The BU Zoo Blog

The Bearcats finished up the season yesterday with a 79-68 loss to Vermont.  Binghamton is still locked into the 5th seed which means that we will play Boston (4 seed) for the right to play the Stony Brook v. Play-in-game winner.  I would have selfishly loved Stony Brook on the other side of the bracket for a Binghamton-Stony Brook final  (that I could attend at Stony Brook!)

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Binghamton University’s men concluded their America East Conference basketball season with a 78-69 loss to Vermont on Sunday.  The Catamounts’ Marqus Blakely, two-time conference Player of the Year, contributed 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on Senior Day in what may have been his final game in Patrick Gym.  Binghamton (13-18, 8-8 America East) was within four of Vermont with 3:24 remaining before committing three turnovers in a 36-second span, leading to seven consecutive Catamounts points and a 74-63 lead.  The Bearcats drew no closer than eight through the conclusion.  Fifth-seeded Binghamton will oppose fourth-seeded Boston University in an America East Conference Tournament quarterfinal, scheduled for a 2:45 p.m. tip-off Saturday in Hartford.  Freshman Dylan Talley had a game-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting and added a team-high four assists in 29 minutes. Junior forward Moussa Camara added 17 points, the 11th straight game he’s reached double figures. Sophomore center Kyrie Sutton chipped in 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.”
• Burlington Free Press: “‘Greer Wright is one of the best offensive players in the league: He’s 6-7, he can shoot, and Garvey took him out of his game,’ UVM coach Mike Lonergan said. ‘That was a big key to the game.’  Binghamton erased a 10-point halftime deficit and took a 49-48 lead on Moussa Camara’s long 3-pointer with just less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Vermont rattled off the next seven points to regain control.  ‘They got a lot of offensive rebounds on us today; the last few days that hasn’t been happening,’ Binghamton coach Mark Macon said. ‘They have a lot of size in there; their big guys were getting the ball in there and laying it up.’”

Everyone and their mother had Binghamton picked last this year.  With a victory over Hartford last night, the Bearcats clinched at least an 8-8 conference record and the 5th seed in the AE Tourney.  At of things to be proud of on this basketball team.  Can’t say the same thing about the people in charge.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Kyrie Sutton delivered his best performance in a Binghamton University jersey, scoring a career-high 18 points as Bearcats cruised to a 66-53 victory over Hartford in an America East Conference men’s basketball game on Wednesday night at the Events Center.  Greer Wright added 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, with Dylan Talley adding 15 points for BU (13-17, 8-7 America East), which prevailed in front of 4,791 fans in its final regular-season home game this season.  The victory clinched the fifth seed for BU in next week’s America East tournament in Hartford.”

Usually Tuesdays are Monday-less sucky cousin but today I feel very happy to get back into the flow of things.  A lot of work to do, but its not the end of the world.

• Pipe Dream: “If you read the statement looking for anything like an administrative apology, you would have been extremely disappointed. In fact, the review was barely mentioned. The only quote DeFleur included to sum up the 99-page report, which implicated her and key University administrators as playing main roles in the scandal, was Judge Judith Kaye’s comment that BU was “one of the nation’s premier public universities” – one of DeFleur’s favorite phrases, and hardly Kaye’s own words.  We’re pretty sure that’s not the message Kaye’s team of lawyers was trying to send.  This kind of evasion seemed to be the real, and only, purpose of the statement. Instead of accepting the blame that so obviously lies at their feet, DeFleur and Swain made a mockery of themselves and the University by throwing around hollow rhetoric of honesty and commitment to values; we’ve all seen that their actions indicate otherwise. Honor and integrity are nowhere to be seen in this mess.”
• Pipe Dream: “The Bearcats’ star junior Greer Wright had an off game, converting on only one of eight shots for seven points while also turning the ball over four times. However, junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi, who has been hot of late, and freshman guard Dylan Talley picked up the slack and then some for the Bearcats. Jabbi and Talley scored 20 and 25 points, respectively – both career highs for the first-year Division I players. Jabbi also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game while Talley dished out five assists to only two turnovers. ‘We were just hitting on all cylinders today,’ Macon said.  Leading by just eight points, 20-12 with 11 minutes to play, the Bearcats caught fire and pushed out to a 46-29 halftime lead. Jabbi had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half.  Binghamton tallied a total of 18 assists, its highest output of the season. ‘I had them doing things in practice where I wouldn’t let them shoot the ball,’ said Binghamton interim head coach Mark Macon. ‘It showed today with how they shared the ball.’”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘We wanted Judge (Judith) Kaye to lead the review and investigation, we wanted to begin immediately and contracting through the state takes a long time, and we did not want tuition or taxpayer dollars used,’ SUNY spokesman David Henahan said in an e-mail Monday.An Albany news Web site Monday raised questions about whether SUNY should have used a competitive-bidding process instead of directly hiring the law firm that employs retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who headed the investigation. The probe cost $913,381, which is to be split between SUNY and BU.”
• WBNG (Video): “Noticeably absent on the Bearcat bench Sunday was assistant coach Mark Hsu.  He was prominently featured in retired Judge Judith Kaye’s 99-page audit of the program, named for assisting former player Malik Alvin pay his court fees after being arrested for stealing condoms at Wal-mart, and then again for helping Alvin fix a plagiarized school assignment.  Hsu did not travel with the team on their recent road trips, and after the game interim head coach Mark Macon was asked about his future with the program. Macon would only  say that he could not answer those questions.  Following that press conference, the university released a statement. ‘After consultation with America East commissioner Patrick Nero, interim director of athletics Jim Norris has determined that assistant coach Marc Hsu will not be coaching in practice or games until further notice.’”

After Jim Norris came out and said yesterday that the report would be done soon, it looks like the time table shifted up a little bit:

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “This could be the day the public will get some answers about what happened inside Binghamton University’s athletics program.  Top officials in the state university system are scheduled to reveal the findings of a four-month investigation into troubles that got six men’s basketball players kicked off the team and their coach suspended, prompted claims that a female employee was sexually harassed, and cost the athletics director his job.  SUNY’s executive committee will meet this morning to discuss Judge Judith Kaye’s probe of the program, and likely will release the report later in the day, said SUNY spokesman David Henahan. He said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Trustees Chairman Carl Hayden are scheduled to answer questions in a 2 p.m. conference call with reporters.  The report is expected to contain recommendations for BU, though details weren’t available Wednesday night.”

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “It was a different story Saturday, when the Bearcats allowed a game-closing 11-0 run in a 61-49 loss at Maine. BU hopes to avoid a repeat when it visits University of New Hampshire in an America East Conference contest at 7 p.m. Thursday. The two teams met 12 days ago at the Events Center in a game won by BU, 76-73, in overtime. In that Jan. 30 game, Greer Wright scored 29 points and Dylan Talley converted a three-point play with 21 seconds left in overtime for the Bearcats (11-14, 6-4 America East). It was one of three games during BU’s four-game winning streak that the Bearcats won by six points or fewer. With the exception of its 80-63 victory at University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Jan. 27, all of BU’s other America East games have been decided by single digits. Wright hopes to continue his torrid play since the start of BU’s America East schedule. The junior transfer from City College of San Francisco is averaging 19.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in America East play. Those represent increases from his season-long averages of 15.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.”

Every victory has shown something special about our Bearcats.  The victory last night against Albany was no different.  The man of the night was Mahamoud Jabbi.  The walk-on from NYC and SUNY Oswego had his third double-double in four games.  His jump shot may look ugly but he has been making it the second half of the season.  Macon during the postgame interview admitted that stop trying to change his technique.  As long as it goes in that all that matters.  Without Jabbi’s performance in the first half with Greer Wright in foul trouble (again), Bearcats probably lose this game.

Also felt really good to sweep Albany this year  (even in a down year).  Bearcats are down just one game out of first place in the loss column and are heading on a monster 4 game road trip to Maine,UNH, BU and Stony Brook.  I will be heading out to Stony Brook for the game.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “BU assured itself the win when Talley converted a free throw, Albany missed a 3-point try and subsequent follow-up attempt, and Wright extended the lead to 78-71 on a fast-break dunk with 15 seconds remaining.  ‘They got to most of the loose balls, the 50-50 balls; that was the difference in the game,’ Brown said. ‘… We didn’t get stops when we needed them most, and they got to the 50-50 balls.’  Talley finished with 17 points, Jabbi 12 to go with a game-high 10 rebounds, and Umur Peten nine points for BU.  Binghamton finished  with 16 assists and five turnovers — a ratio Macon will gleefully accept any night against any opponent.  ‘I saw that and I almost passed out, but I had enough water in my system not to,” he said. “It’s because they played zone. It slowed the game down and we got a chance to see things. When the game is played slow, you have less mistakes.’”
• Albany Times-Union: “‘Somehow, we always a find a way to give up a segment in the game where we get down nine, 10 (points), and that kills us,’ said UAlbany freshman guard Logan Aronhalt (16 points).  The Bearcats began that run when freshman guard Dylan Talley sank a 24-foot 3-pointer from the top of the circle at the halftime buzzer to give Binghamton a 34-31 lead and rouse the crowd of 3,991 at the Events Center.  Binghamton (11-13, 6-3) then scored the first two baskets of the second half on Moussa Camara’s layup and 3-pointer to build a 39-31 lead that UAlbany could never completely overcome.  ‘First three or four minutes of the second half, there it was right there,’ coach Wil Brown said.’That’s where I thought we lost the game, or allowed them to get the momentum and get the crowd back in the game.’”
• WICZ (Video):”‘It was a tremendous game played by two up-and-coming teams,” interim head coach Mark Macon said. ‘It was a game of runs and we had the last one. I’m very proud of our guys. They stayed together and are growing up.’  The Bearcats had to manage with their top player, Wright, saddled with foul trouble throughout the game. Wright, who leads the conference in scoring (20.0 ppg. in AE play), was whistled for three fouls in the first half and played just 24 minutes in the game. He still managed to score a game-high 19 points.  ‘We have a bunch of stars on our team and they all can shine,’ Macon said of his team’s perseverance without Wright in the game. ‘One star got taken away and the other guys stepped up and made plays.’”\
• AP:“Greer Wright scored 19 points and Dylan Talley added 17, including three free throws in the final 49 seconds, to lead Binghamton in a 78-73 win over Albany (N.Y.) on Wednesday night.  Leading just 64-60 with 3:29 left, Talley finished a three-point play that sparked Binghamton’s 9-2 run. He then hit a pair of foul shots to put the Bearcats up 75-65 and, after Albany cut the lead with a pair of 3s, Talley knocked down a free throw with 27 seconds left to push the Binghamton lead to five.”

Obviously, I watched the State of the Union address last night.  I’m not going to get into my politics, but I think the State of the Union is the one political speech that everyone should watch.  The speech got a little spicy this year as Obama called out the Supreme Court that recently made a decision that could pave the way for corporation (including foreign-owned) to spend whatever they want on political campaigns.

While the State of the Union is a little shaky, the State of the Bearcats is actually pretty strong.  With Dylan Talley back from injury and providing a legit second scoring option, Greer Wright has become a legit First-Team All-America East type of player.  Last night, the Bearcats had a very convincing victory over UMBC  80-63.  Just like the Vermont game, Bearcats were able to win because they were able to get to the free-throw line (and make them!)

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘We just want to win one game at a time, and not try to jump the gun,’ Macon said. ‘Our conference has a lot of parity, so I just want us to play at a high level, play to our strengths and just worry about what we can do.’  Among the pleasing things on the stat sheet for Macon was his team’s 21-for-25 performance from the free-throw line. BU entered Wednesday’s game eighth out of nine teams in the America East Conference in free-throw shooting percentage (.642). Believe me, I looked at that,’ Macon said of his team’s free-throw numbers. ‘I think that was great. We’ve been working very hard at that, and we finally hit free throws. They can  ‘win or lose games for you.’  BU also enjoyed a 39-27 advantage on the boards. Jabbi’s 13 rebounds were a career-high and the junior transfer from SUNY-Oswego is averaging nine rebounds over his last seven games.”
• AP: “Dylan Talley scored 22 points to lead four Binghamton players in double figures as the Bearcats defeated Maryland-Baltimore County 80-63 on Wednesday night.  Binghamton (9-13, 4-3 America East Conference), which entered the game averaging 59.0 points per game, had a season-high point total in winning its second straight game. The Bearcats also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Retrievers in Baltimore while sending UMBC (1-20, 0-8) to its 11th loss in a row.”

Today is a great day.  This marks the end of the first semester at my school.  This fall I have been teaching four sections of a remedial class of kids who failed the Global History and Geography Regents Exam.  Interwove with the failures are a large section of support-services kids who really need help passing standardized tests that No Child Left Behind and the state have mandated.  I think I did a good job, but I guess the data from the Regents exams with be the judge of that.  Teaching for the review class is tough and tedious work.  I’m just happy that it soon will be over.

While my semester is coming to an end, the Bearcats forgot to end the game yesterday as they blew a late big lead to Hartford and lost 64-63 on a Joe Zeglinski game-winner spoiling the return of freshman Dylan Talley.  Probably karma for all of the Mike Gordon buzzer beaters.  At least Joey Z is on my fantasy team.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Everything seemed to be working in Binghamton’s favor when Chretien Lukusa found a streaking Greer Wright for a dunk, and a 10-point lead, with 4:54 remaining in the game.  Lukusa’s high-pitched scream, and his fingers pointed skyward, seemed to indicate so.  But Hartford, the loser of 10 games by more than 10 points this season, capitalized on BU’s complacency and fought back, using a 3-pointer from Joe Zeglinski with 15.5 seconds remaining to defeat the Bearcats 64-63 in an America East men’s basketball game at Chase Arena.  ‘The sad thing is that we kind of let up a bit at the end of the game,’ said Lukusa, who finished with six points and four assists for BU (7-13, 2-3 America East). ‘Coach [Mark Macon] always talks about us playing a full 40 minutes, but right there we played about 38.’”
• AP: “Joe Zeglinski scored 16 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer to lift Hartford to a 64-63 win over Binghamton on Thursday night. Trailing 61-51 with 4:52 left, the Hawks (5-15, 3-3 America East Conference) used a 10-point run, capped by a Zeglinski layup, to tie the game with 40 seconds to go.  After Greer Wright’s layup put Binghamton up 63-61 with 23 seconds remaining, Zeglinski hit his 3 with 17 seconds left. Chretien Lukusa missed a potential game-winning layup with 3 seconds on the clock and Charles White rebounded for Hartford, which has won three of its last four games.”
• Hartford Courant: “Actually, it looked as if the Bearcats might have started celebrating earlier. When Greer Wright dunked with 4:51 to go, Binghamton led, 61-51. Hawks coach Dan Leibovitz called time and exhorted his team to play “one stop at a time.”  Out of the huddle, freshman Charles White ignited Hartford. His crazy shot on a drive to the basket went in as he was fouled, and the free throw cut it to seven points. Then, with the 6-foot-1 White leading the way, Hartford made six stops in a row to close within two.  Binghamton no longer could penetrate at will and the Hawks (5-14, 3-3 America East) got hot. They completed a 10-0 run to tie it on an uncontested layin by Zeglinski (16 points) with 40 seconds left.  Binghamton (7-13, 2-3) ended its 4 1/2-minute drought with Wright’s jumper. But in transition, Zeglinski was left open.  Binghamton’s offseason was engulfed in turmoil. Six players were dismissed from the defending conference champions and coach Kevin Broadus was suspended for a recruiting violation.  Macon, the former Temple star who played six years in the NBA, is, like Leibovitz, a protege of coach John Chaney and he has settled things down, refocusing on the basics.   ‘If we both learned one thing from him, it’s to be a teacher first,’ Leibovitz said. ‘There’s been a lot negative said about what’s gone on there, but there were a lot of positive things going on for them tonight. Mark’s doing an excellent job.’”

Really interesting couple of national articles on the Bearcats from ESPN and USA Today on how the Bearcats are overcoming the adversities of this season.  Dana O’Neil of ESPN also suggests that Kevin Broadus might be back as head coach if Judith Kaye’s audit clears him of wrong doing.  Here is a little excerpt from one of her chats:

Chris (Binghamton, NY): Dana, loved your piece on coach Mark Macon and my Bearcats. With the news of University president Lois DeFleur’s retirement, do you project Macon as the long-term solution for Binghamton? Have you heard any other coaches’ names surface?

Dana O’Neil (1:27 PM): Chris: I don’t think he’ll be the long-term solution. In fact, there’s a decent chance Kevin Broadus will be back. Unless the audit reveals a cause to fire him, they owe him an awful lot of $$$ to buy him out

A lot of what ifs in all of these scenarios.  Binghamton basketball fans just need the Kaye report to come out ASAP, so we can stop thinking about what ifs and start think about finally putting this mess behind us.

• ESPN: “Macon, Temple’s all-time leading scorer, could just be the best man for this crazily messy job. He is a disciple of John Chaney, a man who never saw a mountain he couldn’t scale or impossible odds he couldn’t beat. Chaney made a career out of fashioning his teams piecemeal out of players no one else thought much of.  Not long after he was given the interim job, Macon reached out to his mentor, not so much for basketball advice but just for life advice. The wise old Owl delivered.  ‘He said just keep it simple and be a voice,’ Macon said. ‘I’m not a screamer by nature, but he told me I had to have a voice.’  His voice appears to be resonating. A talented player who also played with the sort of work ethic Chaney demanded, Macon is rubbing off on his team.”
• USA Today: “Binghamton is last in the league in scoring (58.0 points), free throw shooting (63.2%), three-point shooting (27.6%) and turnover margin (-3.6). But Macon has molded these Bearcats in the defensive image of John Chaney, his coach at Temple. They’re second in the league in blocked shots, have held their own on the boards and are 4-3 at home.  The starters usually include Wright (a junior college transfer), Mahamoud Jabbi (a walk-on from Division III Oswego) and Chretien Lukusa and Moussa Camara, who had a total of 19 starts last season.  Freshmen Dylan Talley and Pina Guillaume have been thrown into the fire, as has Turkish transfer Umur Peten.  ‘Most everyone I talk with thinks Coach Macon is doing a great job,’ Cheriyan said. ‘ A lot of the players are walk-ons. Students don’t blame them for what’s happened.’  Students will be back on campus when Binghamton hosts league-leading Vermont on Sunday. Almost 600 students have confirmed via Facebook that they will attend, and a crowd of 4,000 is expected.  ‘Everyone knows we’re not where we were last year,” Cheriyan said. “But we still support these guys, and we still support the program.’”

Thanks to a very caring Christmas present from my girlfriend, today is the first time that I have actually been able to drink coffee while I put up a post.  She got me one of those fancy coffee makers that has the auto-timer, so now I just have to wake up and my coffee is ready with me.

This was a great little weekend for sports.  My other green-and-white team, the Jets, thumped the Bengals again.  Chargers-Jets is going to be a very interesting match-up since the Chargers don’t really stop the run too well and the Jets have some option on where to put Darrelle Revis.   Do you match him up against Vincent Jackson?  Do you match him up against Malcolm Floyd?  Do you match him up against Antonio Gates?

In their second AE game, the Bearcats lost at home in overtime to Maine 66-61.  This was a pretty awful game to watch.  Both teams, except Moussa Camara, shot a horrific percentage from the three-point line.  Maine shot 9% and Binghamton shot 13%.  Maine won this game by getting to the foul line 20 more times than Binghamton including some crucial free throws in overtime.

This was a bad loss, but I think it also shows that Binghamton is going to be able to compete this year.  Maine has been the surprise of the AE OOC, and taking them to overtime with only 6 scholarship players and without your starting point guard shows you the type of team Binghamton has become.

Recaps:

• AP: “Binghamton clung to a 57-55 lead halfway through OT, but after a defensive stop, Mitchell made a layup in traffic to tie the score. He gave Maine the lead moments later on a pair of free throws and then extended that lead to four with 50 seconds left.”
• Video from WBNG: “Visiting Maine (9-6, 1-1 AE) made just one field goal in overtime but converted 11-of-14 free throws to outlast cold-shooting Binghamton (6-11, 1-1 AE) 66-61 Sunday afternoon from the Events Center. It was the Black Bears’ first win in seven tries at the Events Center.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “With Maine employing a 2-3 zone for much of the game, BU (6-11, 1-1) hit just 20 of 61 shots from the field (33 percent), including an unsightly 6-for-35 (17 percent) from 3-point range.  ‘We settled for too many jump shots (Sunday) instead of attacking the basket,’ BU interim coach Mark Macon said. ‘We hit some shots in the first half, but (Maine) kept plugging away. We have to get the ball inside, then kick it out.  We shot 35 3-pointers. That’s ridiculous.’  BU was without two starters Sunday. Point guard Dylan Talley missed his third straight game with an upper thigh contusion and center Pina Guillaume sat with an ankle injury.”
• Video From WICZ: “Maine takes out BU 66-61 in OT, and shoots 20 more free throws during game, but Coach Macon says the refs are not to blame.  Macon: ‘The ref didn’t put the ball in the basket. The ref didn’t shoot the ball for the other team, and they didn’t shoot the ball for us. We missed shots. We were twenty for 61. That’s a lot of shot man.’”

Congrats to the Bearcats on their first DI victory! I was really enjoying what I was watching from the Bearcats until the stream cut off half way through the second half.

This was the first game I got to see Umur Peten, and he looks like a nice inside-outside threat at 6′9. He has force Kryie Sutton to the bench, even though Kryie had put up double figures against Rider.

The important thing is that offensively and defensively the team looks like they are developing chemistry. I think the 3 games in 3 days at the CBI Classic really helped in that department.

What the Bearcats did best last game was control the ball. Bucknell is a very high-tempo team and Macon did a great job gameplaning by slowing the game down and getting back on transition defense. The Bearcats were very assertive on the offensive end. Dylan Talley and Greer Wright did a great job attacking the basketball and drawing fouls.