Throughout the Binghamton men’s basketball team’s slow start to the 2015-16 season, head coach Tommy Dempsey has continually expressed faith that his squad will be successful this year. On Tuesday night, the Bearcats (2-4) proved why.
BU led wire-to-wire against Colgate, thoroughly dominating the Raiders (2-4) on both ends of the floor. Binghamton got to the free throw line 36 times, shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and held its opponent to a measly 29.7 percent field goal percentage en route to a 69-50 victory. The win was the Bearcats’ first at the Events Center this season.
“I believe in the people and the players that we brought here,” Dempsey said. “I’ve believed in our process since day one… But, more than anything, my confidence has never wavered because I feel like the guys are connected. We have good character, we’ve brought good people here who work hard and they want to win.”
In most of its contests this season, BU has trailed early and has had to play from behind almost the entire game. Not on Tuesday. The Bearcats blitzed Colgate from the tip-off, opening up an 8-0 lead just a minute and a half into play.
“We played with great urgency right from the start,” Dempsey said. “It was a group that was determined that [tonight] was going to be our night.”
Colgate never recovered as the Bearcats swarmed the Raiders defensively. Colgate shot just 31 percent from the field in the half, committed nine turnovers and missed 10 of its 11 3-point attempts as Binghamton headed into the locker room leading, 37-22.
“We prepared well and brought that into the game,” BU sophomore forward Justin McFadden said. “It kept flowing, we got each other shots, we were working together, we were all on the same page and it started to click.”
Binghamton continued its strong play in the second. BU opened the half on a 14-5 run before an and-1 lay-up by sophomore forward Bobby Ahearn allowed the Bearcats to push the lead to 27, 54-27. Colgate went on a small run from there to cut into its deficit, but it was too little too late as BU held on for a 19 point victory.
“It feels so good to win games and it feels so bad to lose games,” Dempsey said. “I do think that this is a group that’s going to experience a lot of winning here over the next several years and I think we’re going to experience a lot of winning here this year. You have to start somewhere.”
BU received contributions from a host of players, as seven Bearcats scored six or more points. Junior guard Marlon Beck led Binghamton with 14 points. He was three of four from 3-point range and also grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez and freshman guard Everson Davis each recorded 10 points, while McFadden and sophomore guard Romello Walker registered nine apiece.
“It’s an unselfish group,” Dempsey said. “No one on our team took more than seven shots. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. We also got to the line 36 times and that’s a product of running good offense.”
Binghamton is set to return to action on Saturday against number three ranked Michigan State. While the Spartans made it to the Final Four a season ago, the Bearcats are not afraid of the environment they are about to face.
“I know it’s going to be a rowdy environment,” freshman forward Thomas Bruce said. “Coming from where I played high school, we played in pretty rowdy environments. I’ll get adjusted to it and have fun and [we’ll] play as a team.”
Tip-off is set for noon from the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan.