Binghamton men’s basketball coach Al Walker did a pretty good job of summing up his Bearcats’ 78-46 loss Monday to No. 13 Kansas University.

“Anytime you play the best,” Walker said, “you have the possibility of getting waxed.”

Well said, coach.

True, Binghamton never stood much of a chance, especially after being down 21-2 to start. In fact, for the first 10 minutes, the Bearcats couldn’t so much as create a successful shot — the lone two points were on a putback by Alex Adediran.

Why the slow start?

It wasn’t the loud Allen Fieldhouse crowd of 16,300, Walker said. Binghamton (4-6) played in front of 21,383 people at Syracuse earlier this month.

But between the Bearcats’ two games against Final Four teams was a 61-53 victory Dec. 17 over St. Francis. A grand total of 302 fans saw that contest.

“That’s not a factor,” Walker said of the environment changes. “It has to do with the fact that Kansas made shots, and we didn’t.”

J.R. Giddens listens to the crowd roar as he comes out after scoring a game-high 16 points.

Particularly in the first half, when Binghamton shot just 18 percent (5-of-28) from the field. The lone bright spot was senior Brandon Carter, who scored eight of the team’s first 10 points.

Carter, a McPherson native, finished with a team-high 14 points, including three of four from three-point range. His teammate, Andover product Brett Watson, went scoreless in 10 minutes.

“Brandon’s our most valuable player,” Walker said. “He’s the best team captain I’ve ever been associated with.”

Carter missed his first four shots from the field before connecting finally on a three-pointer with 8:19 to go in the first half. His team seemed to follow suit, shooting significantly better after escaping the nasty funk to open the game.

“Gotta keep shooting,” Carter said. “That’s what I’m learning right now. If you miss, shoot the next one.”

Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the 19-point hole just nine minutes in was too deep to dig out of.

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They return home to Vestal, N.Y., to start a three-game homestand, the first being against Vermont Friday.

“Every game presents a different challenge,” Carter said. “Some teams have quicker guards, some teams have good post players.

“KU … they’re loaded. All five positions.”