There were times when being in the office was tough. It was the scene of a hectic, messy year with more than a few setbacks.

But behind its windowless, cold and sometimes miserable interior, there’s something magical and charming about this office that I love so much. It is the only place at this University where I ever really felt at home and the only place I ever really wanted to be. I wouldn’t have done it any other way or with any other group of people.

Now that I’m wrapping up my term as editor-in-chief and graduating, it’s difficult to put into words how much this place has meant to me over the years. I don’t have great words of wisdom or an amazing story to tell. But I just want to say how much everybody who put even an ounce of effort into this thing means to me.

Thank you to everyone who’s picked up the paper this year — even if it was just for the crossword.

Georgia, thank you for letting me test out the jokes I was going to say in the office on you. I’m sure almost none of them were funny. You’re so kind, funny and smart — even when all I talked about was Pipe Dream. I’ve learned so much from you. I’ll miss the corner gang with you and Amy.

Jeff, I read your senior column at least 20 times before writing this to try and figure out how to write one even half as good as yours was. You might not realize it, but so much of what you and Rohit left us helped us so much. Rohit, thank you for thinking I’d be a competent managing editor and showing me how to do just about everything in Pipe Dream. I should’ve called you for help more than I did — I needed it more than I let on.

Emily and Bridget, I’m so confident in you two — you’re going to do a great job next year. I’m so happy I’m leaving Pipe Dream in better hands than it was in this year. Never take any of this too seriously, even when it gets tough.

Thank you E.Jay for letting me cover men’s basketball with you. It might’ve seemed small, but it meant so much to me and I learned a lot. Orla, I know we had a rough time working together every now and then, but I hear we’re going to be in the same building this summer. We should catch up sometime.

Shauna, I’ll miss calling you from across the room. I’ll see you in New City when you get back from San Francisco. In case anybody doesn’t know, she’s interning at the SFMOMA.

Henry, Kevin, Sam and Sasha, thank you for working so hard this year. It was a little tough at times, but I’m proud of all you guys have done.

Thank you Kara for putting so much effort into PRISM. I can’t imagine where it would be if you didn’t take over. Sarah, I know you’ll do great next year.

Cory, keep doing great things. You and Kevin made the paper look so good this year. I’m going to miss the Animal Crossing theme song. Maryam, we put you in a tough situation this year, but you’re doing great. If you don’t do anything else next year, just remember to invoice.

Erik, Nick, Joe, Josh, Andrew, Brandon and anybody else I’m forgetting, you guys might not read this, but I really was in the Pipe Dream office that entire time.

Thank you Mom and Dad for always being there for me. Emily, thank you for always being supportive and sending me pictures of Luna. Also, congratulations on … that thing.

And thank you WB03 for always feeling like home these past few years. I dreaded writing this column all year, not because it was hard or because I’m not ready to graduate, but because it means being evicted from this place where I’ve spent so much time, it became more like my apartment than my apartment itself.

Noah Bressner is the editor-in-chief. He was the managing editor in fall 2017 and an assistant sports editor in 2016-17.

Binghamton University sophomore Michael Roque, 20, is charged with second-degree murder for the stabbing of fellow BU student Joao Souza.

At a press conference on Monday night, police confirmed that Roque, of Massapequa, New York, was arrested in his dormitory room in Hunter Hall of Mountainview College on Monday afternoon. Police declined to release details of Roque’s whereabouts before his arrest, but were seen searching the Binghamton University Nature Preserve, Hillside Community and Susquehanna Community on Monday before his arrest was announced at the 5 p.m. press conference. BU director of media and public relations Ryan Yarosh said on Thursday that those police officers were searching for evidence.

He was held on campus and transferred to Broome County Jail around 8:30 p.m. Monday for arraignment. Roque pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail.

“There is a suspect in custody, and we will have further information at an appropriate time,” said Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell. “We are very limited in what we can provide today, but we believe that charges are imminent and I can’t really speak to any of the facts of the case other than that.”

Following Roque’s arraignment, the District Attorney’s Office is expected to present the case to a grand jury for indictment. Roque faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Roque graduated in 2016 from Syosset High School, where he ran track. He has six siblings. His brother, Julio Roque, was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault in February 2016 after he was accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping female in a residence hall at Fairfield University, according to the Fairfield Citizen.

Souza, 19, died after he was stabbed on the ground floor of Windham Hall of Mountainview College late Sunday night, police said.

The fatal stabbing occurred around 10:30 p.m., according to a B-Alert sent out by the University at 11:14 p.m. Binghamton’s New York State University Police were on the scene, as well as New York State Police. According to authorities, Roque fled on foot, prompting a 20-hour manhunt on campus and surrounding areas.

Souza was a freshman majoring in engineering who graduated last year from Blind Brook High School in Rye Brook, New York. He was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and was originally from Brazil. According to police, he was found seriously injured in his suite and was taken by Harpur’s Ferry ambulance to United Health Services Wilson Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the attack was not random, however, no motive has been released.

The homicide marks the second murder of a BU student in the past five weeks. Senior Haley Anderson, 22, was found dead inside a student residence on the city of Binghamton’s West Side on March 9. Police say Anderson was strangled by Orlando Tercero, a 22-year-old student who later fled the country. Tercero has been charged with second-degree murder and is currently awaiting extradition in Nicaragua.

According to University President Harvey Stenger, the University will be reviewing its safety measures in the coming weeks.

“I promise that we will learn from this tragedy, and I want to thank all those people who have worked so diligently over the last 20 hours to bring some closure to this horrible tragedy,” Stenger said. “We are going to go over the last 20 hours, everything that happened, everything that we did, how we communicated with our population, with our community, and see if there are ways we could’ve done it better. You kind of learn on the fly with these things, and we want to make sure that if anything could have been done better, especially with the communication with our community, we learn from that.”

BU was eliminated from AE playoff contention on Saturday after a 67-57 loss to Hartford. It will be the only one of nine teams to miss the conference tournament. Binghamton has lingered near the bottom of the conference all season, shining only in home victories against Albany and Stony Brook.

It has been a rocky six years for Binghamton since head coach Tommy Dempsey took over the program before the 2012-13 season. In that time, the Bearcats have gone 47-137, including just 20-75 against AE opponents.

The Bearcats lost by 32 points when they faced the Hawks (18-11, 11-4 AE) in mid-January.

“We just weren’t able to get it done,” Dempsey said. “We did some good things, it was a 40-minute fight. I thought that we had a couple of stretches in the game where we lost our flow on offense.”

This year will be the first time since 2012 that there are nine teams eligible for the conference playoffs. A committee of the conference’s coaches voted unanimously last year to forgo a play-in game in favor of eliminating the ninth seed.

When asked if there was any single moment this season Binghamton could focus on moving forward, Dempsey said the team isn’t as far away from success as its record shows. He walked into the postgame press conference and blamed himself for this season’s lows.

“The thing I’m most proud of is that we went through the struggle and really stayed with it,” Dempsey said. “We played hard every night and we’ve shown some signs of a team that I still feel like could be a really good team.

“I didn’t do a good enough job at pulling it together and I take full responsibility for that.”

The Bearcats have struggled to find any kind of rhythm all season long. And against the Hawks, a torrent of fouls and unforced turnovers hammered the final nail into the coffin of any remaining playoff hopes BU held just three days after a dispiriting 21-point loss to Vermont.

Saturday’s game was supposed to offer BU some sort of amnesty from a harsh stretch of what has been an unexpectedly tough season. It was senior day, during which the program honored all seven of the graduating players. Dempsey decided to start all five healthy seniors.

So in the first half, the Bearcats played a jittery, almost emotional form of basketball. They kept Hartford to 1-10 from 3-point range, where they entered the game averaging 34.9 percent. Sophomore guard Fard Muhammad scored nine points in the first half, going three-for-four from beyond the arc.

But BU also coughed the ball up seven times in the first half while only forcing one turnover. The team ended the game with 11 turnovers and 17 personal fouls that allowed Hartford to go 18-of-23 from the foul line.

Binghamton made it to the line just four times in the entire game.

“I mean, we didn’t get to the line much,” Dempsey said. “I’m not an official, but that was a tough number for us.”

A dunk by junior forward Thomas Bruce with a little over nine minutes left in the game seemed to energize Binghamton’s bench. A free throw immediately after gave the Bearcats a one-point lead.

Hartford, though, continued to find success driving to the basket. A layup from Hartford junior guard Travis Weatherington put the Hawks back in the lead and sparked a 7-0 stretch that put the game out of reach for BU.

Muhammad led Binghamton with 14 points and three assists. He was followed by junior guard J.C. Show, who contributed 13 points. Bruce put up a near double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.

Redshirt junior forward John Carroll led Hartford with 23 points and 15 rebounds. He shot nine-for-11 from the free-point line.

“I was joking with the guys earlier that I was going to cry on senior night,” Muhammad said. “I was emotional, I love this team.”

The Bearcats are set to finish their season against Albany on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from SEFCU Arena in Albany, New York.

Across the country, the data kept on hate crime and bias incidents is woefully inadequate. There isn’t a single reliable national database on hate crimes and bias incidents.

That’s why Pipe Dream is partnering with ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit organization dedicated to investigative reporting, to document hate crimes and other bias incidents that occur on BU’s campus and in the surrounding communities. ProPublica’s project, Documenting Hate, is collecting reports to create a national database of hate crimes and bias incidents that will be used to inform broader reporting of the issue for news organizations around the country.

The FBI defines hate crimes as “criminal offenses motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” But even its database of such incidents is flawed, untimely and incomplete.

A bias incident, according to ProPublica, “is an offense motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s animosity toward the victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other protected status. It may not be considered a crime under the law. This could include incidents involving harassment or intimidation.”

Whether you are a victim or a witness, or you hear about a hate crime or bias incident secondhand, we need your help to track down these untold stories. Neither ProPublica nor Pipe Dream will share your name or contact information with any outside organization, including the University.

If you’ve experienced or witnessed an incident of hate or bias, please share your story with us below. A Pipe Dream or PRISM reporter may follow up with you for more details to the extent you are comfortable sharing them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center recommends that you also report any hate crimes or bias incidents to the police or other relevant authorities. Binghamton’s New York State University Police can be reached at (607) 777-2393. BU’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion can be reached at (607) 777-4775, and its incident form can be found here.

The Colonial News evolved into what is now Pipe Dream, and Triple Cities College, originally a two-year satellite campus of Syracuse University, evolved into the fledgling research institution that we now know as Binghamton University.

This university is very different now than it was at its founding. It’s very different now than it was even a decade ago. There are more students and more faculty. The University Downtown Center expanded BU’s reach into the city of Binghamton and a new eight-acre health sciences campus will soon bring BU into Johnson City as well.

As the University grows, we renew our mission to tell the stories that matter to you, our readers — whatever your relationship to the University may be.

It is vital to find your own voice and your own path through Binghamton. Even more than Pipe Dream has been in the past, we want to be a place where everybody in this community can use their voice to call for change — even when that change seems improbable.

Over eight decades ago, the editors of The Colonial News included in that first issue a statement of our values as an organization:

“This is a new paper in a new college. It is up to you, all of you, to insure its success. It will reflect your views and opinions, those of the aggregate student body. Primarily as a news organ it will reflect your achievements — and your failures.”

This mission is perhaps even more important today as the University and the communities that surround it grow and change. We promise to cover BU with fairness in both its triumphs and failures.

Our goal is to create a quality news report that you can’t find elsewhere at BU. We aspire to be more than just a log of what happens, and instead to truly help you understand what makes this community tick.

We still believe in the high level of quality journalism that was written about on the pages of The Colonial News all those years ago. We want to find the stories that you’re passionate about; our job is to serve you — the BU community. Stop by our office in University Union West Room B03 to let us know what you liked, and especially what you didn’t like. We understand that we sometimes miss the mark, but our conversations with you make us stronger as a newspaper and ultimately help us serve you better.

The building where Triple Cities College once stood is still there on Lincoln Avenue in Endicott — a testament to the University’s rapid growth and a monument to a different part of its history. Pipe Dream isn’t meant to just be a monument, but a living and growing record of the University, its successes and its growing pains. However you want to tell your stories, we’ll be there taking notes.

Noah Bressner is a senior majoring in history.

This action by the International Olympic Committee comes at a time when doping, also known as the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes, is a widespread problem on the international stage. In Russia, the doping in Sochi was committed on a national level, in an operation that is believed to be unrivaled in its scale.

Regarding the actions of the Russian Olympic Committee, in the report issued by the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, the body’s president, wrote, “This was an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport.”

The ban is the first of its kind in Olympic history, so its implications cannot be fully anticipated. However, this ban is an appropriate one in light of the significant role Russia has traditionally played in the Olympic games.

The nation has won 556 Olympic medals since 1994, more than every other nation besides the United States. Many of the medals that Russia won at Sochi have already been revoked, and the rest are in question.

The first widely published concrete evidence for Russia’s doping during the Sochi games came with the documentary “Icarus” and a related article published in the New York Times in May 2016.

In these, the director of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory during the 2014 games, Grigory Rodchenkov, exposed the actions of the lab staff: developing a unique blend of performance-enhancing drugs and replacing tainted urine samples with clean samples. His accounts were consistent with previous findings published by the World Anti-Doping Agency and he also supplied emails between officials to back up his claims.

At a time when Russian politics are tightly intertwined with those in the West, the doping operation at Sochi was and remains a flashpoint. Those who have covered the scandal and ban have gone back and forth about whether or not the doping would benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin politically.

Andrew Osborn, writing for Reuters, suggested that the ban strengthens Putin’s message that the wider world is out to get Russia. In contrast, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, writing for the Washington Post, said, “Gold medal winners will not get to hear the Russian national anthem, all because of Putin’s decision to cheat.”

This is not the first time that Russia has involved its athletes in a plan for doping — it notably occurred ahead of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, which the Soviet Union ultimately boycotted, and again in the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. The Soviet Union had a history of doping, and Putin is engaging with this tradition as the leader of Russia.

The International Olympic Committee is working with a panel to offer spots in the Pyeongchang games to Russian athletes who would compete under the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia,” according the report published by the body. The Russian national team will have the opportunity compete again in future Olympic competitions after passing a rigorous test.

While these provisions are appropriate, the committee should also consider banning the Russian team from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Until there is a demonstration of remorse by the leaders of the doping scheme and consideration of the further impact of Russia’s actions, the country should not be allowed to compete in the games.

Georgia Westbrook is a senior majoring in art history and Noah Bressner is a senior majoring in history.

In all, he collected eight boards and tallied 23 points despite playing just five minutes in the second half. Combined with a 17-point performance from junior guard Everson Davis, Bruce led the Binghamton men’s basketball team to a 97-65 victory over Hartwick on Sunday.

Bruce, who has notched three double-doubles so far this season, came up just short of his fourth against the Hawks (1-2) while shooting 10-for-10 from the field — a program record. Seven games into the season, his role on the team has grown to include almost everything.

“It’s kind of hard to go perfect from the field,” Bruce said. “Seeing that, and being able to do that, was definitely a big confidence booster for me. I really just like to facilitate, I like to pass and I like to score … whatever I can do to make my team better, I’m going to do.”

While BU (3-4) was never truly threatened by the Hawks, a Division III team scheduled as a buffer between a weeklong trip around North America for the Cancun Challenge and the rest of regular-season play, it struggled more in the first half than a Division I program should against Hartwick. Binghamton scraped a nine-point lead going into halftime before breaking out in the second.

“I’ve got to give Hartwick credit, they really came to play,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “Their kids stepped up and made a lot of shots. In the first half, we weren’t getting as many stops as we needed to, so their defense was constantly set.”

The Bearcats shot a 52.7 percent clip from the field on Sunday, but struggled from beyond the arc. BU went nine-for-33 in 3-point range, including just 18.8 percent in the first half. Junior guard J.C. Show tallied 15 points, while junior guard Timmy Rose led Binghamton with seven assists.

Sophomore guard Fard Muhammad largely took over late in the game when Binghamton’s edge became irreversible and its starters largely headed for the bench, tallying nine points, two rebounds and an assist. Dempsey aimed to play as many players as possible against the Hawks — 10 Bearcats played in the first half alone.

Freshman guard Kevin Townes and senior guard Corey Baker led Hartwick with 15 points each. Baker went five of six from the 3-point range while tallying four steals. Binghamton struggled to keep the Hawks away from the 3-point line as a whole, allowing the Hawks to shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bearcats went 1-3 in the Cancun Challenge, losing to George Mason and Evansville before splitting a pair of games against Montana State and CSU Northridge in Mexico.

“Being back home is definitely a great feeling,” Bruce said. “To come out and execute like we did and play as fast we needed to and play like we did back on our home court was great.”

Binghamton is set to face Delaware State on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from Memorial Hall in Dover, Delaware.

Read more from Pipe Dream Sports:

Binghamton splits contests in Alaska

Mens basketball captures only one victory in Cancun challenge

BU won, earning a NCAA Tournament berth and a first-round matchup against Duke. But after that, an academic scandal emerged, leading to the removal of then-BU head coach Kevin Broadus and the gutting of the team’s roster, setting Binghamton’s basketball program back by years.

It was in that AE Championship game against UMBC over eight years ago that Binghamton’s Elo rating peaked at 1,612. Since then, the Bearcats’ rating among AE teams has plummeted, stagnating near the bottom of the conference and ranking second-to-last, according to Pipe Dream’s analysis.

Elo, a rating system initially created to rank chess players, has become a popular metric for evaluating the performance of a sports team’s performance at any point in time. Popularized by FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver, the metric takes into account a team’s wins and losses and the Elo rating of the team those wins and losses came from. The rating changes each game based on the rating for each previous game. If Binghamton were to beat Vermont, who holds the highest Elo rating, its rating would increase more than if it beat Maine, the worst team according to this analysis, which includes both AE regular-season and playoff games.

Going back to the 2001-02 season, Vermont has spent the most time in first place, according to Elo. The Catamounts’ current rating (1,755) is the highest of any AE team in the past 16 years — an average AE team would be expected to have an Elo hovering around 1,500.

Even though teams ranked at the top are beatable, the ratings are extremely stable when looked at over the course of a few years. The system takes the wins and losses from the past 16 years and over that time period, it is relatively stable. The ratings do fluctuate, but we found that significant increases in performance are rare and typically take years. If there is a big change, however, it tends to last multiple seasons.

There are, of course, flaws with the Elo rating system. It doesn’t take into account the obvious things that might cause a change in a team’s performance. Last year, redshirt junior guard J.C. Show was out most of the season, as was senior forward Willie Rodriguez, and those injuries were not accounted for in the model. It also doesn’t take into account the high player turnover rate in college sports or how experienced a team is at any given time. The Elo ratings are a better benchmark than they are an indicator of future performance. They show where the team is currently and where they might go, but not where they will go exactly.

While there are other rankings that take these things into account, doing so often adds an element of bias. A poll of AE coaches ranked UMBC third, while the Elo ratings show them coming into the season third from the bottom. Binghamton falls eighth in the Elo ratings and tied for sixth in the AE Coaches’ Poll. Stony Brook and New Hampshire are both ranked lower in the coaches’ poll than in the Elo ratings. AE head coaches are more likely to take into account things like injuries and new players, but often overemphasize them. For instance, Stony Brook was ranked seventh last season in the coaches’ poll but finished second.

Pipe Dream will be updating its projections as the season progresses; check back before AE play begins for updated projections and analysis.

The five staff members of the Auxiliary Services office manage the University Bookstore as well as dining, catering, banking, vending and laundry services. Beyond that, they coordinate the BU Acres project and Campus Pre-School & Early Childhood Center.

Peter Napolitano, the director of Auxiliary Services, sees himself as the mediator between the needs of students and demands of vendors that serve college campuses.

“[The vendors are] in business to make money — I get it, I understand that — but by the same token we have thresholds and I don’t want to overtax our program,” Napolitano said. “We try to keep each other in check — I’ll push back and they’ll push back, and somewhere in the middle is where we’re going to meet.”

Student input is important to Napolitano. The Student Culinary Council (SCC), a team of students who meet weekly to advise administrators about food on campus, nutrition and sustainability, drives decisions like changes to retail options in the Marketplace.

Since current seniors arrived on campus in the fall of 2014, a lot has changed in campus dining. Chick-N-Bap replaced Wholly Habaneros, Starbucks and Subway arrived in Hinman College and Nite Owl shifted service from four locations to two. Napolitano explained that student feedback from the SCC, a survey and informal meetings with students drove these decisions and others, which included replacing The Diner with Tully’s and Pandini’s with CopperTop Tavern.

“We listened to the Student Culinary Council, what they wanted — they don’t want personal pan pizzas, they want pizza by the slice and they want it quick,” he said. “So we put CopperTop in to get us quick service, and we have gotten that.”

According to Napolitano, it should take about three minutes from order to pick up at CopperTop. Because CopperTop is an outside vendor, bringing it to campus required a contract process between the restaurant and Sodexo. The Marketplace now has six outside vendors, who have similar contracts to CopperTop’s. All of these involve a careful dance between the interests of the University, Sodexo and the vendor.

It usually takes Auxiliary Services nearly a year to complete a contract. Even before the office issues a request for proposal from outside groups, the staff are busy preparing multiple drafts and projecting the impacts. After the request for proposal is issued, groups submit proposals for the project. Then, the office either negotiates the terms or selects a choice outright and offers it for approval by various University entities.

The University’s contract with M&T Bank, for example, ends this year (after a one-year extension), and the request for proposal process for a campus banking service is underway. Napolitano is reaching out to other banks that might be interested in competing with M&T for the bid. M&T pays the University $30,000 per year to be on campus.

While the contract with M&T lasted a total of six years, contracts with bigger services like Coca-Cola and Sodexo often last a decade. Napolitano said that 10-year contracts allow himself and the University “to get the biggest bang for our buck.”

“I’m asking these companies, these big companies — Coke, Sodexo, Barnes & Noble — I’m asking them to invest in us,” he said. “They need time in order to recoup some of that investment up front.”

Napolitano encourages students to reach out directly to him with feedback and suggestions, and said that talking to them is one of the best parts of his job.

“[With students], there’s no pretense, they’ll tell you exactly what’s on their mind,” he said. “And you know what? I love it that way. You guys should be pushing me and you do. When students are pushing, I know we’ve got a good, healthy program.”

But barely 11 minutes into the first half, the ball whirred toward the box from the corner flag and bounced around the Bearcats’ defense as if it had been launched from the spring of a pinball machine. It finally settled into the back of the net off a header from the Lions’ senior defender Alex Bangerl.

That goal would be the first and final blow in Binghamton’s 1-0 loss to Columbia (3-0-2). It was the Bearcats’ fourth loss in five games.

Standing inside the Events Center after the game had ended, Marco tried to explain what happened during the scrum.

“From a performance standpoint, I thought we did quite well in the game,” Marco said. “But from an outcomes standpoint, I’m absolutely gutted that we conceded a set-piece goal. They read the path of the ball sooner than we did, and it was a little disappointing because I thought we could have been better in that moment.”

For the rest of the game, BU’s back line held steady but played aggressively, racking up 13 fouls. Despite allowing just one goal in each of its last two games, Binghamton’s defense has struggled at times, even though it’s one of the more experienced parts of the roster. The Bearcats (2-4-1) have given up 116 shot attempts so far, while their offense has mustered just 74.

Redshirt sophomore Alejandro Cubillo has been Binghamton’s starting goalkeeper since last season, but split time with redshirt sophomore Chris Shutler against Columbia. Both goalkeepers logged three saves. Marco said he has been impressed by Cubillo so far this season, but had planned on giving Shutler playing time as well.

“We’re trying to increase competition in the team in every position, from the striker back to the goalkeeper,” Marco said. “I think that we’re being as fair as possible to the guys — we’re giving everybody a fair shake in training and we’re giving everybody a chance to earn their time.”

Down by one goal early in the first half, junior forward Nikos Psarras found the ball at his feet just in front of Columbia junior goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira. But he rifled what would become the Bearcats’ best chance to tie the game straight into Castanheira’s hands.

For at least one game, Psarras was kept away from the net. He has propelled the Bearcats’ offense with five goals this season, including four in his last four outings.

Even freshman Noah Luescher, the Swiss midfielder who Marco has heralded as one of BU’s best young players, struggled to get Binghamton’s offense moving against the Lions’ back line. He recorded two shots; neither were on goal.

Both junior midfielder Harrison Weilbacher and junior midfielder Florian Orth returned to the field from lower-body injuries. Weilbacher played the final 18 minutes in his first game of the season, substituting in for Luescher. Marco plans on easing him back into the rotation over the next few games.

“The good thing about getting Harry [Weilbacher] back is that Noah [Luescher] is going to have to step up and get even better, which at the moment he is creating assists like no other person,” said redshirt senior midfielder Charlie Novoth. “It can only help our team, so it’s going to be great for us.”

Binghamton has struggled against Columbia in the past: the Bearcats have played the Lions in four of their last five seasons, losing by one goal each time.

Binghamton is set to return to the field on Saturday against Canisius. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, New York.

With that 1-0 win over Hartford in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Friday, the Binghamton baseball team clinched the America East (AE) regular-season title. For the second straight year, the Bearcats (30-11, 15-4 AE) will head to the AE Conference Championship with the No. 1 seed.

BU completed a three-game sweep over the Hawks (20-28, 8-13 AE) on Saturday in its final series of the regular season.

“That was our first goal: to win the regular-season championship,” Wloczewski said. “Hopefully … we can roll right into the tournament and keep playing good baseball.”

In game one, the first of a doubleheader on Friday, sophomore starting pitcher Nick Gallagher tied a program record with his eighth win of the season. Gallagher allowed five hits and one run over six innings in the Bearcats’ 4-1 victory over the Hawks.

With the game tied at one in the fourth inning, junior designated hitter drove in Agresti and advanced freshman second baseman Justin Drpich to third base on a single to center field. Freshman shortstop Greg Satriale lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Drpich.

The Bearcats never looked back from their two-run cushion, and scored another run in the eighth inning. Junior pitcher Dylan Stock notched the save in the ninth after junior pitcher Joe Orlando threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Hartford’s pitching staff struggled early on in the series finale on Saturday. In the first five innings, sophomore starting pitcher Connor Lewis and redshirt junior reliever David Drouin combined to allow eight runs.

Yurchak went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a walk in Binghamton’s 10-1 victory over the Hawks. Junior southpaw Nick Wegmann was credited with the win after pitching six no-hit innings.

“We have a very deep roster,” Yurchak said. “Everybody’s ready when they’re called upon, and we just want to battle and win games.”

The Bearcats are set to play in the double-elimination AE Conference Championship this week, and will face the winner of No. 4 Albany and No. 5 Maine on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. from Edward A. LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Just five days after hitting a walk-off grand slam against St. Bonaventure, Drpich hit a game-winning double that scored junior catcher Jason Agresti in the bottom of the eighth inning of the series finale on Sunday — securing a 5-2 victory. Drpich’s hit led to a three-run rally, which was continued with a single from junior designated hitter Pat Britt that scored two runners.

“He’s done what everybody dreams about doing,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “He’s made the most of getting a starting position and he’s really run with it.”

Despite a strong outing, redshirt junior starting pitcher Jacob Wloczewski was credited with a no-decision. He struck out 10 and allowed just one earned run in six innings before being replaced by freshman pitcher Ben Anderson. Senior relief pitcher Nicholas Liegi notched the win after pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the game.

“All weekend long, I thought we threw the ball well and pitched the ball well,” Sinicki said.

The Bearcats (26-9, 11-2 America East) and the River Hawks (22-22, 10-10 AE) played through two days of steady rain.

The Bearcats defeated the River Hawks, 6-2, to open the series in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Junior center fielder CJ Krowiak and Drpich hit two home runs each, driving in five of BU’s six runs.

Binghamton jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before UMass Lowell scored two runs in the eighth inning. Sophomore starting pitcher Nick Gallagher struck out eight batters in six scoreless innings. Junior pitcher Joe Orlando allowed two runs in two innings of relief before junior pitcher Dylan Stock secured the victory in the ninth. With the win, Gallagher improved to 7-1 so far this season with a 1.40 ERA.

“Nick’s development and maturity has been terrific,” Sinicki said. “He went from a guy who, last year, strictly worked out of the bullpen for us to now being our No. 1 starter.”

In game two, senior first baseman Brendan Skidmore hit a walk-off single to center field in the bottom of the seventh and final inning. With the game tied at five, Skidmore drove in redshirt sophomore third baseman Justin Yurchak to secure a 6-5 win and a series victory over the River Hawks — his 26th RBI of the season. Yurchak had reached base on a walk before advancing to third base on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt by Agresti.

With a one-run lead in the fourth inning, senior left fielder Darian Herncane hit a two-run homer deep to center field. But after that, Binghamton’s pitching staff allowed three runs in the sixth.

Junior starting pitcher Nick Wegmann allowed four earned runs and three walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched before being replaced by freshman pitcher Jake Miller for the final two outs of the sixth. Stock was credited with the victory after striking out two batters in the seventh. Drpich’s clutch hitting on Sunday led the Bearcats to their sweep of the River Hawks.

“I thought that we showed a lot of resiliency this weekend,” Sinicki said. “We battled some tough conditions and I’m really proud of the way our guys played.”

Binghamton is set to face Siena on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

At the dinner, which was attended by over 100 paying guests at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Downtown Binghamton, Simms talked about the accomplishment of the inductees.

“It’s really cool,” Simms said. “Any time a team from New York does something like that, especially something like win the Little League World Series, it’s a really big accomplishment. They’re competing against not only the entire world, but all of the baseball states like California or Texas where they can practice all year-round.”

Simms, a two-time Super Bowl champion, spent 14 seasons as a quarterback for the Giants. In that time, he threw 199 touchdowns and 33,262 yards in 159 career starts. The 1987 Super Bowl MVP recently moved from his job as a color analyst for CBS to a new position in the studio, where he will begin working in the fall.

The Maine-Endwell Little League team defeated South Korea last summer to win the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. All 11 members of the team were present at the ceremony.

Steve Chomyszak, another inductee, played seven seasons for AFL and NFL teams following a football and track and field career at Syracuse. Chomyszak was drafted in the 12th round of the 1966 AFL draft by the New York Jets, but spent just one season with the team. After playing for the Jets in 1966, Chomyszak joined the Cincinnati Bengals for six seasons.

Along with the Maine-Endwell Little League team and Chomyszak, nine other individuals were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Among the other members was Kelsey Green, who spent 12 seasons as the head coach of the Chenango Forks High School football team. While there, he led Chenango Forks to two class-B state championships and six championship game appearances.

The Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 2014 in order to honor local athletes who have made a national impact. The hall is currently trying to find a new home for its plaques, which are currently housed in the Oakdale Mall.

“Our ‘Vision’ for the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame is to expand or Hall of Fame … into a Sports Museum, detailing the History of Sports in our Community, and finding a central location to house it,” Anthony Quagliata, founder of the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame, wrote in a statement.

In addition to the induction, the Hall of Fame announced that it has donated $2,400 to two Boys & Girls Clubs in the Binghamton area.

At the end of a press conference before the dinner, Simms hesitantly revealed his Super Bowl picks for next season.

“I think it’s going to be the Giants and the Patriots,” he said.

Wloczewski, who pitched a complete game over seven innings of a doubleheader, helped secure the Bearcats’ three-game sweep over the Great Danes — BU’s first sweep in America East (AE) play this season. The Bearcats have now won 16 of their last 20 games.

With the game tied in the seventh inning of the series’ finale, junior center fielder CJ Krowiak became became the Bearcats’ first base runner of the inning. Then, a flurry of mistakes by Albany freshman pitcher David Hutchison loaded the bases for BU. Junior catcher Jason Agresti ripped a single to left field to drive in the game’s winning runs. Senior catcher Eddie Posavec continued the rally by hitting a line-drive single to center field, driving in redshirt sophomore third baseman Justin Yurchak.

In the series opener, sophomore starting pitcher Nick Gallagher led the Bearcats (16-7, 6-2 AE) to a 7-2 victory over the Great Danes (11-17, 3-9 AE). He struck out eight batters and allowed four hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Gallagher let up two runs off of a single to right field in the bottom of the third. Binghamton retaliated in the sixth, taking the lead by scoring four runs. Junior pitcher Joe Orlando threw 2 2/3 innings in relief, notching his first save of the season. Orlando improved his ERA to 2.86 for the season after allowing seven runs in his previous outing.

In the rubber game on Saturday, senior first baseman Brendan Skidmore batted in the game-winning run in the eighth — the Bearcats defeated the Great Danes, 4-3. Skidmore, Krowiak and junior shortstop Paul Rufo finished the game with two hits and an RBI each.

Junior starting pitcher Nick Wegmann allowed three unearned runs, five hits and struck out four in six innings pitched. Junior pitcher Dylan Stock was credited with the win after pitching the eighth and ninth innings.

Albany’s rotation allowed 31 hits over the course of three games, while the Bearcats gave up just 13.

Prior to its sweep over Albany, Binghamton took two of three games in a home series against UMBC before splitting a pair of weekday games against Penn State and Cornell.

The Bearcats are set to face Marist in a doubleheader on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

But on Saturday against Albany, UVM (29-5, 16-0 AE) gave up just 53 points in its return to the conference championship game. Vermont punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament after 40 agonizing minutes in the AE Championships. After trailing late in the second half, the Catamounts came back to earn a 56-53 comeback victory over the Great Danes (21-13, 10-6 AE).

The Catamounts (29-5) improved their winning streak to 21 — the longest current run in the nation — and finally solved the Great Danes in the conference championship game, the program’s return to March Madness. Albany had been 3-0 in conference title games against Vermont, with two of those wins coming in UVM’s home arena of Patrick Gymnasium.

The win sealed Vermont’s perfect AE season. The Catamounts are the first team to do so in the conference since 1992. Their championship is their sixth since 2006.

Down by nine points with 7:49 remaining in the second half, Vermont went on a 7-1 run. The run, which tied the game at 48, was bookended by two 3-pointers from senior guard Kurt Steidl. Redshirt junior forward Payton Henson led Vermont with 17 points, shooting five of eight from the field. Freshman forward Anthony Lamb, recipient of the Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player Award, added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

With 39 seconds left, Henson was fouled after making a layup with an assist from junior guard Trae Bell-Haynes. His free throw sealed the Catamounts’ victory.

Redshirt junior forward Travis Charles led Albany with 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench. He was followed by sophomore guard David Nichols who tallied 14 points, but shot just 24 percent from the field, including one of nine from beyond the arc.

Vermont’s victory earned them the No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on fourth-seeded Purdue on Thursday from the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When Schneider fell in the first round of the NCAA Championships last season, he made the call to rethink his training approach. After realizing that his mental preparations were leaving him at a disadvantage, he came to a counterintuitive conclusion — to just think about it less. This year, in the 184-pound weight class, Schneider has embraced his new method of competing, and it’s paid off. He compiled a 32-8 record and will carry the No. 15 seed when he takes the floor at the NCAAs on Thursday.

“It’s kind of draining if you think about your matches way too far in advance,” Schneider said. “It’s really mentally, physically and emotionally draining. I’ve learned to think less until you smack hands on the mat, and then just turn into an animal for seven minutes.”

All season long, Schneider has worked on his technique. Despite the shift in his mental approach, the commitment to training that allowed him to reach the national level has remained the same. For Schneider, that includes early-morning workouts followed by afternoon bouts with his teammates during practice.

“I bet if you ask any Division I wrestler, they will never say that this sport is easy,” Schneider said. “That’s something that I realized when I came to college. Being confident is a huge factor, but what I’ve learned most from being at this tournament last year is that you have to think and feel less. You’ve got to have a sort of carefree attitude, while still putting in your best effort.”

Schneider qualified for this year’s NCAA Championships after placing fourth at 184 the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships. He believes that his experience at the same meet last season has left him better prepared for when he takes the mat this weekend. He’ll be joined at the NCAA Championships by redshirt senior Dylan Caruana, wrestling in the 141-pound weight class.

“My first time here, last year, it was at Madison Square Garden, and I definitely felt the nerves,” Schneider said. “It’s good to have that out of the way already and to have match experience at this incredible tournament. There has been nervous energy, but it’s not as present this time around. Mentally, I’m definitely more prepared this time around, for sure.”

This year, Schneider has been faced with tough matchups in EIWA play. The conference, one of the best in the country, is sending seven wrestlers to compete at 184 in the NCAA Championships — including Cornell senior Gabe Dean, the reigning national champion of the weight class. Schneider believes that Binghamton’s conference schedule will give him an advantage as he competes on the national stage.

“When you have an easy schedule, it’s really not preparing you for the big-time matches,” Schneider said. “When you’re in a tough conference — like the EIWA or the Big 10, which are the top two — and you’re battling these guys every weekend, it boosts your confidence when you win. That’s how you’re going to win in March; you need small successes along the way against tough opponents to win in the highest emotional matches.”

Schneider will face American senior James Grimes in the first round of the NCAA Championships. He defeated Grimes in a 4-1 decision at a dual meet against American in February. The match is set for Thursday morning from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Bearcats’ season ended on Wednesday night following a first-round loss to the Seawolves (18-12, 12-4 America East). BU (12-20, 3-13 AE) hasn’t won a game in the AE Tournament since the 2011-12 season. Against Stony Brook, Binghamton fell behind early and never recovered, as it has all season. The Bearcats’ defeat — their ninth straight — served as a bitter ending to a season that began with lofty expectations.

“We’ve certainly been struggling,” Dempsey said. “We’ve lost several in a row … and Stony Brook came out clicking on all cylinders. It would’ve been so easy to just roll over, but I thought our kids fought for 40 minutes and gave me everything they could.”

Down by 19 points going into the second half, the Bearcats significantly cut the deficit. But toward the end of the second half, it became apparent that BU’s aggressive style of play was not enough. Binghamton recorded 15 offensive rebounds and made 33 trips to the free-throw line, trimming the lead to seven points with 41 seconds remaining.

“We made a valiant comeback,” Dempsey said. “I thought we missed some free throws at key times that could’ve made things really interesting. But that deficit on the road was probably too big.”

Beck finished with just six points, ending his four-year tenure as the face of Binghamton’s basketball program. He shot just one of three from the field in 17 minutes on the court. Fellow senior guard John Rinaldi was held scoreless in nine minutes. Binghamton’s guards struggled to keep pace with Stony Brook’s big, physical defense. In total, the Bearcats’ guards combined for just 17 of the team’s 60 points.

None of this matched the profile of the team that began the season by going 9-6 in nonconference play. At the end of the season, Dempsey had been hoping to cite BU’s progress. But on Wednesday, the Seawolves demonstrated just how little progress Binghamton has made this year.

Stony Brook’s unexpected success this season was led in part by Woodhouse and junior guard Akwasi Yeboah. Woodhouse scored 24 points in 39 minutes on the court. He was followed by Yeboah, who tallied 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Junior forward Willie Rodriguez led the Bearcats with 20 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes. Rodriguez’s impressive performance was followed by junior forward Bobby Ahearn, who tallied 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Bearcats will enter the offseason with a glimmer of hope — redshirt sophomore J.C. Show will soon be cleared to resume basketball activities. He was sidelined after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured left tricep.

Despite beating Stony Brook earlier this season, the Bearcats have struggled to perform well against the Seawolves in recent memory. BU has now lost 15 of its last 16 contest against Stony Brook.

“They’ve done a great job,” Dempsey said. “You have to give [Stony Brook head coach] Jeff [Boals] and the players credit. The coaches came in and did a great job, and the players were better than people thought.”

Stony Brook will move on to face No. 4 Albany on Sunday in the second semifinals of the conference tournament on Monday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook, New York. No. 1 Vermont will host No. 3 New Hampshire in the first matchup at 7 p.m. at the Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont.

Like almost anybody else looking for a new job, BU head coach Tommy Dempsey set his sights toward home. He interviewed for the BU men’s basketball team’s head coaching position due in part to its proximity to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

“At that point, I thought it was the right time in my career to go and take on a professional challenge that was not only close to home, but had great potential,” Dempsey said. “Not only as an institution — but I knew the University had a great commitment to the program.”

Dempsey was only 36 when he was hired to take over BU’s basketball program. At Rider, he had been one of the youngest head coaches in Division I basketball. After a largely successful seven-year stint as a Bronc, he landed at BU in 2012. At the time, BU was marred by scandal and in desperate need of a rebuild.

Dempsey led Rider to two 23-win seasons after winning just eight games in his first year. When he took over at BU, he was familiar with how big the task would be.

“I had already been through a rebuild at Rider and I had been there as an assistant,” Dempsey said. “I knew Binghamton was coming off of a scandal and having a really hard time. The timing of it all meant a lot. I knew it was going to be a whole new regime and that President Stenger, [Patrick] Elliot and myself were all going to take this rebuild on together.”

But since then, things haven’t gone according to plan. While Dempsey has found success recruiting players, the win column next to his name has largely stagnated, partially due to unlucky injuries to key players at unfortunate times.

Nearing the end of his fifth year, Dempsey and his teams have recorded just 36 wins. Under Dempsey, BU has never won an America East (AE) Tournament game. This season, the results on the court have been largely the same. After winning a program-record nine games in nonconference play, BU has faltered against AE opponents.

Last Wednesday, Dempsey walked into the media room of the Events Center tired and weary-eyed from the late-night trip home following a disappointing loss to Hartford. Clutching a can of Monster, Dempsey sat down to discuss his tenure so far and the future of the program.

“We have a philosophy within the program that we’re like a big oak tree,” Dempsey said. “It takes many many years to grow, but just a few moments to chop down. You can lose ground quickly.”

Dempsey knew the building process would take a long time, but he also expected it to go more smoothly than it has. But even now, Dempsey remains optimistic about the future. Next season, redshirt sophomore guard J.C. Show will return after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured left tricep. Freshman guard Tyler Stewart and junior forward Caleb Stewart will provide the Bearcats with much-needed size after redshirting this season.

“From a win-loss standpoint, we’re behind where we hoped to be,” Dempsey said. “But for who we are as a group, I think it’s great. We have great kids who work hard and represent us well on and off the court. We’ve done what we came here to do in so many ways, and we’ve always thought that the winning might come last.”

For BU, almost every season since Dempsey took over has looked similar. They all started out with a glimmer of hope, which quickly faded into the horizon. But Dempsey and his team still believe that next year is the one that will allow them to put all of their past troubles in the rearview mirror.

“When we look at it and look at the future, we still think we’re going to win here,” Dempsey said. “And we feel that we are going to win big.”

For their first 15 games, everything seemed to be going according to plan. The Bearcats won nine games in nonconference play — a program record. Then, it all came crashing down.

With two games remaining before conference play began, the team announced that redshirt sophomore guard J.C. Show would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured left tricep. Before his injury, Show starred as BU’s best player. He led the Bearcats in scoring with 13.3 points per game, while filling multiple roles in Dempsey’s schemes.

Show’s injury derailed Binghamton’s once-lofty aspirations. Since then, the Bearcats have slogged to a 4-14 record, including a 3-13 mark in America East (AE) play.

Over the course of the season, BU has struggled to shoot, and its defense has been invisible at times. But Show’s injury isn’t the only cause for Binghamton’s problems. Other key players have also fallen short.

Senior guard Marlon Beck, who has been the face of the program since he arrived as a freshman, has averaged just 6.5 points per game — the lowest of his collegiate career. Junior forward Willie Rodriguez, who was selected to the AE Preseason All-Conference Team, has seen his scoring decline to 11.5 points per game from 15.1 points a year ago.

BU will now enter the AE Conference Tournament with the eighth seed, which pits it against No. 2 Stony Brook. Even though Binghamton defeated Stony Brook earlier this season, the Bearcats have a history of struggling against the Seawolves. Stony Brook has knocked BU out of the AE Championship in three of the last five years.

Tipoff of the AE Quarterfinal match is set for 7 p.m. from the Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook, New York.

After dodging sophomore guard Timmy Rose, Howard drained the shot. Down by one point with 45 seconds remaining, the Binghamton men’s basketball team was never able to recover.

In an instant, the decision doomed the Bearcats (12-19, 3-13 America East) to a 72-69 loss to Maine. After leading by as many as 10 points in the second half on Sunday, BU suffered its eighth straight loss.

“That one hurt,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “Give them credit — they fought hard, they made a lot of shots. But once it got real tight there at the end, we just didn’t get it done.”

The Black Bears (7-24, 3-13 AE) embarked on a 12-2 run to tie the game with 8:10 remaining. Maine head coach Bob Walsh shouted from the bench, desperate to motivate his team as it inched back into the game. His shrieking voice pierced through the otherwise quiet arena.

With the game still tied and just over one minute remaining on the clock, junior forward Willie Rodriguez hit one of two free throws. But in the final minute, the Black Bears outlasted Binghamton.

“I thought we found a good offensive flow for a while, but we just weren’t able to maintain it once we got it to double figures,” Dempsey said.

Guards Beck and John Rinaldi were honored in a senior day ceremony before the game. After four years with the Bearcats, the duo received framed jerseys, a standing ovation and a hug from Dempsey. But after the festivities ended, the duo combined for just six points in their final game at the Events Center.

Rodriguez led the Bearcats with 24 points in 32 minutes on the court. He shot a 55.6 percent from the floor, but went 0-for-2 from the 3-point range. Rodriguez was followed by sophomore guard John Schurman, who tallied a career-high 14 points. Schurman’s play was a bright spot for the Bearcats; he shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and contributed an impressive defensive performance. Before Saturday’s game, Schurman had never scored more than five points against an AE opponent.

“A couple of teammates were able to make great passes,” Schurman said. “After the first one went in, I felt pretty good.”

The Black Bears were shorthanded against Binghamton after a locker room incident left a player with a broken jaw and five more players suspended. Redshirt junior guard Wes Myers punched senior forward Marko Pirovic after Pirovic declined to turn down his music. Prior to the incident, Myers was Maine’s leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points per game.

Without Myers, Maine relied heavily on freshman forward Andrew Fleming, who led the Black Bears with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes. Behind Fleming, Maine shot a 44.4 clip from the field, including 42.1 percent from the 3-point range while Binghamton hit just 5-of-20.

Freshman guard Fard Muhammad was sidelined against Maine due to a minor hamstring injury. He is set to be available for the AE Tournament this week.

Binghamton is set to face Stony Brook in the first round of the AE Tournament on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook, New York.

BU head coach Tommy Dempsey pounded the floor. Senior guard Marlon Beck stood next to the key with his hands on his hips. Hartford sealed the game after hitting seven of eight free throws in the final minute. The Hawks handed BU (12-18, 3-12 AE) its seventh straight loss — BU’s longest losing streak during conference play in three years.

Going into their game against the Hawks, the Bearcats found themselves tied for second-to-last place in the AE. But even wins against similarly ranked teams are hard for BU to come by now. BU now finds itself in sole possession of eighth place.

While they put up a fight in the closing minutes against the Hawks, the Bearcats have consistently faltered in the second half of games this season. With 39 seconds remaining, BU cut the deficit to three points. By then, however, BU had already started to strategically foul Hartford players. Against the Hawks, that late push wasn’t enough.

As a team, BU struggled defensively. The Bearcats were unable to effectively guard Hartford’s offense without fouling it. BU sent the Hawks to the free-throw line 37 times and Hartford made 87 percent of its shots from the charity stripe.

BU shot 40 percent from the floor and 29 percent from 3-point range — both higher than Hartford’s marks. The Hawks shot 36.7 percent, including 8-for-28 from beyond the arc.

Sophomore guard Everson Davis led the Bearcats with a career-high 19 points in 24 minutes of play. Davis shot a 40 percent clip from the field, but went just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. He was followed by sophomore guard Timmy Rose and junior forward Bobby Ahearn, who contributed 13 points each.

Despite working on his shooting last summer, Davis has struggled to convert his success in practice to game-time situations. He has averaged 5.3 points per game so far this season.

Earlier this season, recorded nine wins in nonconference play — its most as a Division I program. But since then, the Bearcats have struggled against AE opponents.

An injury to redshirt sophomore guard J.C. Show late in nonconference play derailed BU’s once-lofty aspirations. Over the course of the season, BU has struggled to shoot, and its defense has been invisible at times.

The Bearcats are set to finish regular-season play against Maine on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

“We played hard for 40 minutes against a very good team,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “We’re having a hard time offensively right now and we couldn’t string together enough baskets to enforce our will with the press, which is what gave us the edge in the first meeting with them.”

BU behind early, and never caught up. The Seawolves took a 14-point lead into halftime before extending their lead by seven points in the second half.

Senior guard Marlon Beck and junior center Dusan Perovic led BU with 20 points each.

Freshman guard Akwasi Yeboah led Stony Brook with 19 points. He shot 7-for-11 from the field, including three from beyond the arc. He was followed by junior forward Tyrell Sturdivant, who knocked down 10 points.

The Bearcats struggled from the field against the Seawolves. BU shot 33 percent clip while Stony Brook shot 47 percent from the field.

BU is set to continue AE play against Hartford on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled 7 p.m. from Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion in West Hartford, Connecticut.

After taking an eight-point lead into halftime, the Bearcats (12-15, 7-7 America East) fell apart in the final 20 minutes. BU shot just 29 percent from the field in the second half — down from a 61 percent clip in the first.

Watkins led Binghamton in scoring, shooting a 50 percent clip from the field, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. James had 16 points, 11 blocks and 10 rebounds, recording the fourth triple-double in program history. Her 11 blocks are the most ever by a player at Binghamton and in the AE. For much of the game, however, their teammates struggled. Without Watkins and James, BU shot just 6-for-19 from the field.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Watkins said. “You want to be the best player on the team. You’ve got to play like it and act like it; it comes with the job.”

For the first four minutes of the game, the Bearcats controlled play, going on a 6-0 run to start a strong first half. In the half, 3-pointers flew into the basket and rebounds were collected with ease.

The Seawolves responded quickly after the break. SBU scored points both inside and from beyond the arc, leading to several lead changes in the third. By the end of the quarter, Stony Brook took the lead for good before clinching the victory with a 17-2 run to end the game.

“It’s a disappointing loss for us,” said BU head coach Linda Cimino. ”We had a tough third quarter, but you’ve got to give it to Stony Brook. They shot the lights out of the ball and they played really good defense on a couple of our key players.”

Stony Brook finished the day tallying 12-of-16 from the 3-point line. Driving hard into the paint was another key to the Seawolves’ victory — they went 10 for 16 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Kori Bayne-Walker led Stony Brook with 24 points. She was followed by senior guard Christa Scognamiglio, who put up 22 points.

“[Scognamiglio] might have had a career high today,” Cimino said. “She normally doesn’t shoot that well, and that’s why we went zone.”

Another major contributor to the Bearcats’ offense was freshman guard Carly Boland. She scored 10 points, shooting 47 percent from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. So far this year, Boland has averaged 4.8 points per game in 14.8 minutes.

“Carly [Boland is] a great player,” Cimino said. “She’s a big guard, she’s a matchup problem, and offensively she can do a lot of things out there. She shot the ball well today … and our guards were able to find her.”

BU is set to continue AE play against Hartford on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

Sitting inside of their hotel room in a SpringHill Suites near Philadelphia, Posavec and Skidmore grew increasingly frustrated at the Bearcats’ 2-13 start to the season. They knew BU was better than its record indicated, but couldn’t figure out why the team wasn’t playing up to expectations.

“We just didn’t understand what was going on,” Posavec said. “We knew we had the talent to be a good team, but for some reason we couldn’t put all the pieces together.”

With America East (AE) play set to begin a week later, Posavec and Skidmore realized that the Bearcats needed to change quickly. The last thing BU wanted was a repeat of 2015’s devastating last-place finish, which came just one year after winning the AE Championship.

But all of a sudden, BU’s starting rotation — which had struggled mightily in nonconference play — hit its stride. The Bearcats’ bats heated up, and the errors made by its defense were few and far apart. BU won 25 of its 40 remaining regular-season games — taking the AE regular-season crown, and carrying its momentum to a conference championship.

The Bearcats will now seek to repeat their late-season success and return to the NCAA Tournament, while looking to transcend the cyclical struggles they faced in 2015.

“I certainly think we’re capable of once again winning a conference championship,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “But the league is very, very good — as good as it has ever been.”

BU will return to the field this season without five graduated players, all of whom experienced three conference championships in four years. Four of those players — second baseman Reed Gamache, third baseman David Schanz, starting pitcher Mike Bunal and closer Rob Hardy — held key roles in leading the Bearcats to their recent successes, leaving behind questions of who will replace their production on the mound and at the plate.

“Mike [Bunal] is a great guy, we’re definitely going to miss him,” said redshirt senior pitcher Jake Cryts. “He taught all of our pitchers to pitch with the same tenacity that he does. You knew when he was going out on the mound that you were going to get his best stuff.”

Some of those questions will be answered by the impressive slate of returning players — six of whom were named to AE All-Conference teams, including junior center fielder CJ Krowiak, junior catcher Jason Agresti and Skidmore.

It has not yet been decided, however, who will replace Gamache at second base and Bunal in the starting rotation. Sinicki was reluctant to discuss the decision prior to the start of the season.

Third baseman Justin Yurchak, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Wake Forest, will also be expected to step up this season. Yurchak started 47 games for the Demon Deacons as a freshman before missing last season due to NCAA regulations. In 2015, he batted .313 and tallied five home runs, eight doubles and 33 RBIs before being named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team.

This year, BU will take its nonconference record with a grain of salt, using those games to evaluate players and improve on the field before AE play begins on March 18. AE coaches ranked BU No. 1 in the preseason poll. Last year, the Bearcats were selected to finish fifth.

“What we’re going to try to do is get our guys to peak not here in February or March, but to play our best baseball in April and May, which we have a history of doing,” Sinicki said.

The Bearcats are set to begin their season on Friday against New Mexico. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. from Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The series will continue with games on Saturday and Sunday.

After leading by as many as 21 points in the first half, BU (12-16, 3-10 America East) fell apart in the second. The Bearcats struggled to communicate on the court, fumbling passes before field goals were even attempted. In the final 20 minutes, BU shot just 24 percent from the field, compared to a 50 percent clip in the first.

While BU faltered in the second, the Wildcats (15-11, 6-6 AE) pounced. UNH slowly inched its way back into the game, finally tying BU after senior guard Jaleen Smith hit a highly contested jump shot from inside the paint with 7:56 left. Less than a minute later, New Hampshire embarked on a 14-4 run to close out the game.

After leading for the first 33 minutes, the Bearcats failed to keep pace, losing their fifth straight game in the process.

“That was certainly not an easy one to swallow,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “It’s tough to walk off the court with a loss. But give New Hampshire credit, we played great early … and they were able to hang in there and creep back into the game.”

Early on, BU’s press stumped the Wildcats. The Bearcats forced eight of UNH’s 10 turnovers in the first half before they were forced to back off in the second half with a lack of depth.

“I had to back off of the press in stretches because we didn’t quite have the depth,” Dempsey said. “Especially when we got into foul trouble.”

BU’s lethargic performance in the second half was amplified by foul trouble and injuries. Slipping closer and closer to fouling out, senior guard John Rinaldi and sophomore forward Thomas Bruce found themselves bogged down by fouls, limiting their minutes in the period.

After battling the flu for much of the past week, junior forward Willie Rodriguez tallied just three points in 25 minutes. Junior forward Bobby Ahearn sat out for the second straight game with a broken nose.

Sophomore guard Timmy Rose led BU in scoring against UNH. He tallied 21 points in 31 minutes on the floor, shooting 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. This season, Rose has averaged 7.4 points per game.

“With losing Bobby [Ahearn], he’s one of our top scorers, we’ve been struggling to score lately,” Rose said. “I just try to do whatever it takes to help my team and these past couple of games it’s been trying to score more.”

Against New Hampshire, Dempsey fiddled with the Bearcats’ typical starting lineup. Rinaldi started a game for the first time in 99 career games, and sophomore guard John Schurman played 14 minutes despite averaging 5.2 minutes per game so far this season.

BU is set to continue AE play against Stony Brook on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook, New York.

Pipe Dream: How was your experience at Duke different than playing at Binghamton?

Robert Moewes: I think in general the competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference is a higher level. The facilities and grass fields are all insane. But as a goalkeeper, you’ve got to play ball anyway. The game is a little faster, but it’s not that different to me.

PD: What was the whole MLS SuperDraft process like for you — going through the Combine and waiting for the first two rounds to get drafted?

RM: The Combine was a great experience, and the level at the Combine was really good. It was a really great event. I’m really grateful to have had this experience. For an international goalkeeper, it can be a lot harder to get drafted than players from North America.

PD: Is there anything that you’re looking forward to most as you transition from playing college soccer to the MLS?

RM: Right now, I still have to earn a contract with Toronto FC. But it would definitely be great to be able to be completely focused entirely on soccer. Being in school is great, but you always have to hurry up on the practice field; you don’t have that much time.

PD: What is your status with Toronto FC right now?

RM: When you get drafted, you go into preseason with the team, which is what I’m doing right now while I’m still in school. So it’s a little bit stressful right now as I’m trying to finish my degree. I was in Los Angeles last week with Toronto and I was practicing for the two weeks before that.

PD: When I talked to BU head coach Paul Marco a few weeks ago, he was a little disappointed that you didn’t go higher in the draft. He believes that you’re one of the best college goalkeepers in the country. Do you feel a similar way, that you should’ve gone a little higher?

RM: Yeah, I think so. To be honest, I think so. There were five goalkeepers ahead of me, and I don’t think I’m the worst in that group. The fact that I’m an international goalkeeper played a big role; some teams are not willing to sacrifice an international spot for a new and young goalkeeper, especially knowing that a new goalkeeper will not start right away.

PD: You’re trying to finish your master’s in management studies from Duke at the same time as you’re training with Toronto FC. Can you explain how you’re doing it?

RM: Luckily, both Duke and Toronto FC are cooperating with me. Right now, I have missed about two weeks worth of classes, but I can’t miss much more. So I’ve been flying back and forth, and luckily, Toronto FC has helped me out there. I’ll have a spring break coming up, so I’ll have three weeks where I can just focus on being in Toronto before there’s another period of six weeks where I will have to do the same thing.

PD: Being from Germany, if you were given the opportunity to play professionally in Europe, would you take it?

RM: I think it’s not realistic. I have the most leverage in the United States, where people have seen me play. But it’s every kid’s dream to play in Europe.

PD: Is there a goalkeeper that you would say that you’ve grown up watching, and have modeled your game after?

RM: The best goalkeeper right now is obviously Manuel Neuer. I look at his game and try to play like him, but obviously a much different level of skill.

But the air of anxiety that has packed Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena since the season began has not stemmed from fears of missing the playoffs this year. Instead, many have feared the loss of an AHL team altogether after the September announcement that the Ottawa Senators will move their minor league affiliate to Belleville, Ontario.

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, however, those fears were put to rest. Tom Mitchell, the Binghamton Senators’ executive vice president of operations, announced that the New Jersey Devils will relocate its AHL team to Binghamton from Albany, effective at the start of next season. The team will be known as the Binghamton Devils.

The AHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the deal last Sunday during a meeting in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Devils are set to hold the lease on the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena through the 2021-22 season.

Mitchell deemed the process a long and arduous undertaking.

“It is our intention to give the New Jersey Devils the finest environment to develop their players in that they’ve ever had,” Mitchell said. “I’m certainly familiar … with all the assets we have here, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can do that.”

The Binghamton Senators’ move to Ontario continues a recent trend of AHL teams moving closer to the locations of their parent affiliates. Since the 2015-16 season, 11 NHL teams have relocated their AHL affiliates in order to more directly control the development of young players.

“The Ottawa Senators have been a great partner for 15 years,” Mitchell said. “They were instrumental in helping us bring the American Hockey League back to Binghamton.”

The Devils organization will maintain ownership of the Binghamton Devils and control all hockey-related operations. A local hockey group — consisting of majority owners Tom Bolles and Tim Smith, and minority stakeholders Mitchell, Bob Carr and Ray Stanton III — will take charge of all other operations, which include arena maintenance, game-day operations and marketing.

According to Mitchell, three other NHL teams were involved in discussions to move their affiliate to Binghamton, but he noted that the Devils were always the front-runner. He said that the hardest thing about the relocation process was the timing.

“It’s been a year of issues that we’ve had to sort through,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think there’s any losers in this whole situation.”

The Senators’ current efforts to market the game toward Binghamton University students will be unaffected by the change in affiliation.

“I think that our effort with Binghamton University has expanded,” Mitchell said. “I think that will continue. There are 18,000 students and faculty that we’d like to see at our games every night, so we’re going to continue to work on it.”

Binghamton is scheduled to face the Devils on Saturday. When asked who he thinks fans should root for, Mitchell replied that the Devils won’t play here for a few more months.

“We are the Binghamton Senators until the end of the season,” he said. “I know who I’m rooting for Saturday night.”

It came as no surprise, then, when Toronto FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) soccer club, selected Moewes with the eighth pick in the third round of MLS SuperDraft last Tuesday. According to Marco, Moewes still wasn’t drafted high enough — he was the fifth goalkeeper picked in the draft.

“I really feel like he’s one of the top goalkeepers in the country,” Marco said. “When the first two rounds went by and he didn’t get picked, I was disappointed and I guess that’s a light word.”

Moewes is the first BU soccer player to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft, and the highest-drafted BU athlete in any sport. Prior to last season, Moewes transferred to Duke as a graduate student after spending three years at BU — the first of which he was forced to sit out due to NCAA regulations.

Moewes was named America East (AE) Goalkeeper of the Year for two straight years, and led BU to an AE Championship game appearance in 2015. At Duke, he was named the team’s MVP in his final year of eligibility.

“He’s trying to prove that they made the right decision in selecting him,” Marco said. “Being a professional is hard; there aren’t that many professional players considering all the players who played in and graduated from college.”

Armed with an intimidating stare, Moewes impressed at the MLS Player Combine before the draft. Moewes’ selection, which took place over conference call, was far from glamorous. But now, his focus will turn to immediately impressing Toronto FC.

Moewes could serve as Toronto FC’s third-string goalkeeper or start his career with Toronto FC II, which serves as a reserve team for the MLS club. Quillan Roberts, who served as Toronto FC II’s starting goalkeeper for much of last season, has yet to be re-signed.

“You have to look at where he’s starting, where he falls in the Toronto Academy when he first gets there,” Marco said. “Then, you’re trying to project out his potential. I think that his potential can still grow.”

Moewes recorded a .736 save percentage at Duke, allowing just 1.36 goals per game. Marco believes Moewes has the ability to succeed in the MLS as long as he remains driven.

“When he’s motivated, I think he can accomplish great things,” Marco said. “He was absolutely outstanding, just incredible. His body language just oozed ‘confident’ … if that stays with him, I think we’ll see him play on TV very soon.”

Moewes spent the fall semester at Duke pursuing a master’s in management studies, but now plans to finish his degree at a later date. He graduated from BU’s School of Management last spring.

“I hope that Robert [Moewes] looks back at his time in Binghamton and speaks highly of his time with us,” Marco said. “He had certain goals that he set out to achieve here. We had some very frank conversations when he was about to graduate, and I knew well ahead of time that he was going to be leaving us.”

Moewes was one of four MLS draft picks to have played in the AE, an increasingly competitive conference in Division I men’s soccer. Vermont forward Brian Wright was drafted No. 20 overall. Wright ended BU’s season with an overtime goal in both 2015 and 2016.

“Well, we’re certainly excited that [Brian Wright] graduated,” Marco said.

Reeling with frustration, Ahearn delivered a hard foul to Stony Brook junior guard Roland Nyama late in the second half. The subsequent free throws stretched Stony Brook’s lead to five. Late in the second half, the Bearcats (10-11, 1-5 AE) seemed to be marching toward another narrow loss.

But instead of allowing the Seawolves to run away with the game, BU began to make shots. In the game’s closing minutes, BU and Stony Brook sparred for control. Trailing by just one point with 20 seconds remaining, sophomore guard Timmy Rose nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to secure the Bearcats’ first conference victory, 71-67.

“I told my guys, ‘You win with toughness in this conference,’ and I thought we showed great toughness today,” said BU head coach Tommy Dempsey. “Our guys protected the rim well, kept them off the glass … that was key.”

Ahearn tallied 21 points, including four free throws and nine from beyond the arc. His offensive rebound off his own free-throw attempt led to Rose’s game-winning three.

“As soon as I released the second one I was like, ‘Oh no,’” Ahearn said. “But I guessed which side it was going on, and I got lucky. We’ve been going through a bit of a tough time over the past five games trying to find a win. We got ourselves really pumped up at halftime to come out strong, and I thought it was a great team win altogether.”

Senior guard Lucas Woodhouse led Stony Brook with 15 points and six rebounds, going 5-for-9 from the field. He was followed closely by redshirt sophomore guard Akwasi Yeboah, who tallied 14 points.

Against Stony Brook, BU shot 49.1 percent from the field. The Seawolves hit 47.1 percent, including 42.3 percent from 3-point range.

“We were desperate for a win for sure,” Dempsey said. “You’ve got to play like that everyday, and we played like that today.”

Junior guard Yosef Yacob played his first game at full strength since suffering a concussion last month. He sat out four of five games before playing eight minutes in BU’s loss to Albany last Thursday. With a 48.4 percent clip from beyond the arc, Yacob ranks second in the AE in 3-point field goal percentage.

“All year he’s shot the ball so well,” Dempsey said. “[His return] gives us another weapon on the perimeter. It also allows us to rest Timmy [Rose] who we relied on so much at the point with Yosef out.”

Going into its game against Binghamton, Stony Brook had won 22 of its last 24 AE games. The Bearcats’ win demonstrated a step forward after their early on in-conference play. The victory also snapped Binghamton’s 14-game losing streak against Stony Brook. This was Binghamton’s first victory over the Seawolves with Dempsey at the helm.

“We know we’re better than our record says,” Rose said. “We go into every game like we can win, and hopefully it’s contagious.”

Binghamton is set to continue conference play against Hartford on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.