VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (9-7, 0-1 America East) welcomes UMass Lowell (6-9, 1-0 AE) Sunday afternoon, looking to continue its strong play at home. The teams will tip at 2 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.  

The Bearcats, 5-1 at the Events Center, will face a River Hawks team riding high after an opening night win over Albany. Binghamton, meanwhile, has won five of its last eight and can reach double-digit wins the earliest in eight years. 

The game is the first of back-to-back home games for BU, which will host preseason conference favorite Vermont on Wednesday. 

QUICK HITS
•    This is Binghamton's 70th season of basketball, 16th at the Division I level
•    BU recorded five wins in November for the first time in program history and produced the most non-conference wins (9) in its 16-year D-I tenure
•    Bearcats lead the America East and rank 81st in the nation (out of 351) in assists (234). They also are 55th in 3-point percentage (.388) and 63rd in made 3s. 
•    BU ranks third in the country (kenpom.com) in bench minutes (behind Michigan State and Wichita). Eleven BU players are averaging 10+ minutes
•    Bearcats are averaging 72.4 ppg. on offense, nearly 12 points higher than their 2015-16 average (60.9)
•    With his next three-pointer, senior Marlon Beck will set the new school record for career three-pointers. He is currently tied with former 1,000-point scorer Troy Hailey (2003-07) at 182 made threes. 
•    Beck (913 pts.) and junior Willie Rodriguez (910) are closing in on 1,000 points and currently rank fourth and fifth, respectively, on BU's all-time scoring list (D-I).  

Last time out
•    BU hit 11 three-pointers but couldn't keep up with UMBC on the road in the conference opener Thursday, falling 85-71
•    Each team shot 50% (17-for-34) and made six threes in the second half but the hosts hit 8-of-10 free throws to stretch a six-point halftime lead
•    Freshman guard Fard Muhammad tied a season high with 16 points (4 3's)
•    Senior guard Marlon Beck hit 4-of-7 threes to tie the school career record (182)
•    Sophomore guard Timmy Rose had a season-high 12 points with four assists in a career-high 36 minutes on the floor    

About UMass Lowell
•    Lowell returns four starters and nine lettermen from an 11-18 team that went 7-9 and placed fifth in the America East last season
•    Ten of the team's 13 roster members are underclassmen (one senior)
•    They were picked fifth in the Preseason Poll - one spot behind BU 
•    This is Lowell's final year of Division I reclassification, meaning the River Hawks will be eligible for postseason play beginning next season 
•    The teams have three common opponents: Cornell, Loyola and Central Connecticut State. Binghamton and Lowell each lost to Loyola and beat the other two.
•    Lowell opened conference play on Thursday and knocked off Albany 85-79 — its first win over the Danes in three seasons. They have won four of their last five games after starting the season 2-8
•    Junior guard Jahad Thomas is closing in on the 1,000-point plateau (975 plus Albany). Thomas ranks first in the America East in rebounding (8.5 rpg.) and fourth in scoring (16.5 ppg.).   

All-time series vs. UMass Lowell
•    Lowell leads the all-time series 7-4 but the Bearcats have won the last three games
•    Binghamton swept the season series last year after the teams split the series two years ago
•    The teams began their head-to-head matchup when both were members of the Division II New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). During that span, Lowell won four of the five matchups. 
•    Last year, BU won 64-57 in Lowell and one month later, completed the sweep with an 81-77 win in Vestal 
•    In that most recent game last Feb. 20 at the Events Center, BU put five players in double figures and matched its season scoring high. The Bearcats led from start to finish and held a 71-59 cushion with 3:48 left before the River Hawks made a late run. A 20-8 Lowell run brought their deficit to just two, 79-77, with 10 seconds left but junior guard Marlon Beck sealed the win with two free throws with 0:09 left. Binghamton made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 0:56. Beck tallied 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Freshman guard Timmy Rose went for 13 points and added five rebounds and three assists. 

BU puts nine wins on the board in non-conference play
This season, BU produced the most non-conference wins (9) in 33 years (since 1983-84), going 9-6. The team had a winning record in both November and December and rang up the most wins ever in November (5). Through its first 15 games, BU also didn't lose twice in a row, going 6-0 following defeats.  

Beck nearing school record for career three-pointers
Senior guard Marlon Beck needs just one three-pointer to become the school's all-time three-point leader. He currently has 182 made threes, tied with 1,000-point scorer Troy Hailey (2003-07). Beck also ranks fifth in all-time scoring with 913 points.   

Beck and Rodriguez closing in on 1,000-point milestone    
Senior guard Marlon Beck (913 pts.) and junior forward Willie Rodriguez (910 pts.) are within striking range of the 1,000-point plateau. There have been 18 players to reach the 1,000-point club in BU's 69-year basketball history. Just two four-year Division I players (Troy Hailey and Mike Gordon) have reached the plateau. The last time two BU teammates reached the 1,000-point mark in the same season was Jeffrey St. Fort and Mike Wright during the 2001-02 season. St. Fort is also the last Binghamton player to reach the mark in three years.

Division I-II era 1,000-point scorers
Jeffrey St. Fort (1999-03)    1,335 pts.
Mike Wright (1998-02)    1,127
Troy Hailey (2003-07)    1,042
Mike Gordon (2004-08)    1,023
All-time scoring leader: Chris Jackey (1986-90), 1,721 pts.

Bearcats have made meteoric rise in offensive statistics
Binghamton currently ranks 55th in the nation (out of 351) in three-point percentage (.388), 63rd in made threes (133) and 81st in assists (234). Last season, the Bearcats ranked 325th in assists and 315th in three-pointers. The team's current scoring output of 72.4 is nearly 12 points higher than the 2015-16 average (60.9). Three times this season BU has shot above 60 percent for an entire game and seven times the Bearcats have shot 60 percent or higher for a half, including a program record 73 percent (16-of-22) in the first half against Loyola on Dec. 10. In that game, BU made its first nine shots of the game — another school record. 

BU bench and depth paying dividends
Binghamton has 11 players averaging 10+ minutes in 2016-17 and their bench minutes rank third in the nation (kenpom). The bench has outscored opposing benchs in 12 of its first 16 games and BU is 8-4 in those games. Seven times in the first 15 games BU's bench has contributed 30 or more points. Coach Dempsey has used nine different starting lineups this season.