OLEAN, N.Y. - Binghamton basketball battled Atlantic 10 host St. Bonaventure to the final minute in a 63-53 season-opening loss Friday night at the Reilly Center. 

The Bearcats received 12 points and eight rebounds from sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez and 11 from second-year center Dusan Perovic.

Binghamton was within six and had the ball with 1:46 left before the Bonnies used a pair of offensive rebounds and a turnover to stretch their margin. 

"We came in here and fought them for 40 minutes ... that was our goal," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "It would've been nice to see some shots go in late to give us a chance. But our defense was terrific. We got physical, got back in transition defense and gave them all we had ... we just didn't have enough offense to find a way to win tonight." 

The Bearcats shook off a 13-point first-half deficit and used a 10-1 run to end the half and pull within four, 30-26. In the second half, a Perovic three-pointer with 14:24 left gave BU a 36-34 lead. After a see-saw next few minutes, sophomore guard Marlon Beck II dropped in a long jumper to tie the game at 40-all with 11:21 left. But the Bonnies scored six straight points to regain control. Two free throws from sophomore wing Justin McFadden with 5:24 left brought the Bearcats to within two, 50-48. But BU then missed six straight field goals and also a pair of free throws and the hosts took advantage. 

Sophomore guard Romello Walker tallied nine points and McFadden wound up with eight. 

"We executed a lot of things from our scouting report and that's a sign to me that we are growing up," Dempsey said.

Binghamton hosts Army West Point at 2 p.m. on Sunday. In a special pre-game ceremony, the basketball court will be dedicated as "Dr. Bai Lee Court" in honor of local physician Bai Lee, whose recent gift of $1 million is the largest in Binghamton athletics history.