Slowing down Florida International’s Adrian Diaz proved to be too tall a task for the Binghamton men’s basketball team on Tuesday night.

Diaz — the nation’s leading shot blocker — a senior center who stands at 6 foot 11 inches, dominated the Bearcats (2-9) in FIU’s 66-49 victory. He was a force in the paint all game long, recording 16 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots.

“You don’t see a lot of that,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said about Diaz. “He’s a 6-foot-11 kid, great hands, great instincts for the ball and he was a tough match-up for us.”

Binghamton’s entire defensive game-plan appeared to be built around stopping Diaz. Every time he touched the ball in the post, multiple Bearcat defenders collapsed on him. The Bearcats even spent some time playing a 2-3 zone — something they have rarely done this season — in an effort to stop Diaz. This led to open opportunities for other FIU (5-7) players. Three other Panthers scored eight or more points in the contest, led by junior guard Donte McGill’s 22.

“Diaz is a really good player,” BU sophomore forward Bobby Ahearn said. “He’s long. His ability to pass over the defense kind of helped them offensively. Being able to pass easier over the top of guys was one of the biggest things [that he did well].”

The Bearcats also struggled on the boards. BU was out rebounded by 19, 45-26, in the contest. However, Dempsey believes that this margin wasn’t caused by a lack of effort.

“I thought we continued to fight on the glass,” Dempsey said. “I thought we were competitive on the glass. I think it gets hard if you do get beat off the dribble and then the bigs have to help. It really becomes hard once a shot gets taken to get them off the glass.”

Binghamton kept the game close in the first half. Nine minutes into the contest the Bearcats found themselves trailing by 13, 22-9. But, the Bearcats battled back and closed their deficit to just seven heading into the locker room.

“We found some rhythm, got back in the game,” Dempsey said about his team’s play at the end of the first half. “I thought going into halftime we had some momentum because when it looked like they were going to get out to a comfortable lead we were able to keep it close.”

After FIU senior forward Daviyon Draper nailed a 3-pointer to push his team’s lead to 10, 37-27, to open the second, the Bearcats responded with an 8-2 run. With 16:19 left in the game, BU junior guard Marlon Beck knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to just four, 39-35.

But this was the closest that Binghamton would come. The Bearcats went ice cold from the field as the Panthers pulled away. FIU’s lead grew to 19 with just over four minutes to play and the Panthers cruised to victory. The Bearcats shot just 22.2 percent from the field in the second half and hit just 4 of their 28 3-pointers in the contest.

“We’re not playing with a lot of offensive confidence,” Dempsey said. “When you’re struggling to put the ball in the basket, it can drain you of your energy. I think we lost some energy at times because we were frustrated with our inability to score the ball especially from the perimeter.”

Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez — who took a hard fall at the end of the first half and left the game, only to return following halftime — and freshman guard Everson Davis led BU with 11 points apiece.

The Bearcats are set to return to action on Tuesday against Mt. St. Mary’s. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.