VESTAL, N.Y. - Riding the program's longest win streak in nine years, Binghamton men's basketball (6-4) travels to Baltimore for a Saturday afternoon showdown with Loyola (1-7). The Bearcats have won five in a row but will be looking for their first-ever win over Loyola when the teams tip at 4 p.m. at Reitz Arena. It's the third straight game against a Patriot League foe and BU has already notched victories over Colgate and Army. 

Binghamton's current five-game win streak since the 2008-09 NCAA team won 11 straight en route to capturing the America East title.

Quick hits
• Binghamton has five non-league games remaining (2 home, 3 away) before America East Conference play begins on Jan. 6. 
• This is the first of three straight road games 

Last time out
• Binghamton rallied from a 13-point hole to overtake Colgate 76-65 on Saturday
• Junior center Thomas Bruce tallied his fifth double-double of the season with game-highs of 26 points (17 in second half) and 12 rebounds
• Junior guard J.C. Show (19 pts.) and senior forward Willie Rodriguez (16 pts.)
• BU shot 50 percent in second half and outscored Colgate 42-25
• BU extended its win streak to four games - longest since 2009-10 season 
   
About Loyola
• Return four starters and 11 lettermen from a 16-17 team of a year ago
• Looking for first win over D-I opponent but have played No. 19 Northwestern (L 79-75), unbeaten Florida St. (L 96-71) and went to OT with Mt. St. Mary's (L 80-75)
• Patriot League Preseason All-Conference selection Andrew Walker (13.2 ppg.) is one of five players in double figures
• Senior forward Cam Gregory (9.1 rpg.) is 10th in nation in offensive rebounds
• Picked to finish sixth (out of 10) in the Patriot League Preseason Poll

All-time series vs. Loyola
Loyola is 3-0 in the series, including a perfect 2-0 at Reitz Arena. The Greyhounds posted home wins in 2012 (71-45) and 2013 (79-74) and last December in Vestal, earned a 90-85 overtime win. In that game, visiting Loyola battled back from 16 points down in the second half to force OT and send a large crowd (4,037) home unhappy. The Bearcats led 67-51 with 7:43 remaining and holding a shooting percentage in the high 60s, seemed headed for a fourth straight win. But the Greyhounds trimmed it to 10, 75-65, with 3:34 left and then outscored BU 12-2 to send the game to overtime. Binghamton had a chance to win it in regulation when J.C. Show drove in the lane and pulled up for a short jumper but Loyola forward Jarred Jones blocked the shot in traffic to force the extra five minutes. In overtime, BU made just 3-of-8 shots and the Greyhounds sank 7-of-8 free throws to preserve their lead 

Win streak is historic
The team's current five-game win streak is 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 five consecutive non-conference games since the 1992-93 season (Div. III).

BU snaps losing streak to Army
Binghamton's 71-66 home win over Army snapped a six-game losing streak to the Black Knights. The last time BU defeated Army was in 2001-02, its first season as a Division I program. In fact, the previous year's win over Army (72-55 on Jan. 10, 2001) was its first victory over any Division I opponent. 

Bruce named America East Player of the Week
Junior center Thomas Bruce was selected as America East Player of the Week after averaging 20.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks during a 2-0 week. The 6-foot-9 center shot 74% from the field and 92% from the line and recorded back-to-back double-doubles. He was BU's first weekly honoree since teammate Bobby Ahearn won the award one year ago (Dec. 5). He punctuated his week with a 26-point, 12-rebound performance in BU's 76-65 win over Colgate on Saturday. In that game, Bruce hit 9-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line and helped the Bearcats stage a second-half rally with 17 points. 

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, second in rebounding and field goal percentage and sixth in scoring. Junior guard J.C. Show is second in steals, third in three-pointers and 10th in scoring. Junior guard Timmy Rose is fifth in assists and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio. Sophomore guard Fard Muhammad is fifth in three-point percentage. As a team, BU ranks second in field goal percentage (.483) and third in field goal percentage defense (.436). 

Bruce asserting himself at both ends of floor
Junior center Thomas Bruce has scored in double figures in eight of 10 games, has five double-doubles (10th in country), 33 blocks (3rd in country) and is shooting 63 percent from the field (27th in country). During the team's five-game win streak, Bruce is averaging 17.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and is shooting 74 percent from the field.  

Rebounding is telling statistic
Binghamton is 6-0 when outrebounding opponents and 0-4 when outrebounded.

Bearcats sharp in second half
Binghamton is averaging 40+ points in the second half this season (33 pts. in first half). Minus the one rough second-half (6-of-23 at George Mason), BU is shooting 52% in second-half action. The Bearcats have outscored opponents in the second half in eight of 10 games and are 6-2 in those games. 

Show picking up steam
Junior guard J.C. Show is averaging 16.8 points on 51% shooting during BU's current five-game win streak. He has scored in double digits in nine of 10 games.