Binghamton Game Notes
UMass Lowell Game Notes

Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

LOWELL, Mass. - Binghamton men's basketball made the weather-slowed trek to Massachusetts Saturday afternoon and the Bearcats (3-15, 0-5 America East) will be set to face host UMass Lowell (7-12, 3-3 AE) at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday at the Tsongas Center. The game will follow the women's game between the two schools, which begins at 11 a.m.  

QUICK HITS
•    Binghamton plays in the Tsongas Center for the first time ever when the Bearcats face UMass Lowell to start the home-and-home series this season.  
•    Junior guard Marlon Beck has regained his stroke. After a drought that produced five three-pointers in six games, Beck has knocked in 10 treys in his last three games. He has 134 career threes, which ranks fifth in program history (D-I). 
•    Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez (630 career points, 288 rebs.) is more than halfway in his journey toward joining the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club. He would become the first Bearcat to reach that plateau in the program's Division I era. Rodriguez ranks 15th on the school's D-I scoring list and is 11th in rebounding.
•    Rodriguez is fourth in the AE in scoring (14.0 ppg.), sixth in steals (1.2 spg.) and seventh in rebounding (6.3 rpg.).    
•    Binghamton's current rotation features no seniors and just two juniors. The team's underclassmen account for 82% of the minutes and 83% of the scoring. Of the team's eight players averaging double-digit minutes, seven are underclassmen. The 11 underclassmen gives BU the eighth-highest underclassmen percentage in the country (73.3%).

LAST TIME OUT
•    On Thursday, Vermont shot 54% in the second half and used a 10-0 run late in the game to hold off the Bearcats, 61-52.
•    Junior guard Marlon Beck hit 5-of-10 from three-point range en route to a game-high 18 points. He added five boards, three assists and two steals in 40- minutes.
•    Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez scored all 10 of his points in the second half when BU tried to rally from an eight-point intermission hole. 
•    Freshman guard Everson Davis and sophomore center Bobby Ahearn added eight points apiece. 

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL
•    Lowell is coming off a 78-76 loss to UNH Thursday at the buzzer. The River Hawks shot 55%, put four in double figures and led for 33 minutes before a late 19-2 UNH run. 
•    The River Hawks are in their third season as members of NCAA Division I and the America East. They are still ineligible for postseason.
•    Lowell returns two starters and five letterwinners from a 12-17 team that finished sixth in the AE (6-10). They were picked eighth this season.
•    Sophomore guard Jahad Thomas leads the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. He is shooting 58 percent from the floor. 
•    Lowell has beaten Boston College, Cornell, Hartford, UMBC and Vermont.         
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMASS LOWELL
•    The teams began the series when both were members of the Division II New England Collegiate Conference (NECC).
•    UMass Lowell won four of five meetings betwen 1998-00.
•    Since the River Hawks joined the America East in 2013, they have won three of four meetings.
•    Lowell is 5-0 at home in the series with all five games played at Costello Gym on campus. 
•    Last year the teams split the season series with each team winning on its home floor. Lowell won 50-40 on Jan. 2 and BU won 76-69 four weeks later in Vestal. Binghamton shot a sizzling 60 percent in that win.  

NEXT UP
•    Binghamton returns home to host UMBC on Wednesday night. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 15-12, thanks to three straight wins.