VESTAL, N.Y. - After faring well in two preseason scrimmages against Patriot League contenders Lehigh and Bucknell, Binghamton men's basketball is set to begin its 2018-19 season Tuesday night against Cornell. The Bearcats and Big Red will tip-off at approximately 8 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center, following the BU women's basketball season opener.  

Seventh-year head coach Tommy Dempsey's squad will have a new look with as many as four newcomers poised to either start or see considerable minutes. Senior guard J.C. Show remains a constant after leading the Bearcats in scoring in each of the last two seasons. Show brings 824 career points into his final collegiate season while completing graduate studies at the University. Another graduate player with ample college experience is senior Chancellor Barnard, who played 91 games at Loyola (Md.) before transferring to BU for graduate school. 

The backcourt will see the most change, led by decorated freshman guard Sam Sessoms, who begins his promising collegiate career. Sessoms scored more than 2,000 points in high school and his presence at the point guard spot should give an immediate boost to BU's team scoring. Junior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. has also emerged as a key producer after transferring from Lamar CC in Colorado, where he scored 758 points in two seasons. 

The Bearcats are still without two-time America East All-Defensive Team center Thomas Bruce, who has been sidelined after a preseason concussion. Adding to the frontcourt is 6-foot-8 freshman Calvin Poulina from the Netherlands, who possesses a soft shooting touch on the perimeter. Senior Caleb Stewart offers a veteran option with a scoring touch as well. 

The Cornell game is the first of three straight home games to open the season. The Bearcats will host NJIT on Friday and then welcome Misericordia on Monday before heading to Chicago to face Big Ten foe Northwestern on Nov. 16. That game will be featured on either ESPNU or ESPNews.     

After a 12-16 season (6-8 in Ivy League), the Big Red was slotted sixth of eight in the Ivy League preseason poll. Cornell returns four starters, including three-time All-Ivy selection Matt Morgan. Morgan earned Lou Henson All-America and All-Ivy first team honors last season after averaging 22.5 points on 49 percent shooting. He led the Ivy League in scoring for the third straight year. After Morgan, the Big Red return seniors Jack Gordon (7.1 ppg.), Steven Julian (6.7 ppg., 5.8 rpg.) and Troy Whiteside (6.6 ppg. in 2016-17), along with sophomore Jimmy Boeheim (3.2 ppg.), son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. 

The Big Red hosted Division III Ithaca in an exhibition game last Tuesday and built a 20-point halftime cushion en route to a 98-61 win. Morgan scored a game-high 22 points and added three rebounds, three assists and three steals for the home team, while Boeheim (16 points, five rebounds) and Jake Kuhn (11 points, five rebounds) were also in double figures. In all, 15 different Cornell players scored and the bench tallied 59 points as the Big Red shot an efficient 59 percent from the field. 

Cornell leads the all-time series, 9-4 although the teams have split the last two matchups. Binghamton posted a 68-62 home win in 2016 and Cornell returned the favor in Ithaca last November, outslugging BU 94-84. In that game, Bruce scored a career-high 28 points with 11 rebounds but BU's second-half comeback came up short at Newman Arena. The Bearcats trimmed a 22-point second-half deficit to just two with 13:45 left but ran out of steam and time against the Big Red, who benefited from 30-of-34 free throw accuracy on their home floor. Bruce hit 12-of-16 shots and netted 16 of his points in the second half when BU staged a furious rally.