Five games. Five losses. Five weeks left to improve before conference play.
These young Bearcats may need all the time they can get.
The Binghamton University men’s basketball team continued its early-season free fall last week, losing another three contests to drop its record to 0-5. Each of the three games were road matches, and each saw the Bearcats lose by 10 points or more, bringing the streak of double-digit losses to four games.
No. 21 University of Missouri (6-0) dismissed Binghamton relatively easily with an 88-59 victory on Sunday. The Bearcats had no answer for Mizzou shooting guard-turned-power forward Kim English, who lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 29 points in just 25 minutes. English’s performance was highlighted by his conversion on seven of nine 3-pointers.
The Tigers turned the ball over just six times, and while the Bearcats had by far their best shooting game of the season (50 percent from the field), their whopping 22 giveaways sealed their fate.
“We can’t have that many turnovers and expect to win a game,” BU head coach Mark Macon said. “I think overall we played well. We kept the ball in front of us for the most part; we just can’t turn it over. We shot over 50 percent today; I think that’s good, I think that’s a plus for us. We have to rebound the ball more as well. They just hit more shots, and they got shots off turnovers.”
Freshman forward Ben Dickinson led the Bearcats with 15 points and seven boards, while junior guard Jimmy Gray chipped in 13 points and five rebounds. Binghamton attempted 16 fewer shots than Missouri, which extended its non-conference home court winning streak to 62 games.
“We wanted to slow the game down,” Macon said of the Bearcats’ game plan. “But they were just a better team. We turned the ball over entirely too much. That’s been something that I’m not happy with. Facing other teams like the one we faced, you’re gonna have to learn something.”
The Bearcats’ 66-43 loss to Saint Peter’s College on Nov. 18 was marred by dismal shooting and another high-turnover performance. The team shot just 31.8 percent from the field and committed 20 more turnovers. Freshman guard Chris Longoria was the only Bearcat to reach double figures at 12 points. Once again, the disparity in field goal attempts between the two teams was enormous: a 64-44 edge in favor of Saint Peter’s.
“You’ve got to keep shooting, never stop shooting,” Macon said of the Bearcats’ offensive woes. “You want to keep putting the ball in the shooter’s hands; that’s the cure for that.”
Fordham University’s 64-49 drubbing of Binghamton two days later seemed like much of the same story. The Bearcats had 23 turnovers and shot 34 percent from the floor, once again seeing only one player, Dickinson, reach double figures with 17 points.
Macon attributes some of the team’s ball control problems to the inexperience on the Bearcats’ roster, which does not feature a single senior.
“We’re young,” he said. “You’re going to have to take some pricks from the thorn bush, but we’ll get it right and we’ll see later on this season, as we go on day by day things will get better. We’re just learning, we’re definitely learning.”
Dickinson has been one of the bright spots on this young Bearcats roster. He has chipped in at least 10 points in all but one contest this season and is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.
“Ben knows how to play basketball,” Macon said. “He takes what the defense gives him and puts the ball in the basket the way he’s supposed to, and he passes the ball. He does everything he’s supposed to do for us as a basketball player, and that’s what you want in all of your players. He understands how to play.”
Dickinson even got Mizzou star English’s attention; after the game, English told reporters that he wasn’t focused on the 22 points he had in the first half, but rather he “was upset Ben Dickinson had [11] points at halftime … I really came out wanting to stop him more.”
The Bearcats’ next shot at earning their first win of the season comes Saturday as they return home to face Army (2-4) in a non-conference showdown. The team faced Army on the road last year and lost a 72-58 decision. Binghamton has seven more non-conference games remaining, including five at home, before the all-important America East conference slate begins on Jan. 2.
Macon emphasized that despite his team’s winless record, the game plan must stay the same.
“It doesn’t change anything,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re prepared to play. We have to come out and play strong, play smart and play to win.”
Tip-off against Army is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Events Center.