Binghamton Game Notes
Maine Game Notes

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (5-15, 2-5 America East) tries to extend one streak and break another when the Bearcats make the long journey to Bangor to face Maine (7-13, 3-4 AE) on Saturday. Tip -off is slated for 2 p.m. at the off-campus Cross Insurance Center. 

QUICK FACTS
•    Binghamton will be aiming for its first three-game win streak since 2010-11 (5 yrs.). The Bearcats also want to snap a trend in the Maine series that has seen the home win four straight matchups.    
•    Junior guard Marlon Beck (10.3 ppg.) is sizzling from beyond the arc. In his last four games, Beck has hit 16-of-35 treys (46%). He has 142 career threes, fourth in program history (D-I). He is second in the AE in threes/game (2.55).
•    Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez is fourth in the AE in scoring (14.7 ppg.) and ninth in rebounding (6.4 rpg.).
•    Freshman center Thomas Bruce is averaging 5.7 rebounds in league play.  
•    Binghamton's current rotation features no seniors and just two juniors. The 11 underclassmen gives BU the eighth-highest underclassmen percentage in the country (73.3%).

LAST TIME OUT
•    On Wednesday, BU made it two wins in a row with a 66-57 home triumph over UMBC. The Bearcats led for nearly 39 minutes and notched their fifth straight win over the Retrievers.
•    Sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez tallied a game-high 24 points (7-of-12 FG, 9-of-9 FT) and added eight boards. He eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fourth time this year and eighth time in two seasons.
•    Junior guard Marlon Beck hit 5-of-11 three-pointers en route to 19 points. Beck had 11 points in the first half when BU built a nine-point cushion.
•    Binghamton shot 56% in the second half and held UMBC 21 points under their season scoring average.
•    Freshman guard Timmy Rose made the most of a season-high 24 minutes with six points, two steals and two assists. He has sparked the team with 11 combined points, four steals and four assists off the bench in the last two games.

ABOUT MAINE
•    The Black Bears were picked to finish last in the Coaches' Preseason Poll but have already doubled their win total from last year and notched three conference wins (two on road), including an 81-79 upset of Albany at home. Maine beat UMass Lowell (95-81) and in their last outing on Wednesday, outlasted host Hartford 105-100 in overtime.
•    Maine returns four starters and nine letterwinners from a 3-27 team.
•    The team's high-octane offense ranks second in the America East in scoring (77.3 ppg.) and first in steals (8.7 spg.).
•    Maine, however, is giving up 86.8 points per game — second-most among 346 Division I schools in the country. 
•    Sophomore guard Kevin Little ranks sixth in the AE in scoring (14,9 ppg.) and freshman forward Devine Eke is fourth in rebounding (7.1 rpg.). Little has taken 100 more shots than any other Black Bear.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MAINE
•    The teams have split the last six games and the series is tied 15-15.
•    BU won five straight between 2007-09 and Maine followed by winning six straight between 2010-12.
•    The home team has won each of the last four games and three of those wins came by 15+ points.
•    Maine holds a 9-5 edge at home. This will be the third time the teams play at the off-campus arena. Maine won 67-64 there last February.
•    The last time BU won at Maine was on 1/19/13 when Jimmy Gray hit a three with 0:02 left to give BU a dramatic 57-56 win at Memorial Gym.

NEXT UP
•    Binghamton plays its second straight road game on Wednesday when the Bearcats hit Long Island for a 7 p.m. tilt with league-leading Stony Brook.