When the Binghamton University men’s basketball team faces its next foe, it will have been more than a month since it has won a game. For the Bearcats, there is only one thing that can break the streak, pull them out of last place in the conference standings and provide a spark to a losing season: just win.
That will be easier said than done when the Bearcats (6-18, 3-8 America East) face off against league-leading Vermont (20-5, 11-2 AE) on Sunday. Binghamton’s last victory came way back on Jan. 12 against University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
“We’re gonna try to win games,” said BU head coach Mark Macon. “We’re trying to win games every day that we go out. But we’re growing and developing as a good team.”
The Bearcats took on Vermont earlier this year on Jan. 23. After being manhandled in its previous three games, the Bearcats pulled to within two points of Vermont with eight minutes to go, but the Catamounts went on a late 25-9 run to end it.
“We’re not going to think about [the fact] that we lost the game,” said senior forward Moussa Camara. “We’re gonna learn from it so we don’t make the same mistakes in the next game … [The game plan] doesn’t change. Basically you just gotta play hard and finish up games and win. That’s all that really matters.”
However, that game seemed to change things; after losing four in a row by double-digit margins, the four games since have all been decided by six points or fewer.
“I think we’ve been making progress in the right direction,” said senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi. “We’re just one or two plays away from winning close games, [so] we’ve focused on closing out on late-game scenarios … we’re just trying to prepare as much as possible for the situations we might be in.”
Those four close losses included an overtime heartbreaker at UMBC and a 22-point blown lead to lose by three against then-league-leading Maine.
“One or two plays are making a difference, and we’re trying to just have the ball bounce our way so we can get a few victories,” Jabbi said.
Freshman guard Robert Mansell saw the late-game situations a bit differently.
“We shouldn’t be thinking about end-of-game situations; we just need to play our game,” he said. “We play our game the way we know how to, no matter what part of the game it is.”
While Binghamton has lost eight straight, Vermont has actually won eight in a row. It has not lost since a Jan. 18 game against Maine.
“Vermont is a really good team,” Jabbi said. “They rebound the ball well, so we have to keep the rebounding margin close. We have to also make sure there’s not a lot of driving … It’s pretty much just a matter of knowing our assignments and executing them.”
Camara echoed the same sentiment regarding taking down the top dog in the America East.
“I think just rebounding, playing great defense … that’s what we’re gonna work on, just playing our game,” Camara said.
Mansell also emphasized penetration inside the 3-point arc for a team that has been labeled a “perimeter team” by most, including Macon himself.
“[It’s important], going to the basket, not settling for the three,” Mansell said. “I know in a lot of games we settled for the three against zones, and we could have just tried to find gaps and work the ball in. We’ll start finding ways of getting to the basket, and hopefully we can convert at the free-throw line.”
Binghamton is scheduled to play at Vermont at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Despite the loss to the Catamounts earlier this season, there is no shortage of confidence among the Bearcats.
“We know we can beat them,” Mansell said. “It was a close game with four or five minutes left, so it’s really about what we do. We basically threw the game away, but if we can play our game, then there’s no reason why we shouldn’t beat them.”