The Binghamton men’s basketball team failed to slow down Albany’s offense on Monday night.
Playing on its home floor, Albany (15-5, 4-1 America East) shot 58.7 percent from the field as they ran away from the Bearcats (3-14, 0-4 AE) to secure an 80-59 victory. Five Great Dane players scored in double figures.
“I thought we competed hard tonight and they eventually wore us down,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “I thought they played with really good offensive chemistry tonight and got what they wanted.”
Despite putting together one of their best offensive halves of the season, the Bearcats could not stop Albany at all in the first. Binghamton shot 46.4 percent from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers in the period, but the Great Danes managed to get whatever they wanted on offense. Led by senior guard Ray Sanders’ 11 points — he was 5-6 from the field — Albany knocked down 66.7 percent of its shots in the half, went 6-6 from the free throw line and headed into the locker room with a 41-30 lead. Sanders finished the contest with 16 points.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit offensively,” Dempsey said. “I thought we found a little bit of offensive rhythm at times in the first half, getting some quality shots. But they were coming right back at us and making big shots and big plays.”
Like many other times this season, Binghamton came out of halftime and immediately cut into the deficit. Four minutes into the period, BU sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to just six, 47-41. But, the Bearcats managed to get no closer.
From there, the Great Danes — propelled by 12 points in the half by senior guard Peter Hooley and 11 in the period by senior guard Evan Singletary — finished the game on a 33-18 run to pull away. Hooley finished with a game-high 18 points.
“Tonight was difficult,” Dempsey said. “You can’t give [Albany] any ground. They can shoot it in your face and if you get up on them, they’re able to get it by you.”
Rodriguez and junior guard Marlon Beck paced BU with 12 points apiece while freshman guard Everson Davis finished with 11.
After dropping a game to Hartford earlier in the week and now with the loss at Albany, Binghamton falls to 0-4 in AE play. The Bearcats currently sit in last place of the conference standings and are the only team in the America East without a conference victory. But, Binghamton opened conference play facing three of the top four teams in the America East. Three of the Bearcats next four games will come against opponents who also have losing records.
“We just have to stay with it,” Dempsey said. “I do think there are wins out there for this team.”
The Bearcats are set to return to action on Thursday night when they return home to face Vermont. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.