VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball looks to keep up its strong play at home when the Bearcats (10-10, 1-4 America East) host UMass Lowell (6-12, 0-5 AE) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. Binghamton is 6-2 on its home floor, including a 13-point win over Albany in its last showing.

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 third game of a three-game week for the Bearcats
• January is the team's busiest month with nine games

Last time out
• BU led for more than half the game but a 23-3 Stony Brook second-half run lifted the host Seawolves to a 77-66 win Thursday night on Long Island
• Four players reached double figures, led by J.C. Show's 15 points
• Senior forward Bobby Ahearn hit 3-of-3 from beyond arc for 13 pts. in 19 min.
• Center Thomas Bruce played through an illness and had 7 boards and 5 blocks
• BU's backcourt struggled through a combined 6-for-30 shooting game  
   
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 0-8 once an opponent reaches 70.

Rebounding is telling statistic
Binghamton is 9-0 when outrebounding opponents and 1-10 when outrebounded.

About UMass Lowell
• Won five of six to open season but have dropped 11 of 12 since, including seven in a row (0-5 in AE) 
• Coming off eight-point loss at Albany on Thursday
• Have already played all three projected top-3 teams in AE (preseason poll)
• Scored wins over common opponents Cornell, LIU and Loyola and averaged 77.4 ppg. in non-conference play but scoring has dropped 10 ppg. in AE play
• Led by three-time all-conference guard Jahad Thomas (1,300+ career pts.)
• At 6-foot-2, Thomas leads the team in scoring (19.1), rebounding (7.9), assists (3.9) and steals (1.8) and plays 35 minutes a game
• Picked to finish tied for sixth (with BU) in Preseason Coaches' Poll 

All-time series vs. UMass Lowell
Lowell leads the all-time series, 9-4. The teams used to play in the same Division II conference (New England Collegiate Conference) and Lowell won four of the five meetings in that era. Since both programs have become members of the America East, Lowell has won five of eight games, including the last two. The River Hawks swept the season series last year, winning 79-75 in Vestal and 60-59 in Lowell. Binghamton swept the season series two years ago. Each of the last five games has been decided by seven or fewer points. The Bearcats are 3-3 at home in the series. In the most recent game last Jan. 8 in the Events Center, BU led by seven at half but hit just seven second-half field goals and Lowell rallied for the four-point win.       

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 1,315 points. He currently ranks seventh all-time in BU's 71 years of basketball. He also moved into the No. 2 spot with 586 career rebounds (Div. I), and is 13 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. 

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 (2.9) and field goal percentage (.597) and second in rebounding (8.3). Junior guard J.C. Show is fourth in three-pointers (2.5), sixth in steals (1.4) and 11th in scoring (14.6). Junior guard Timmy Rose is eighth in assists (3.5). Bruce ranks 16th in the nation in blocks. As a team, BU ranks second in field goal percentage (.471), third in three-point percentage (.366) and fourth in both scoring defense (70.2) and field goal percentage defense (.445). 

Binghamton Career Points (all-time)
No. Player (Yrs.) Points
1.  Chris Jackey (1986-90) 1,721
2. Sherwin Telford (1991-94) 1,685
3. Jeff Merrill (1990-94) 1,603
4. Mark Jones (1985-88) 1,405
5. Tom Gomulka (1967-71) 1,400
6.  Jeffrey St. Fort (1999-03) 1,335
7. Willie Rodriguez (2014-) 1,315
8. Nitai Spiro (1996-00) 1,299
9. Mike Wright (1998-02) 1,127
10. Glenn McIver (1973-78) 1,101

Career Rebounds (all-time)
No. Player (yrs.) Rebounds
1.  Jeff Merrill (1990-94) 757
2. Todd Jost (1988-92) 723
3. Marty Young (1981-85) 718
T-4. Mike Schuman (1984-87) 699
T-4. Glenn McIver (1973-78) 699
6. John Dormer (1988-92) 695
7. Charlie Heins (1977-81) 674
8. Bill Marion (1971-74) 601
9. Nick Billings (2001-05) 598
10. Francis Goodrich (1968-70) 597
11. Willie Rodriguez (2014-) 586


John Hartrick