fouls called against the generally up-tempo Bearcats also put a damper on the team’s transition game.
While UMBC was able to use only seven of its players, Broadus was forced to loosen his rotation a bit to avoid foul trouble. Eleven Bearcats played in the game.
Mayben finished the game with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. He went six of seven from beyond the 3-point arc. Junior swingman D.J. Rivera, who has been the Bearcats’ go-to scorer this season, scored 28 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
The UMBC starters, four of whom scored well into double figures, played all but 10 minutes of the game. The team was led by senior forward Darryl Proctor who posted an impressive line of 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Bearcats plan on putting this one behind them and preparing for their next contest — a home game against America East Conference opponent University of Maine, who has a 3-5 record in the America East.
The game will be held at the Events Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.