VESTAL, N.Y. - Three days after a strong 13-point win over Albany, Binghamton men's basketball gets an opportunity to reverse fortunes against another SUNY rival when the Bearcats (10-9, 1-3 America East) face Stony Brook (7-11, 2-2 AE) Thursday night on Long Island. The two longtime foes tip at 7 p.m. at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Stony Brook has won nine straight home games against Binghamton dating back to 2009. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 71st season of basketball, 17th at the Division I level
• BU went 9-6 in non-conference play, tying the record for wins (9) set last year
• BU was picked to finish T-6th (of 9) in the Preseason Coaches' Poll 
• This is the middle game of a busy three-game week for the Bearcats
• January is the team's busiest month with nine games

Last time out
• BU used a 24-8 second-half run and 58% shooting to pull away from Albany 79-66 on Monday for the team's first conference win
• Senior forward Willie Rodriguez scored a game-high 20 points, including 11 during the key run, which spanned six minutes in the middle of the second half
• Junior guard Timmy Rose tallied 13 points (9 in first half) and three assists
• Junior guard J.C. Show (11 pts.) and sophomore guard Fard Muhammad (10 pts.) gave BU four in double-digits
• BU made 10-of-10 FT in final 1:16 and made 25-of-32 FT for the game
• The win snapped a 14-game losing skid to the Great Danes, spanning 8 years  
   
Binghamton in the America East
• The Bearcats are 104-156 (40%) in 16 years of America East play
• BU is 63-67 (48%) at home and 41-89 (32%) on road vs. America East foes
• BU won AE regular season and tournament titles in 2009 but hasn't finished higher than fifth in the eight years since

70 is magic number on scoreboard
Binghamton is 9-2 when scoring 70 or more points and is 10-2 when holding opponents to less than 70. The Bearcats are 0-7 once an opponent reaches 70.

Rebounding is telling statistic
Binghamton is 9-0 when outrebounding opponents and 1-9 when outrebounded.

About Stony Brook
• Beat Maine and Hartford (by combined 3 pts.) to open conference play but have dropped successive games at league powers Albany and Vermont
• Rank seventh in AE in scoring offense (72.4) and eighth in defense (74.1)
• Return two starters from an 18-14 team that went 12-4 in league play (2nd), reached the semifinals and was selected to the CBI tournament
• Stunned Big Ten member Rutgers 75-73 one month ago
• Program has advanced to national postseason tournaments six straight years
• Picked to finish fourth in 2017-18 AE Preseason Coaches' Poll 

All-time series vs. Stony Brook
Since both teams elevated to Division I and entered the America East, Stony Brook leads the series 20-16. Binghamton won 15 of the first 20 games between 2001-11 but the Seawolves have won 16 of the last 17. The teams split the season series last year with each team winning at home before Stony Brook eliminated BU in the conference quarterfinals 70-60. The Bearcats snapped a 14-game head-to-head losing streak with a 71-67 win in Vestal on Jan. 22. Stony Brook responded with a 76-55 win one month later on Long Island. In the all-time series, which dates back to 1962, Stony Brook leads 41-26. The Seawolves own a 13-5 cushion at home since 2001 and have won nine straight.     

Rodriguez hits for 20 pts against Albany, adds to career record
Senior forward Willie Rodriguez tallied a game-high 20 points Monday against Albany — his third 20+ game this season (second in last three games) and 18th of his career. Rodriguez already is the program's all-time scoring leader (Div. I era) with 1,303 points. He currently ranks seventh all-time in BU's 71 years of basketball. He also grabbed six rebounds to move into the No. 2 spot with 580 career rebounds (Div. I), and is 19 boards away from taking over as the all-time rebounding leader as well. Rodriguez ranks fifth in career scoring and rebounding among current America East players. 

Rose adds scoring punch of late
Junior point guard Timmy Rose is averaging 12.0 points over his last three games, including a season-high 14 at UNH on Jan. 10. After tallying 36 combined points in seven previous games, Rose has 36 in his last three, with two double-digit performances. 

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 (2.8) and field goal percentage (.593) and third in rebounding (8.4). Junior guard J.C. Show is fourth in three-pointers (2.5), sixth in steals (1.3) and 10th in scoring (14.6). Junior guard Timmy Rose is seventh in assists (3.6). As a team, BU ranks second in field goal percentage (.479) and third in both three-point percentage (.372) and scoring defense (69.9). 

Bruce asserting himself at both ends of floor
Junior center Thomas Bruce ranks in the nation's top-40 in two categories: blocks (17th, 2.8/game) and field goal percentage (33rd, 60%). During the team's seven-game win streak, Bruce averaged 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and shot 64% from the field.