In two games over the last two years, the Binghamton men’s basketball team gave Cornell a run for its money. Binghamton (1-6) exploded for over 50 second-half points to overcome 20-point deficits in each case, keeping the game close and even taking a win last year.
But Binghamton (1-6) could not meet its precedent in the two programs’ annual matchup this year. The Bearcats couldn’t get their shots to fall, and they posted a 36.2 percent shooting clip from the floor en route to their 68-54 loss at the Events Center on Saturday afternoon.
“Right now everything is tough for us,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “Every basket is tough for us, everything is a grind out there right now offensively.”
Dempsey described the group’s current mood as being in a “funk.” No doubt, that has something to do with the program’s former star, junior guard Jordan Reed, taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. And while no one can say what would have happened had he played on Saturday, he was crucial in keeping pace with Cornell (4-4) the past two years, eclipsing the 20-point mark in both 2012-13 and 2013-14.
While Dempsey’s rotations weren’t fixed to begin with and Reed hadn’t played over 10 minutes a game since the season opener against Notre Dame on Nov. 14, the third-year player was supposed to be able to provide senior leadership to Dempsey’s young squad, comprising seven freshmen and five sophomores.
With Reed gone, there are just two upperclassmen – senior forward Jabrille Williams and junior guard Karon Waller – left on the roster. And over seven games, those two have combined for under 10 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, the young squad is struggling. That was evident in Binghamton’s numbers against Cornell. They shot just 4 for 16 from the perimeter and were outrebounded, 38-33. They converted just 17 of 47 shots from the field while the Big Red finished shooting 45.6 percent, converting 12 of 28 from the floor.
“At times we were getting the right shots, they just weren’t falling down,” sophomore guard Yosef Yacob said. “We need to work a little bit more on our chemistry as a team. There are a few things that are missing here and there, but overall, I felt like we were running the right sets and getting the right looks, so the ball just has to start falling in.”
Yacob led the team with 15 points, 11 of them second-half points. He helped to pace a Bearcat team that dipped to 33.3 percent shooting after halftime and that wasn’t putting many looks together.
Though Binghamton came in with a plan to execute against Cornell, that was foiled. Dempsey saw that Cornell had struggled against zone defenses in its first few games this season; Binghamton opened the game running a zone. But in response, the Big Red dominated from the perimeter: They scored their first 21 points on 3-pointers, converting seven of their 10 attempts through the opening nine minutes of the game.
“Sometimes you go into [the game] and you think one thing is going to be the most effective – like we thought the zone was going to be effective tonight – and it wasn’t, so we adjusted,” Dempsey said.
Following a timeout, Binghamton pressed man-to-man and limited its visitors to just two more treys until halftime. But Cornell refused to be stymied, and the team’s offensive glass-crashing allowed them to jump ahead. The Big Red scored 15 second-chance points and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds through the game.
In the second half, Binghamton looked like it might come roaring back as it had in the past, scoring on each of its first two possessions. Freshman forward Dusan Perovic dropped in two off a hook shot and Yacob nailed a three in transition to narrow the gap to three points, 35-32.
But three straight jumpers from Cornell’s leading scorer, senior forward Shonn Miller, and Cornell went on a 16-1 run spanning nearly six minutes. The Big Red jumped up to a 51-33 lead with 12:38 remaining, and Binghamton couldn’t bounce back. Cornell finished out the game with a 14-point lead, 68-54.
Behind Yacob, freshman guard Romello Walker reached double-digits in scoring with 10 points. He also grabbed a team-high seven boards. Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez, who has averaged 19.3 points over the past three games, added eight points on 3-for-10 shooting from the field.
The loss to Cornell comes on the heels of an 80-54 blowout to Army on Tuesday night. In that game, Rodriguez recorded his first collegiate double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Despite his success, Army’s 15-point lead heading into halftime was too much to overcome, and Army (5-0) preserved its perfect record.
Next up for BU is a road match next Wednesday at Boston University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Case Gym in Boston, Mass.