VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (3-6) hosts Patriot League member Loyola (3-6) on a busy Saturday at the Events Center. The Bearcats and Greyhounds are scheduled to tip at approximately 2:30 p.m. following the women's game. At halftime of the men's game, BU will recognize its Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

Last time out
• In a tale of two halves on Wednesday in Baltimore, BU scored 44 points in the first half and had a 20-point lead early in the second at Morgan State before the Bears put 46 on the board in the second half and pulled out a 74-68 win
• Freshman guard Sam Sessoms tallied a game-high 22 points (8-for-16 FG)
• Senior guard J.C. Show added 19 points and eight rebounds
• BU had 12 second-half turnovers and went scoreless for 6+ minutes 

About Loyola
• Have alternated between wins and losses for last five games
• Shot 58 percent and got 31 points from leading scorer Andrew Kostecka but lost shootout at Drexel (62% FG) 95-86 on Wednesday
• First year head coach Tavaras Hardy was assistant at Georgia Tech
• Return three starters and 60% of scoring from a 9-22 team of a year ago
• Have wins over Delaware State, Hampton and Mt. St. Mary's
• Picked to finish 10th (of 10) in the Patriot League Preseason Poll    

All-time series vs. Loyola
• Loyola leads the all-time series, which began in 2012, 3-1
• Binghamton won last year in Baltimore, 77-64
• In that game, Willie Rodriguez scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and BU shot 58 percent. J.C. Show pumped in 15 points in the first half.
• The last times the teams met in Vestal, current Bearcat Chancellor Barnard scored 11 points to lead the Greyhounds to a 90-85 overtime win on Dec. 10, 2016

Bearcats rank second in nation in blocks
Despite opening the season without the top shot blocker in the America East (Thomas Bruce), BU has racked up 62 blocks through eight games (6.9), led the country for a week and currently ranks second, behind only Duke (7.7). Individually, senior forward Chancellor Barnard has 18 blocks and senior forward Caleb Stewart has 16. Barnard ranks 83rd in the nation in block percentage (kenpom) and is the ONLY player under 6-foot-5 in the top-100.  

Sessoms ranked 8th in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (18.3 ppg.) and ranks eighth in the entire nation in freshman scoring. He has scored in doubles in all nine of his collegiate games so far.   

Barnard shooting lofty 74 percent, ranks 11th in kenpom FG%
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has converted 32-of-43 shots (.744) and ranks 11th in kenpom's "effective FG percentage" category. Barnard's 74 percent would rank third in the nation but he falls short of the minimum made FGs.

Sessoms named America East Rookie of Week for second time
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms earned his second America East Rookie of the Week honor in three weeks (Nov. 12, Nov. 26) after averaging 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in games against Colgate and Sacred Heart. 

Barnard registers second double-double of season for Bearcats
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard got a career-high 37 minutes against Hartwick and posted his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. It was the second time in four games Barnard has hit for the double. At Colgate on Nov. 19, he had 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Pair of Bearcats moving toward 1,000-point mark
Seniors J.C. Show and Caleb Stewart are marching toward the 1K mark for their scoring careers. Show, who played his first collegiate season at Bucknell, currenty sits at 933 points. Stewart played single seasons at South Carolina-Aiken and Saint Leo before finishing his last two seasons at Binghamton. He has 841 career points.