Game Notes

Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. - After knocking off second-place Vermont on Wednesday, Binghamton men's basketball faces another top-tier opponent when the Bearcats (5-24, 4-10 America East) play at third-place Stony Brook (18-10, 9-4 AE) Saturday night on Long Island. The teams tip at 7 p.m. at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena and the game will be shown on ESPN3 - the seventh time the Bearcats will appear on the ESPN platform this season.

QUICK HITS
• The Bearcats play their final road game of the regular season when they face fellow SUNY Center Stony Brook in SBU's newly-upgraded arena.          

• Riding the wave of Wednesday's 57-55 upset over second-place Vermont, BU has a firm foothold on the No. 6 playoff position with two regular season games remaining (1.5 game lead). The Bearcats will be on the road for a quarterfinal game on March 4, likely playing at Stony Brook, UNH or Vermont.          

• The Bearcats have pushed through injuries and the departure of preseason all-conference guard Jordan Reed to equal their conference win total from a year ago. One win in their final two games would give BU its highest AE win total since the 2009-10 season (5 years).

• Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez scored 18 points in the win over Vermont — the sixth time this season he's netted 18 or more. He played an exhausting 39 minutes. In AE play, Rodriguez is averaging a team-high 35.7 minutes and is No. 4 in scoring among rookies (11.9 ppg.).   

• Like Rodriguez, fellow freshmen Bobby Ahearn and Romello Walker are also making a case for America East All-Rookie consideration. Since earning a starting role in January, Ahearn has averaged 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds (1st on BU) and is shooting a team-best 57%. He is averaging 11.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in his last two outings. Walker is also putting up solid numbers in league play (10.1 ppg., 6th among AE rookies).

• Six-foot-9 sophomore Nick Madray, who has missed the last 16 games with an ankle injury, is getting closer to a possible return to the lineup. Binghamton has missed his size and firepower, as well as fellow 6-9 frontcourt player and leading scorer Dusan Perovic (11.5 ppg.), who suffered a season-ending ACL injury at practice on Jan. 5.

• Binghamton has statistically the youngest team in the entire country (StatSheet.com). It's 14 players have a combined 10 years of collegiate experience. There are only two upperclassmen on the roster (1 senior, 1 junior).

• Binghamton is one of just three teams across the entire nation whose top two scorers (Rodriguez, Walker) are both freshmen. Central Florida and UMass Lowell are the other two teams. Counting the injured Perovic, BU is the only team in the country whose top THREE scorers are all freshmen.
 
LAST TIME OUT
On Wednesday, BU played a complete game and upended second-place Vermont 57-55 at the Events Center. Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez scored a game-high 18 points and BU rallied from 10 points down in the second half. The Bearcats committed a season-low four turnovers on offense and on the defensive end, held the Catamounts 13 points under their scoring average. Rodriguez (8-for-14 FG) led three players in double figures. Classmate Bobby Ahearn notched 12 points and seven rebounds and freshman guard Romello Walker tallied 10 points. Sophomore Marlon Beck added nine points.

SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves are coming off a 59-56 win over previously unbeaten first-place Albany on Tuesday. Junior Jameel Warney led three Stony Brook players in double figures with 20 points. Junior Carson Puriefoy had 15 points, including a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left. Junior Scott King added 12 key points off the bench. Warney, an NBA prospect, grabbed 11 rebounds, recording his nation-leading 18th double-double of the season. Junior Rayshaun McGrew finished with 14 rebounds. The Seawolves have gone 13-4 in their last 17 and have won three straight. Stony Brook is 10-2 at home this season.         

ALL-TIME SERIES
The series between the two SUNY Centers dates back to 1962 and the programs have faced each other as members of NCAA Division III, II and now I in the America East. Stony Brook holds a 35-25 advantage all-time, but since both schools elevated to Division I, the series is dead-even at 15-15.

Binghamton held the early advantage when both teams entered the America East (BU won 14 of first 18) but the Seawolves have now won 11 of the last 12, including 10 straight. Stony Brook holds a 19-7 lead on their home floor but this will be the first game between the two schools in SBU's upgraded arena.   

On January 25 in Vestal, Sophomore guard Marlon Beck (6-of-9 FG, 15 pts.) led four BU players in double figures but Stony Brook's Carson Puriefoy netted 27 points, including 14 of his team's final 16 points and the visiting Seawolves held off the Bearcats 61-54. Binghamton used a 9-0 run midway through the second period to take its first lead of the game, 46-45, with 5:57 left. But Puriefoy put Stony Brook on his back and tallied seven straight points to spark an 11-0 Seawolves run. Freshman center Bobby Ahearn hit 5-of-10 for 11 points and classmates Justin McFadden and Willie Rodriguez added 10 points apiece.