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Binghamton (2-8) will look to right itself after an off-night Saturday in New Jersey. Cold second-half shooting (3-for-20) resulted in a 74-46 drubbing at the hands of Monmouth. Before that, BU was on target with a 74-point performance in a win at St. Mary’s and a 65-point showing at No. 2 Syracuse. But at Monmouth, the Bearcats surrendered a 21-7 run to end the first half and gave up a 20-5 run to open the second half, digging the big deficit.
Sophomore guard Jordan Reed led BU with 13 points but the rest of the team was just 8-for-35 and the Bearcats compounded their problems by leaving 11 points at the free throw line.
Reed ranks second in the America East in both scoring (16.2 ppg.) and rebounding (9.5 rpg.). The next four scorers are all freshmen: Marlon Beck II (12.7 ppg.), Nick Madray (11.5 ppg.) and Yosef Yacob (9.7 ppg.). The Bearcats are nursing some injuries in the backcourt with senior Rayner Moquete (20 minutes/game), junior Robert Mansell (15 mpg.) and Yacob (30 mpg.) each unavailable for the game.
Buffalo Update
Buffalo (4-4) is coming off a 84-81 overtime loss to Manhattan Saturday at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. Before that, the Bulls lost to Canisius (69-55) after opening the month with a 78-73 win over St. Bonaventure. The team’s other wins came against West Virginia Wesleyan (80-60), Robert Morris (81-66) and Delaware State (65-55).
On Saturday, UB lost a heartbreaker when it let a seven-point lead slip away in the final 45 seconds of regulation. The game featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes. In the final minute, Manhattan made a three pointer, a three point play and then down three with five second left, the Jaspers were fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three shots to send the game to overtime. Freshman Shannon Evans finished with a team-high 20 points, thanks primarily to 13-for-15 accuracy from the free throw line Senior forward Javon McCrea recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Classmate Joshua Freelove added a career-high 17 points, while also finishing with five blocked shots. Buffalo had 12 blocks and made a season-high 30 free throws in the losing effort.
First-year head coach Bobby Hurley inherits four starters and seven lettermen from a 14-20 team of a year ago. That team went 9-6 at home and won twice to reach the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. The key returnee is 6-foot-7 McCrea, who averaged 18.0 points and 7.9 rebounds last season. He is a two-time first-team All-MAC selection and frontrunner for conference player of the year honors.
Hurley (Duke ’93) had a distinguished collegiate career, guiding the Blue Devils to three NCAA Final Four appearances and a pair of national championships in 1991 and 1992. He is the NCAA’s all-time assists leader (1,076) and played five years in the NBA.
Buffalo elevated to Division I status in 1991 – the first of the four university centers (with Albany, Binghamton, Stony Brook) to make the move. They advanced to the NIT in 2005 after winning a school-record 23 games and received votes in the AP Top 25 the following season. Buffalo has won 20 or more games in three of the last five seasons.
Series History
The teams have never faced each other at the Division I level. Buffalo owns a 3-1 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1968. Buffalo won back-to-back games in 1968 and 1969 and then again in 1979 when both programs competed in the Division III State University of New York Athletic Conference. In the most recent meeting in 1980 at West Gym, Binghamton prevailed 54-53 in the Tip-Off Classic.
The two coaches know each other well from both the NY metropolitan area and the recruiting trails. While at Rider, Tommy Dempsey recruited players from St. Anthony High School, coached by Bobby Hurley, Sr., as well as St. Benedict’s Prep, where Dan Hurley (Bobby’s brother) coached.
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