Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Game Notes
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Shorthanded Binghamton plays its second straight conference road game to start the 2015 calendar when the Bearcats (1-15, 0-1 America East) face Hartford (7-7, 0-1 AE) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Chase Arena.
Binghamton, already the youngest team in the nation (StatSheet.com), will play its first game without leading scorer and starting center Dusan Perovic (11.5 ppg.), who is lost for the season with a knee injury. Head coach Tommy Dempsey's squad was already playing without starting sophomore forward Nick Madray (7.8 ppg.), who is recovering from an ankle injury. Â
On Wednesday, BUÂ will have to find a away to outplay the third-most-veteran team in the nation if the Bearcats are to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Hawks.
   The Bearcats are coming off a conference-opening 50-40 loss at UMass Lowell on Friday in a game BU led for most of the way. The host River Hawks ended the game on a decisive 10-2 run to grab the win.  Â
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LAST TIME OUT
Host UMass Lowell (7-6, 1-0 AE) ended the game with a decisive 10-2 run and eased past Binghamton (1-15, 0-1 AE) 50-40 in the America East opener for both teams Friday night at the Costello Athletic Center. The Bearcats were within two, 40-38, after freshman wing Justin McFadden sank a pair of free throws with 3:42 left. But BU's freshman-laden lineup – the youngest in the nation – turned the ball over on four straight possessions and the River Hawks took advantage, converting 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:39 to ice the win. Binghamton was led by freshman guard Romello Walker, who recorded a season-high 14 points (10 in second half). Walker added four steals and had two thunderous second-half jams. Freshman center Dusan Perovic added nine points and five rebounds. Â
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks have dropped three of their last four, though two defeats have come against No. 14 Notre Dame (87-60) and Texas A&M (58-49). Hartford dropped its America East opener back on Dec. 3 at Vermont, 81-69. The most experienced team in the league returning nine letterwinners and all five starters from a 17-win team that lost in the conference semifinals last March. Hartford was picked to finish second in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. Mark Nwakamma (13.1 ppg., 5.3 rpg.), the league's active scoring leader with 1,212 career points and two-time first-team all-conference selection, paces the Hawks. Veterans Corban Wroe (8.2 ppg.), an All-Defensive choice last year, Yolanzo Moore  (11.2 ppg,) and Wes Cole (7.7 ppg, 78 3-pt. FGs last year) also play key roles for the Hawks.
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ALL-TIME SERIES
Hartford has won seven in a row, including a resounding 69-42 win over BU in the 2014 America East quarterfinals. The two in-season games were tight, however, with Hartford winning 56-54 at Vestal and 89-83 in overtime at Chase Arena. Before the seven-game slide, Binghamton had won five of the previous seven in the all-time series. Â Â Â
