Men’s basketball heads to Rhode Island

VESTAL, N.Y.—Binghamton men’s basketball heads to Smithfield, R.I. to face Bryant Saturday afternoon - the team’s third straight encounter with a member of the Northeast Conference.
The Bearcats (2-7) and Bulldogs (4-3) tip off at 1 p.m. from the Chace Athletic Center.
Binghamton has dropped three in a row after winning two straight. The Bearcats shot the ball well in close losses to Mt. St. Mary’s (71-70) and Monmouth (77-65) but turnovers were the difference. On Monday against Monmouth, the visiting Hawks turned 21 turnovers into 32 points and spoiled a terrific performance from freshman guard Jordan Reed, who tallied game-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Playing the second game in a three-day stretch, the Bearcats shot 42 percent and won the rebound battle but were undone by the Monmouth’s pressure.

Reed, who leads the entire America East in both scoring (18.7 ppg.) and rebounding (10.3 rpg.), ranks eighth in the nation in double-doubles and registered his fifth double-double in seven collegiate games. He hit 10-of-17 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line. He added four steals and two assists in 33 minutes.

Senior guard Jimmy Gray chipped in 10 points and five assists. Junior center Roland Brown had eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of work.

The Bearcats have four players averaging 8.0 or more points. Reed (18.7 ppg.), Gray (9.4 ppg.), Brown (8.9 ppg.) and junior guard Rayner Moquete (8.2 ppg.) pace an offense that is averaging 61 points per game. The Bearcats are outrebounding opposition by 1.4 per game, led by Reed (10.3 rpg.) and Brown (5.8 rpg.).

Bryant is coming off a 64-62 loss to Yale at the buzzer Wednesday night at home. After the Bulldogs missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with seven seconds left, Yale came down and misfired before getting the winning tip-in as the horn sounded. Sophomore guard Dyami Starks finished the game with a contest-high 22 points for Bryant, which saw its four-game winning streak snapped in the defeat. Junior forward Alex Francis added 19 for the hosts on an 8-of-12 night as the Bulldogs shot 52.1 percent from the field as a unit.

Starks, a transfer from Columbia, leads the team in points per game (17.3), steals (8), field goals made (44), 3-pointers made (20), 3-point field goal percentage (.351) and free throw percentage (.813). His scoring average ranks fourth in the Northeast Conference and his 20 triples are tied for tops in the league. He has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games, including a career-high 25 at Brown Nov. 21, and was awarded the program’s first-ever Northeast Conference Player of the Week accolade on Nov. 26. Starks averages 35.4 minutes per game (8th most in the NEC) and his 25-point performance against the Bears is the highest scoring output of any Bulldog this season.
Prior to the Yale loss, Bryant had won four straight games, including two wins over teams that own victories over the Bearcats (Brown and Army). The Bulldogs also scored the program’s most notable win when they beat ACC member Boston College, 56-54, on the road on Nov. 25. Bryant also has a victory over fellow America East member New Hampshire (76-64). The Bulldogs began their season with a 97-54 loss to No. 1 Indiana.

The 2012-13 season is Bryant’s first as a fully-eligible Division I program (postseason) after making the transition from Division II. The school completed a four-year NCAA mandated transition period that began in 2008-09. The Bulldogs were picked to finish 10th in the 12-team NEC. The team returns 10 letterwinners and its top four scorers from a 2-28 team of a year ago.

The game marks the third meeting between Binghamton and Bryant but first at the Division I level. The teams met twice during the 2000-01 season with Bryant winning each time - 61-50 at home and 89-81 in overtime at the Events Center two months later.