The Binghamton men’s basketball team struggled on the offensive end of the floor throughout its nonconference schedule and finished that portion of the season with a 3-10 record. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, that trend continued in their first two America East games.

The Bearcats (3-12, 0-2 AE) made just 36 of their 99 combined shots (36 percent) in losses to Stony Brook and New Hampshire to begin conference play. For the season, Binghamton’s 35 percent team field goal percentage is ranked last in all of NCAA Division I, 351st out of 351 teams, according to ESPN.

“I haven’t seen a team struggle quite like this from an offensive standpoint,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said following the loss to New Hampshire. “It’s something that we just have to work our way through.”

Binghamton began AE competition facing the Seawolves (11-4, 2-0 AE) — arguably the conference’s best team — at the Events Center. The Bearcats hung right with AE preseason favorite for almost the entire game.

BU managed to contain Stony Brook senior forward Jameel Warney — the two-time conference Player of the Year — in the first half. Warney recorded just five points and five rebounds in the period and the Bearcats headed to the locker room trailing by just three, 25-22. The Bearcats managed to hold the Seawolves to a measly 37 percent clip from the field in the half but shot just 33 percent themselves.

The Bearcats came storming out of the locker room in the second half and with nine minutes left in the game freshman guard Everson Davis drained a midrange jumper to give BU a two point lead, 43-41.

But, BU failed to muster enough offense down the stretch to pull-off the upset, scoring just nine more points in the game. Stony Brook pulled away in the final minutes of the contest to secure a 62-52 victory. The Bearcats shot just 36.5 percent from the field in the game.

“We’ve played [Stony Brook] close several times, it’s just not good enough anymore,” Dempsey said. “Everyone looks that they’re preseason pick to win the league and everyone expects us to not have a chance against them. But…I thought we did have a chance to win.”

Binghamton’s offense went from bad to worse in the first half against New Hampshire (8-6, 1-0 AE). BU struggled mightily, shooting 31.8 percent from the field, turning the ball over eight times and scoring just 16 points in the period.

But the Bearcats defense kept them in the game. BU smothered UNH defensively and didn’t allow the Wildcats to pull away. New Hampshire registered a lower field goal percentage than BU in the half—29 percent—but made up for the discrepancy by hitting four 3-pointers and headed into the locker room with a 23-16 advantage.

In the second half Binghamton sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez provided BU’s offense with a much needed spark. The Bearcats made an obvious effort to get the ball to Rodriguez and he delivered. Rodriguez scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the half and finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

But, Rodriguez’s offensive effort wasn’t enough. Despite continuing their strong defense in the second half, the rest of the Bearcats combined for just 11 points and shot just 4-13 from the floor as New Hampshire recorded a 58-43 victory on its home floor.

“It’s tough out there right now,” Dempsey said. “It’s tough to find buckets when you need them and that’s something that we have to keep really working on…[But] we really defended and rebounded well and gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Binghamton is set to return to action on Wednesday against Hartford. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.