On Wednesday evening, the Binghamton men’s basketball team began its three-game home stand facing off against Loyola Maryland. Although this was the two teams’ seventh meeting in 10 years, BU had only beaten the Greyhounds once back in 2017 before this season. The Bearcats, however, were unable to flip the script, dropping their fourth game of the year at 84-70.

“Early on we were giving up backdoors [and] offensive rebounds,” said Binghamton head coach Levell Sanders. “Those are the things that helps a team get confidence … Earlier in the game, we allowed [Loyola] to get comfortable. You allow a team to get comfortable in your building, then you’re in for a fight.”

Both teams got off to a hot start, and although BU (3-4) got on the board first, Loyola (4-4) commanded the lead for most of the first half as it led 11-10 just five minutes into action. Senior guard Jacob Falko made an immediate impact early on, scoring or assisting on eight of the Bearcats’ first 10 points. It was Loyola, however, controlling the game as the visitors took an early 19-16 lead 10 minutes into the action. The Bearcats looked to shift the momentum as they went on a 9-0 run made possible by three team blocks including two from Falko.

“I like that we had 40 points in the paint,” Sanders said. “In the second half, we got a few points off [Loyola’s] turnovers, but we didn’t shoot the ball well. Their zone kept us off balance a bit. I’m not looking at the positives. I’m looking at what we need to get better at.”

Binghamton snatched the lead going up 25-19, but the Greyhounds quickly came storming back, going on a 7-0 run of their own to retake the advantage. After trading three-pointers over the preceding minutes, The Bearcats found themselves trailing 30-28 with just under four minutes remaining in the half. BU was outscored 11-6 in the final minutes of the half and went into the break trailing 37-34. Despite trailing, the Bearcats found success on the defensive end, accumulating five blocks in the period.

“We can talk about the end of the game, but we gotta start the game better,” Sanders said. “We give teams too many opportunities to get comfortable in our building.”

The second half began in a similar fashion as the first, with both sides putting points on the board early. Just five minutes into the period BU had outscored the Greyhounds 12-9 and knotted up the score at 46. The two teams then began to trade baskets until the Greyhounds made a 3-pointer that put them up 66-62.

Over the next four minutes of action, Loyola outscored Binghamton 11-4 and grabbed an 11-point lead with less than two minutes remaining. The Greyhounds amassed three 3-pointers and forced three Bearcat turnovers during this time. BU trailed by double-digits with under a minute left in the game and was unable to stage a late comeback, losing to Loyola 84-70 and falling to 3-4 on the season.

“To start the game [by] the first media [timeout], they already had 11 points,” Sanders said. “It’s just way too many points. We scored 70 points which should be enough for us to win. We can’t allow teams to come in our building or just in general score 84 points.”

Despite the loss, the Bearcats were still able to put up 70 points for the game. Falko led the charge with 18 points, followed by graduate student guard Christian Hinckson with 11 and senior guard Dan Petcash with 10. In addition, Falko and Hinckson each dished out five assists. Although BU registered eight blocks as a team, this was the only bright spot on the defensive end. Binghamton allowed a season-high 84 points and Loyola shot 56.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc.

“We gotta focus now and we gotta focus on getting better defensively before the conference season starts,” Sanders said. “That’s gonna be our focus, practice how we [are] gonna get better defensively.”

The Bearcats continue their home stand against Stonehill on Saturday, Dec. 3. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.