Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. – After the team's longest layoff of the season (seven days), Binghamton men's basketball returns to the hardwood when the Bearcats (1-13) host fellow SUNY Center Buffalo (7-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at the Events Center. The game is BU's final non-conference game before America East play begins on Friday.

Binghamton is coming off a strong showing in its last outing – a 69-68 loss at t. St. Mary's on Dec. 22. In that game, BU shot a season-high 57 percent, hit more than half its three-point attempts and put 43 points on the board in the second half. The highlights were tempered, however, when the host Mountaineers sank two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to steal the win.

Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez, who tallied a season-high 25 points, made two free throws with 13 seconds left to give BU a 68-67 lead – its first lead of the game. But with The Mount working its final possession, the Bearcats were whistled for a foul at the top of the key and the hosts made the deciding pair of free throws. After a timeout, BU had one last gasp but sophomore guard Yosef Yacob's heave from inside half-court banked off the front rim at the buzzer.

Rodriguez made 8-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the line and added seven rebounds. He tallied 22 points after intermission and produced nine points in the final 4:03. Freshman center Dusan Perovic scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to give BU two double-digit scorers. Perovic was 6-of-7 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Freshman wing Justin McFadden had nine points, five rebounds and two steals.  

Four of the team's top five scorers are freshmen, led by Perovic (11.6 ppg.) and Rodriguez (10.1 ppg.).

Buffalo (7-3), coached by former Duke All-American Bobby Hurley, is in the midst of an outstanding season. The Bulls were positioned at No. 24 in the country in the Dec. 24 NCAA RPI. On Sunday night, Buffalo led sixth-ranked Wisconsin at the half before losing 68-56. It was the second time UB has held an intermission lead against a Final Four team from a year ago. Earlier in the season, they led No. 1 Kentucky at the half before losing by 19 points. At Wisconsin (12-1), UB put four players in double figures and received 14 points and 12 boards from junior Justin Moss.

The Bulls own December wins over Drexel (80-70), Niagara (88-62) and Robert Morris (74-59). The only common opponent both Binghamton and Buffalo have played was St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies beat the Bearcats by 18 points on the road and also beat Buffalo, 72-63, at home two weeks earlier.

The Bulls lost MAC Player of the Year Javon McCrea to graduation but Hurley returns several key players from a 19-win team that captured the MAC East Division crown in 2013-14. The Bulls were picked to finish (of six) fourth in the MAC East. They are led by three players in double figures, including Moss, who leads the MAC in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (10.4).  Sophomore Shannon Evans who adds 14.5 points and a team-high 5.0 assists per game.  Junior Jarryn Skeete adds 10.9 points per contest and leads the team in three-point shooting at 50%.

Despite sharing SUNY ties, the programs have met just once in the last 34 years – last December in Buffalo – and the Bulls rolled to an 87-57 win. In that game, BU played without four regulars and ran out of steam against the bigger Bulls, who used a late 20-4 first-half run to take control. Buffalo then hit 6-of-8 to start the second half, stretching a 13-point halftime lead with a 16-3 run to open the final period.

After the Buffalo game, BU hits the road for its first two America East games, beginning with Friday's away tilt at UMass Lowell.