College basketball fans across the country tuned in to watch acclaimed prospect Andrew Wiggins debut for Kansas on Friday night.

But the 4,318 people that opted for the Events Center over the television saw another Canadian freshman — and a former AAU teammate of Wiggins — nearly lead the Binghamton men’s basketball team past Loyola Maryland.

Freshman forward Nick Madray scored the last of his 22 points on a pair of clutch free throws that pulled Binghamton within one point with 59 seconds left, but the Ontario native was hot from the start of his team’s 79-74 loss.

“My first 3-pointer went in so I think that set the tone, but it was also I was playing more aggressive,” Madray said. “That was really the key. The coaches were telling me to play aggressive and play hard.”

The 6-foot-9 stretch-four beat his man off the dribble to score the first basket of his college career less than two minutes into the game. A few possessions later, Madray rose from beyond the arc and delivered the Bearcats an early 10-5 lead.

Already he had been more productive than he was in last Saturday’s exhibition against Division II Bloomsburg, when he scored just three points on 1-of-6 shooting. It was a performance Madray would like to forget, but not before using it as motivation.

“It weighed on my mind a lot, but the coaches were behind me,” he said. “They told me to just go out and have fun. That’s what I did this game. I think I did pretty good.”

Madray shot an efficient 8 for 10 from the floor, 3 for 4 from deep and 3 for 3 from the charity stripe. About half of the freshman’s field-goal attempts came via the jumper, as Loyola sophomore forward Franz Rassman struggled with the matchup.

“Not many teams have five great defenders, and we always try to spread the court, share the ball and try to pick on guys at times that we don’t think are good defenders,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said.

Friday, Madray had the opportunity to shine, but Brown — Sunday’s opponent — boasts a formidable, versatile frontcourt that should pose a welcome-to-Division-I test to the freshman.

The Bears are deep up front, with the Ivy League’s top rebounder in junior center Rafael Maia and the conference’s premier shot blocker in sophomore forward Cedric Kuakumensah leading the way. The return of junior forward Dockery Walker, who missed all of last season because of an injury, gives Mike Martin another option off the bench.

“I think it’s going to be a tough game. They’re really good inside,” Dempsey said of the team’s matchup in general.

Madray certainly will not have an easy afternoon in Binghamton’s man-to-man defense, as he struggled guarding Rassman and Loyola’s other forwards at times last night.

But if Brown plays man-to-man, Madray’s ability to stretch the floor could be critical to the Bearcats’ offense by pulling Maia, Kuakumensah or Walker away from the glass.

It worked on Friday night, and you can bet the Bearcats hope it works again in Providence.