VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins the final week of the regular season when the Bearcats (12-16, 3-10 America East) head to Long Island to face second-place Stony Brook (16-10, 11-2 AE) on Saturday. The teams will tip at 7 p.m. at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. 

The Bearcats have three games remaining in the regular season beginning with two on the road. Binghamton is one of just two AE teams (Vermont) to deal the Seawolves a loss this season. 

QUICK HITS
•    This is Binghamton's 70th season of basketball, 16th at the Division I level
•    Despite dropping five straight games, BU owns a win over Stony Brook last month and can complete its first season sweep of the second-place Seawolves with a win. It would be BU's first season sweep of SBU in eight years.
•    This is the first of two straight road games as the regular season winds down to three games remaining
•    BU is coming off the midweek "bye" and the six-day gap between games is the longest since late December
•    The Bearcats can grab a postseason position anywhere from No. 6-8. They are currently tied with Hartford for the No. 6 spot.   

Last time out
•    BU led for more than 32 minutes but UNH dug out of a 21-point hole to defeat the Bearcats 63-55 on Feb. 12 at the Events Center
•    Sophomore guard Timmy Rose tallied a career-high 21 points (8-of-15)
•    Sophomore center Thomas Bruce added eight points, six boards and two blocks
•    BU played a second straight game without starting forward Bobby Ahearn
   
Senior Rinaldi earns first career start     
Senior forward John Rinaldi earned his first collegiate start in his 99th career game when he got the call against UNH last Sunday. A sixth-man with noted hustle and ball distribution skills, Rinaldi ranks fifth in the AE in assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 38 assists and 16 turnovers this season (2.4) and is averaging 12.5 minutes. 

Ahearn expected to return to lineup     
Junior center Bobby Ahearn shook off a hard elbow to the nose in the Vermont game on Feb. 16 and contributed 15 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. The broken nose, however, has kept him out of the last two games. Ahearn has been one of BU's most productive offensive players of late with four games of 15+ points and an 11.6 scoring average in his last eight games. He is also averaging 7.0 rebounds over his last four games and is slated to return to the floor, albeit with a face mask.  

About Stony Brook
•    The program had to replace its top four scorers — three of whom were were all-conference selections headed by three-time AE Player of the Year Jameel Warney — and its head coach after a record-breaking title season
•    SBU has advanced to national postseason tourneys five straight years
•    Because of the heavy losses, SBU was picked seventh (of nine) in this year's Coaches' Preseason Poll
•    But after starting the season 4-8, SBU has now gone 12-2, including an 11-2 record in conference play
•    On Wednesday, Stony Brook hit 11 three-pointers and stretched a three-point halftime lead to defeat host Hartford 66-54     

All-time series vs. Stony Brook
•    Stony Brook leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1962, 39-26
•    Since both teams elevated to Division I, Stony Brook leads 19-16
•    Since 2001, there have been two distinct segments in the head-to-head rivalry. After both teams were on equal footing in the America East, BU won 15 of the first 20 matchups between 2001-2011. But in the last five years, the Seawolves have flipped the script, winning 14 of 15 games in the series, nine of which have come by double digits. 
•    BU snapped a 14-game skid in the series on Jan. 22 with a 71-67 home win. In that game, junior forward Bobby Ahearn scored 21 points and sophomore guard Timmy Rose drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with 20 seconds left
•    At home, Stony Brook leads 21-7

Rose rising to top
Sophomore guard Timmy Rose has moved among the conference leaders in assists (7th, 3.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (8th, 1.9). His ratio ranks 120th in the country. He also has jumped up his scoring with two 20+ scoring games in the last six. During that span he is averaging 11.7 points. 

Rodriguez and Beck hit 1,000-point mark in same season    
Junior forward Willie Rodriguez (1,052 pts.) and senior guard Marlon Beck (1,011 pts.) have reached the 1,000-point career milestone in the last three weeks. Rodriguez hit the mark early in the second half at Maine on Jan. 29 Beck did it late in the home game against UMBC on Feb. 1. Rodriguez became the 19th BU player and Beck the 20th player to reach 1,000 points in BU's 70-year basketball history. Just two previous 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. Like St. Fort, Rodriguez did it in three years. With his seven points against Albany, Rodriguez passed Troy Hailey (1,042) and became the school's all-time scoring leader during its Division I tenure.