Willie Rodriguez took his game to another level in the Binghamton men’s basketball team’s last two games.
The sophomore forward showed flashes of brilliance in his first year with the Bearcats (1-4), but Rodriguez played some of his best basketball this past week, topping 20 points in both of Binghamton’s games — an 81-75 victory over Central Connecticut State and a 75-65 loss to Boston University.
Rodriguez entered the week averaging 13 points per game. He finished it averaging 18.4 points per contest, currently topping the America East (AE).
“We are very focused on getting him the ball right now and he’s delivered with it,” Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey said.
On Tuesday, Rodriguez dominated the CCSU (0-4) defense. The Blue Devils found no answer for the sophomore on their home floor, as Rodriguez scored from all over the court, demonstrating strong post moves and a nice touch from the midrange. The sophomore registered 10 points in the final five minutes of the contest, leading the Bearcats to a six-point victory, their first win of the season.
Overall, Rodriguez poured in a career-high 27 points while shooting nine of 13 from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line. He also connected on eight of his 10 free throw attempts and grabbed six rebounds in the victory. Junior guard Marlon Beck added 17 points, including four 3-pointers in the contest.
“To be honest it’s pretty simple,” Rodriguez said about his success. “The things I work on with [Binghamton associate head] coach [Ben] Luber in our workouts, I’m executing in the games.”
Rodriguez followed up that performance by recording his first double-double of the season in the Bearcats’ loss to Boston University (3-3) on Saturday.
Despite the Terriers packing the paint and attempting to shut down the Bearcats’ lanes to the basket, Rodriguez still managed to penetrate the lane and get to the rim. He finished that contest with 26 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free throw line.
“I feel like I just have to play my game, keep attacking the basket and if they collapse on me I got to kick out,” Rodriguez said. “That’s really it.”
However, Rodriguez’s effort in the contest was not enough as Boston University’s Cheddi Mosely, a sophomore guard, scored 23 first-half points to give the Terriers a 42-30 halftime lead. Despite a rally early in the second half, the Bearcats failed to overcome the deficit, falling by 10. Both Beck and freshman guard Everson Davis also finished in double figures for Binghamton, recording 17 and 11 points, respectively.
“You have to play 40 minutes against a good team and I thought our first half, we just never found a good rhythm,” Dempsey said. “I thought we came out with really good defensive intensity in the second half which allowed us to get more stops. They weren’t able to set their zone up and then we were able to get out in transition.”
Despite Rodriguez’s early success, the Bearcats are off to a slow start — losing four of five to open the year — for the fourth straight season under Dempsey. However, he believes something is different about this year’s team than any other he has coached at Binghamton.
“This is a team that has a chance and I really believe that,” Dempsey said. “This is the best team we’ve had over the last few years and it’s not even close. I think that we just have to keep fighting through a tough stretch here in our schedule, keep coming to work every day. The schedule will loosen up a little bit eventually and we’ll be able to win some games.”
Binghamton is set to return to action Tuesday against Colgate. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.