The Binghamton men’s basketball team led for just 31 seconds against Army on Sunday.
Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez connected on a layup to give the Bearcats (0-2) a 2-0 lead one minute and 10 seconds into play, but that was the last advantage BU had in the game. Two possessions later, Army (2-0) tied the score on a layup of its own and from there, the Black Knights took control of the contest en route to a 75-60 victory.
“I thought [it was] a very good performance on Army’s part,” said Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey. “I thought we came into the game ready to go and they came in and played like veterans. They were poised on the road, they had good ball movement and got good shots.”
The Bearcats delivered a strong defensive performance in their season opener against St. Bonaventure on Friday night, despite falling 63-53 in the game. However, BU struggled on that end of the floor two days later against Army. BU failed to run the Black Knights off of the 3-point line as Army created open looks at the basket from deep. Led by senior forward Tanner Plomb — who had 13 points in the period — Army knocked down seven 3-pointers in the half and headed into the locker room with a 42-30 lead.
“We struggled [defending the 3-point line],” Dempsey said. “I thought we played hard on the perimeter but they’re good cutters and they got themselves open and made some shots.”
Binghamton came storming out the locker room to open the first minute and 30 seconds of the second half, capped off by a pair of free throws from freshman forward Thomas Bruce which cut the Army lead to six, 42-36.
But that was the closest the Bearcats came for the remainder of the game. Army pushed its lead back up to 12 points off of a jumper by Plomb five minutes into the half and never looked back, capturing a 15 point victory. Plomb finished the contest with a game-high 23 points.
Army senior guard Kyle Wilson — a 2014-15 All-Patriot third-team all-conference member after averaging 17.5 points per game last season — was kept in check during the first half by BU, scoring just three points. But Wilson exploded in the second, registering 13 in the period.
“[Wilson] played really well in the second half,” Dempsey said. “There were a couple [of shots] he made that almost got blocked. He took them over outstretched hands and was able to knock them in calmly.”
In his first official home game as a Bearcat, freshman guard Everson Davis shined offensively. He scored 14 points in the contest and demonstrated his versatility on that end of the court. Davis nailed a step back 3-pointer in the second half and attacked the paint with hesitation dribbles, creating lanes to the basket for layups. He also initiated offense for his teammates, dishing out four assists — tops on BU.
“In the first half, I got to the bucket for a layup one time and it worked, so I tried again in the second half,” Davis said about his drives to the rim.
Davis’ classmate also impressed. Freshman forward Thomas Bruce scored 11 points in the contest, scoring off of post-up opportunities and put-back dunks. Bruce also grabbed five rebounds.
“We are an inside-out team,” Bruce said. “We focus on that in practice and in shoot-around. When we go in, that creates shots for our guards, so we try to look into all of our bigs so we can create [offense].”
Both Rodriguez and sophomore forward Dusan Perovic reached double figures for BU as well. Rodriguez scored 13 while Perovic added 10.
The Bearcats are set to return to action on Wednesday at Cornell. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Newman Arena in Ithaca, New York.
For complete coverage of BU’s season opener at St. Bonaventure, see bupipedream.com/sports/basketball