Binghamton Game Notes
America East Playoff Seeds

Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball plays its final regular season game when the Bearcats (5-25, 4-11 AE) host UMBC (4-24, 2-13 AE) on Senior Day Saturday at the Events Center. Seniors Jabrille Williams, Robert Mansell and Chris Rice, along with team manager Nate Kasmanoff will be honored in a pre-game ceremony before the 2 p.m. tip.      

QUICK HITS    
• Binghamton will carry the No. 6 seed into Wednesday's quarterfinals and will play on the road at No. 3 Stony Brook. It will be the third time in the last four years the two teams have met in the tournament quarterfinals.           

• A win over the Retrievers would give BU its highest AE win total since the 2009-10 season (5 years) and would complete a season-sweep of UMBC.

• Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez averaged 16.5 ppg. and 7.0 rpg. in two games last week. In AE play, Rodriguez is averaging 12.1 points and ranks second in the league in double-doubles (3). Only two freshman across the entire country have logged more minutes than Rodriguez (31.4/game).   

• 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
Saturday night on Long Island, Host Stony Brook used an 11-1 run midway through the second half to create a double-digit cushion and the Seawolves fended off Binghamton down the stretch 64-52 in an ESPN3 game at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Binghamton outrebounded the eighth-ranked rebounding team in the nation but 17 turnovers and 4-for-17 shooting from beyond the arc factored into in the loss. Stony Brook drilled 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. Freshman forward Willie Rodriguez recorded his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds and classmate Romello Walker tallied a team-high 17 points. Rodriguez added five assists. Rodriguez had a putback with 12:41 that brought BU to within six, 45-39. But the Seawolves hit three three-pointers to spark the 11-1 run. The Bearcats couldn't pull it back within single digits the rest of the way.

SCOUTING UMBC
The Retrievers have been hampered by injuries and defections and as few as seven scholarship players have been available to play during the spring semester. UMBC is coming off a 67-49 home loss to Albany on Wednesday. Before that, they defeated Maine at home, 73-66, to complete a season sweep of the Black Bears. Junior forward Cody Joyce (13.3 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) leads the team. He had 14 points in the loss to Albany and is shooting 52 percent for the season. UMBC's five starters all played 32+ minutes against the Great Danes and only seven players were utilized.            

ALL-TIME SERIES
At home, this is the best matchup historically, for the Bearcats in the America East. Binghamton leads the all-time series 14-12 and has won eight of 12 meetings against the Retrievers at the Events Center. The Bearcats were dominant early in the series but UMBC has won six of the last eight regular season games. Binghamton's winning edge in the series has come from three postseason wins over the Retrievers, with the most notable being in the 2009 championship game. Binghamton will look for the season sweep after winning 68-56 in Baltimore one month ago. In that game, Binghamton forced 18 turnovers and led from start to finish in a 68-56 win at the RAC Arena. It was BU's first road win of the season. Freshmen forward Willie Rodriguez tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists and classmate Bobby Ahearn contributed 11 points and six rebounds as the Bearcats received balanced production throughout their lineup. Sophomore guard Marlon Beck and junior Karon Waller added nine points apiece.