The 2014-15 season went from bad to worse for the Binghamton men’s basketball team on Monday night. After losing six consecutive games and losing team leader former guard Jordan Reed to transfer, it seemed as if the program had hit its lowest point last week.
Caldwell College challenged that perception. The Bearcats (1-9) never held a lead against their Division II visitors, falling, 63-52, at the Events Center and extending their losing streak to seven. The Bearcats are only the second Division I program this season to lose to a non-division opponent at home.
“Just unacceptable,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “I am embarrassed. I feel bad for our fans — they deserve better than that. This is on me. We have to be better than this.”
The Bearcats opened the game without intensity or energy, committing turnovers on five consecutive trips down the court to open the game. On the other end of the floor, Caldwell (6-4) was picking apart the BU defense. The Cougars led, 9-0, heading into the first media timeout while Binghamton had committed five turnovers and attempted only three shots in the same span. Dempsey then made the drastic move of benching all five of his starters and turning to a unit of bench players in search for any type of offense.
“I was just looking to get a group out there that was going to compete really hard and send a message to the guys that I didn’t think were competing as hard as they needed to,” Dempsey said.
That didn’t work, either. Outside of sophomore forward Nick Madray, who scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in the period, the Bearcats looked lost, failing to score. The struggles were not limited to only the offensive end of the floor: The Cougars dominated the Bearcat defense, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and knocking down three of their five 3-point attempts. Binghamton shot just 28.6 percent in the period, turned the ball over 12 times and headed into the locker room trailing, 28-16.
“When we look as sluggish as we looked and guys aren’t pressuring the ball and guys aren’t boxing out early in the game, to me that doesn’t look like you are ready to play,” Dempsey said. “I have to get them ready to play. We have got to be more on edge.”
Coming out of the break, it looked like Binghamton had found a rhythm offensively. Madray knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the period, followed by a trey from freshman forward Willie Rodriguez. A minute later, freshman forward Dusan Perovic finished a lay-up to cut the deficit to seven. The strong Bearcat play to open the half proved to be little more than a mirage, however. Binghamton reverted back to its first-half form, allowing Caldwell’s guards to penetrate into the paint and create good looks for themselves and their teammates. The visitors pushed the lead to 17 with five minutes remaining in the game.
The Bearcats increased their defensive pressure at that point, cutting the deficit to eight. But it was too little too late. Caldwell knocked down 13 consecutive free throws, ending any chance of a Binghamton comeback.
“It was a humbling loss,” Dempsey said. “We have to respond to it. The only way we can respond to it right now is to get back in here and work. We are not quitting on the season. We have 20-something games left.”
Binghamton went to the free-throw line only four times throughout the entire game, hitting only one of those attempts. Overall, Binghamton shot just 36.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
The lone bright spot on the day for BU was in Madray. He recorded his first double-double of the season, finishing the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds while nailing three 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Marlon Beck II added 13 points and five assists.
On the team level, the Bearcats know they have little time to address Monday’s deficiencies, as they are set to return to action Thursday when they travel to take on Colgate.
“We [have to] address [our play] in practice and hopefully Thursday night when we get back on the court we address it with our performance,” Dempsey said.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Cotterell Court in Hamilton, New York.