VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball closes out the 2017 calendar year with its final non-conference game when the Bearcats (8-6) host regional opponent Elmira (2-6) on Saturday. Tip-off is 4 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

The game is part of "Olum's Pack the House" weekend. Fans can stop by the Olum's-Vestal Parkway location and pick up free ticket coupons. The first 1,000 coupons redeemed at the Events Center box office will receive free tickets compliments of Olum's-Vestal Parkway.

Coupons can be redeemed at the Events Center box office up until two hours prior to the start time. 

Quick Hits
•    This is Binghamton's 71st season of basketball, 17th at the Division I level
•    This is the final game of 2017 and the last non-conference game before America East Conference play begins on Jan. 6 when BU hosts Maine
•    This is the middle game of three straight at home
•    BU has dropped two straight following a seven-game win streak 
•    Bearcats will play second straight game without starting center Thomas Bruce 

Last time out
•    Visiting LIU led for all but five minutes and shot 61% in the second half to hold off the Bearcats 74-66 on Dec. 22
•    LIU's top tandem combined for 48 points
•    BU played without starting center Thomas Bruce (13.4 ppg., 9.3 rpg.) (ankle)
•    Center Dusan Perovic (13 pts.) and guard Everson Davis (10 pts., 4 steals)
•    All-time scoring leader Willie Rodriguez attempted just three shots (7 pts.) and fouled out (one of three Bearcats to foul out) after 21 minutes  
   
A win over Elmira would ...
•    Give BU nine non-conference wins to tie the program record set last year
•    Raise BU's home record to 5-1

About Elmira
•    Division III program that plays out of the Empire 8 Conference
•    Idle for last two weeks following a 111-100 win over St. Lawrence on Dec. 16
•    Snapped four-game losing streak with second win over 2017 NCAA team
•    Senior Hayden Harken (33 pts.) drilled record 11 three-pointers in the win
•    Soaring Eagles average 86 points but are giving up 90 per game
•    Elmira is 0-4 on road this season 

All-time series vs. Elmira
Elmira leads the all-time series 16-11. The teams haven't met since BU was a Division III program in the 1990s. They most recently played during the 1996-97 season, squaring off twice in an eight-day span. In the last encounter, Elmira posted a 58-56 home win on Jan. 11, 1997.  

70 is magic number on scoreboard
Binghamton is 7-1 when scoring 70 or more points and is 8-2 when holding opponents to less than 70. The Bearcats are 0-4 when an opponent reaches 70.

Coach Dempsey reaches 250 college win plateau
Sixth-year head coach Tommy Dempsey notched his 250th career college victory with the win at Loyola. Dempsey compiled 88 combined wins at Keystone and Lackawanna Colleges, 119 wins at Rider University and hit the mark with his 43rd win at Binghamton.   

Win streak was historic
The team's seven-game win streak, snapped Dec. 19 at Penn State, was the longest since the program's 2008-09 championship season, when the team had a win streak of 11 leading into the NCAA tournament game against No. 2 Duke. No BU team, however, has won seven consecutive non-conference games since the 1992-93 season (Div. III). The streak ranked ninth-longest in the nation. 

Bearcats rank among America East leaders
Led by junior center Thomas Bruce, several Bearcats are among the statistical leaders in the America East. Bruce is first in blocks and second in field goal percentage and rebounding. Junior guard J.C. Show is third in three-pointers, fourth in minutes played and ninth in scoring. Junior guard Timmy Rose is eighth in assists and sophomore guard Fard Muhammad is seventh in three-point percentage. As a team, BU ranks second in scoring defense (68.1 ppg.) and third in both field goal percentage (.471) and field goal percentage defense (.444).