VESTAL, N.Y. - After a weather-extended road trip to Burlington, Binghamton men's basketball (5-14, 1-3 America East) returns home to host UMass Lowell (11-9, 3-2 AE) Wednesday night. The teams tip at 7 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court in a game broadcast on ESPN3. 

The game features a WEIS Markets Pack the House promotion and there will be an assortment of contests and prize giveaways for BU students as they return for the start of the spring semester. Pregame, senior guard J.C. Show will be recognized for eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for his career. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 73rd season of basketball, 18th at the Division I level
• BU was picked to finish 6th (of 9) in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll
• This is the 18th America East season for BU, which is 106-170 (.384) all-time
• This is the first of two straight home games  

Last time out
• Vermont closed the first half on a 24-5 run, built a 22-point cushion and cruised past the visiting Bearcats 78-50 Saturday in Burlington
• The Catamounts were plus 31 on the glass and hit 17-of-20 free throws
• BU shot 57 percent in second half and scored 36 points (after just 14 in 1st half)
• Freshman guard Sam Sessoms scored team-high 19 points (7-of-15 FG)
• Senior forward Caleb Stewart added 14 points and five boards    

About UMass Lowell
• River Hawks are coming off 76-73 win at Hartford on Saturday
• UML got career-high 35 points from junior guard Christian Lutete
• Team has won three straight after starting AE play with two losses
• Have beaten UMBC (74-63), Albany (84-72) and then Hartford
• High-scoring offense averaging AE best 81.1 points on 48% shooting
• Are already one win away from tying last year's final win total (12)
• Picked to finish 9th of 9 in AE preseason poll after graduating all-conference guard Jahad Thomas but have quickly retooled with Radford transfer Lutete

All-time series vs. UMass Lowell
• UML leads the all-time series, which began in 1999, 11-4
• UML has won four straight head-to-head - season sweeps the last two years
• Last year UML won 79-71 in Vestal and 74-69 one month later in Lowell
• The last seven games have been decided by an average of five points
• The Bearcats are 3-4 vs. UML in Vestal and are 2-3 at the Events Center 

Bearcats lead America East, rank 11th in nation in blocks
Despite opening the season without the top shot blocker in the America East (Thomas Bruce), BU has racked up 100 blocks through 19 games, 11th-most in the country. In blocks per game, BU led the country for a week and currently ranks 15th. Individually, senior forward Caleb Stewart swatted a career-high five vs. Columbia and has 37 blocks, which ranks third in the conference and 34th in the country. His 1.95 average is 47th. Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has 28 blocks (4th in AE). The Bearcats lead the America East in blocks, thanks to three players in the league's top-nine.   

Sessoms still seventh in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.3 ppg.) and ranks seventh in the entire nation in freshman scoring. He has scored in double figures in 17 of his first 19 collegiate games, including six 20+ games. Sessoms also ranks 49th in the country in made field goals.  

Sessoms has won five America East Rookie of Week honors
On Jan. 7, freshman guard Sam Sessoms earned his fifth America East Rookie of the Week honor in eight weeks (Nov. 12, Nov. 26, Dec. 10, Dec. 24, Jan. 7) after averaging 23.0 points on 57 percent shooting in games against Columbia and UNH. With five weekly honors, he ties former BU standout and AE Rookie of the Year Dylan Talley, who also had five during the 2009-10 season. It's just one honor behind the school-high of six, set by Jordan Reed during the 2012-13 season.

Bearcats' zone defense keeping them in games
The Bearcats switched to a zone defense early in the non-conference portion of the season and the ploy has helped BU hold steady in AE play. Binghamton ranks fourth in the AE in both scoring defense (70.8 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (.434).

Barnard is BU's top rebounder
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard leads the Bearcats with 6.7 rebounds per game. He ranks seventh in the America East in rebounds and ranks 14th in the country among players 6-foot-4 or shorter. In games against Columbia (1/2) and UNH (1/5), Barnard had 11 rebounds back-to-back. 

Show eclipses 1,000-point mark; Stewart next
Senior guard J.C. Show tallied eight points at Stony Brook on Jan. 9 to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau (1,001 pts.). Show, who played his first collegiate season at Bucknell, became the third Bearcat in the last three years and 21st overall to reach the milestone. Senior forward Caleb Stewart also continued his march toward 1K. After single seasons at South Carolina-Aiken and Saint Leo, Stewart is finishing his last two at Binghamton. He has 954 career points.