After playing a nearly flawless game last Wednesday at the University of Hartford, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team reverted back to old habits on Sunday against the University at Albany, falling short 57-54.
The Bearcats (7-20, 4-10 America East) were competitive all game but failed to produce points efficiently late in the second half, dooming themselves against an Albany team (14-15, 7-7 AE) that made plays down the stretch.
Setting up in the corner off a side-inbounds play, senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi launched a potentially game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left in the game, but it was blocked by Great Danes sophomore guard Logan Aronhalt, who appeared to make contact with Jabbi’s left elbow on the release. The controversial no-call left the BU bench visibly upset.
“Mahamoud had a good look in the corner,” said senior forward Moussa Camara. “I think he got hit on the arm. I wasn’t sure, but he had a pretty good look. I mean he had the ball in the corner and that’s where we wanted the ball to be.”
Binghamton head coach Mark Macon said Jabbi was fouled on the shot.
“Any time a guy is shooting and a guy is on his side and he comes over the guy, that’s a foul,” Macon said, describing what he saw on the play. “It’s a subjective game. Referees see it much differently than us coaches.”
“The kids on the other team won that game,” Macon added. “They won it by three. They won it making plays at the end of the game.”
According to Macon, the major factor in the box score was rebounding, where Albany out-rebounded Binghamton 35-25. The Great Danes had six more offensive rebounds.
Albany freshman forward Luke Devlin recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. No Bearcat had more than seven boards. Devlin was named the America East Rookie of the Week yesterday for the fifth time this season.
Both teams started off hot from outside. Camara displayed his ability as a catch-and-shoot and pull-up shooter, knocking down three 3-pointers en route to 15 first-half points. Camara and Jabbi keyed BU’s trapping defensive scheme, which saw those two players as the primary defenders because of their length and ability to move into spaces on the court quickly. That defense slowed Albany from initiating into their offense and helped cause 12 Great Dane turnovers in the half, which BU efficiently converted into opportunities. Binghamton scored 17 of its 35 first-half points off of turnovers. The team did not trap much in the second half, however, and only scored four points off three second-half Albany turnovers.
“[The trap] worked well for us, but we played seven or eight guys and you don’t want to wear the guys out,” Macon said. “We kind of matched up out of it. I wanted to make sure that they were bringing the ball up a little slower, and they did.”
Macon also cited Albany’s ability to spread the floor as a reason why the Bearcats had to pick and choose moments to trap. He said matching up out of a trap could result in a big man defending a guard out on the perimeter, a matchup too favorable to the opponent.
“Though [the trap] worked, they were still getting guys open,” he said. “They got four shooters. Now you got to scramble out to a guy with maybe a big, scrambling out to maybe a mobile shooter like [Albany’s Tim] Ambrose, who can set you up.”
Albany shot 7-of-12 from behind the arc in the first half and 9-of-21 for the game. Albany senior guard Tim Ambrose, the second-leading scorer in the America East Conference, scored all of his 11 points in the first half and hit three 3-pointers, keeping his team within striking distance.
The game slowed in the second half as neither team could get going. BU shut Ambrose down by throwing a slew of defenders at him, including freshman guard Rob Mansell and senior forward Greer Wright. Meanwhile, Albany’s matchup zone stymied Binghamton’s offense as the Bearcats shot 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from the field in the second half, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range. They scored four points in the final 7:42 of the game.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a team play the matchup zone as well,” Macon said. “What they’re doing is they are making you think they are in zone, but they’re playing man in areas. Most offenses match up with defenses, especially zone like that. You got to uneven it. You got to make them do something that they’re not used to doing. We couldn’t really get into that today with them.”
BU led 52-51 before Ambrose probed the defense and found Aronhalt under the basket for an open layup to give Albany the one-point lead with 1:54 left to play. After Mansell missed a 3-pointer, Great Danes sophomore guard Mike Black finished inside to make it 55-52. Wright, who generated most of the second-half offense for BU with 11 points and two assists, drove through the defense and threw down a thunderous dunk with 37.1 seconds left that cut the lead to one. Two free throws made by Albany set up the controversial final play.
Camara finished with a game-high 17 points, while Wright finished with 15. Aronhalt scored 16 to lead Albany, while Ambrose finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Bearcats are set to host Boston University (16-13, 10-4 AE) on Thursday in their last home game of the season. The Bearcats’ seniors will be honored that night. Boston currently has the second-best record in the conference.
“You got [John] Holland, one of the better players in our league,” Macon said. “You have [Darryl] Partin, who is real good. He can do a lot of things. He’s comfortable getting to his spot and shooting over guys due to his size. We have to be prepared.”
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Events Center.