On the verge of coming back from a late double-digit deficit on Saturday, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team succumbed to a familiar nemesis — giving up a clutch rebound down the stretch to secure defeat. The Bearcats (6-18, 3-8 America East) lost their eighth-straight game, falling to University of New Hampshire (11-13, 5-7 AE) by a score of 65-59. Senior forward Moussa Camara led BU with 13 points.
“We can’t get the ball to bounce our way, especially these last four games,” said senior forward Greer Wright. “We’re losing them all within five points. Those are tough losses. We feel like they’re right there, and they slip right away.”
BU found itself down 55-45 with 1:43 to go before going on a quick 11-4 run, closing the gap to three points with 32 seconds left. On the subsequent possession, the Bearcats sent Wildcat freshman guard Jordon Bronner to the foul line where he sank the first free throw but missed the second. That’s when senior UNH center Dane DiLiegro came up with an offensive rebound over the undersized Bearcats before being fouled and knocking down two free throws, essentially sealing the game for New Hampshire.
“We missed a key rebound today towards the end of the game,” said BU interim head coach Mark Macon. “Greer boxes out, the guy pushes him under the basket, gets the rebound. You have to get that rebound. All out — you got to scrap for that rebound. Just can’t happen.”
New Hampshire started off the game with an offensive flurry led by senior guard Tyrone Conley, who showed off an effective off-ball game and a deadly long-range jumper.
“When you have to help inside and he’s coming off screens and we got a guy trailing, the guy trying to trail it can’t go under the screen,” Macon said. “That just can’t happen with a shooter. You got to make him curl and make him dribble the ball. You can’t give him wide open shots.”
The Wildcats led 27-15 with 8:59 to play in the first half before BU dug in on defense. Freshman guard Rob Mansell cooled down Conley by staying with him as Conley sprinted through screens, making New Hampshire go to less efficient options on offense. Using a strong team defense, BU allowed just three more points to be scored by the Wildcats before halftime. Although BU is known as a jump-shooting team, the Bearcats got New Hampshire into the bonus early and earned 13 first-half trips to the foul line. According to Macon, the team’s ability to recognize the foul situation was valuable.
“We were attacking the basket,” Macon said. “We kind of saw that we had an advantage right there. But you’ve got to continue to attack.”
BU continued attacking in the second half but only shot 8-of-15 from the free-throw line. As the pace slowed, neither team could muster much offense, which amplified the importance of BU’s struggles at the line. The game was tied at 37 with 11:35 to play before New Hampshire surged ahead, taking a lead it would never relinquish.
“We came out, scored a few in the second half and then we went on a lull for a minute, but we got back in the game,” Macon said. “Just couldn’t reel that thing in. This is something ongoing with us. I do think that we’ve learned a few things. I think we played better in clutch situations today in terms of getting some buckets.”
Despite being undersized, the Bearcats tied the Wildcats on the glass, 30-30. BU only had one more turnover than New Hampshire did while taking and making more free throws. The difference on the stat sheet was field-goal efficiency, as BU shot 18-of-45 (40 percent) while New Hampshire shot 23-of-44 (52.3 percent). New Hampshire outscored BU 26-24 in points in the paint.
“They scored inside on us,” Macon said. “They took it to the basket on us.”
Sophomore guard Jimmy Gray played 40 minutes and had eight points and four steals. Senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. For New Hampshire, Conley finished with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. DiLiegro notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Perhaps the biggest positive for Binghamton was the play of Wright, who played 27 strong minutes in his second game back from injury. He had 10 points and five rebounds, got to the foul line 10 times and guarded DiLiegro at center for large portions of the game as BU went with a small lineup.
“I’d say I’m 80 percent,” Wright said. “Just got to play through it.”
Chretien Lukusa assessed what a healthy Wright would mean for the Bearcats as they prepare for the America East tournament.
“Greer’s one of our better players,” Lukusa said. “If we can have him 100 percent come conference tournament time, it’s something everybody will be really excited about.”
The Bearcats have eight days off before heading to Vermont for a game scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Vermont (18-5, 9-2 AE) currently has the best record in the conference.
“We got to go down to the lion’s den in Vermont,” Macon said. “We have to be ready to play those guys. They pound the rebounds. We got to be prepared to go to the glass.”