VESTAL, N.Y. - Coming off a 12-point home win on Saturday, Binghamton men's basketball hits the road to face the team directly in front of them when the Bearcats (6-15, 2-4 America East) meet Hartford (10-11, 3-3 AE) Wednesday night in West Hartford. The teams tip at 7 p.m. at Chase Arena in a game broadcast on ESPN3.

With a win over the Hawks, BU would pull into a fifth-place tie in the America East standings. 

Freshman guard Sam Sessoms continues to lead BU in scoring (17.9 ppg.). After an explosive two-game week last week, senior forward Caleb Stewart has raised his scoring into double-digit range (11.1) and leads the team with 7.0 boards per game. 

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 road games to close out the first half of AE play  

Last time out
• Senior forward Caleb Stewart poured in 26 points (17 in second half) with 11 rebounds and BU shot 54% to pull away from Maine 78-66 Saturday in Vestal
• BU used a 20-8 second-half run (pts. from 5 different players) to build lead
• Stewart sank a free throw with 19 seconds left to reach the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career
• Freshman guard Sam Sessoms added 14 points (11 in second half)     

About Hartford
• Hawks are coming off an 84-77 loss at Albany on Saturday
• Hartford put five in double figures (Blagojevic 19 pts.) and shot 52% in second half but couldn't rally from a 14-point halftime hole
• Scoring 73.3 points per game (3rd in AE) and lead league in 3-pt. shooting
• Boast three all-conference players on roster (Carroll, Lynch, Dunne)
• Returned three starters from 19-win team that played in CIT
• Picked to finish second in AE Preseason Poll

All-time series vs. Hartford
• Hartford leads the series 23-13 and has won three straight and 13 of last 15
• Hawks hold 10-7 margin in West Hartford 
• Home team has won three of the last four meetings
• Hartford swept the season series last year, winning 97-65 at Chase Arena and 67-57 three weeks later in Vestal
• The last time BU played at Chase Gym, last January 13, Hartford hit 18 3-pointers, shot 61% and blitzed the Bearcats by 32 points

Bearcats lead America East, rank ninth in nation in blocks
Despite opening the season without the top shot blocker in the America East (Thomas Bruce), BU has racked up 111 blocks through 21 games, tops in the AE and ninth-most in the country. In blocks per game, BU led the country for a week and currently ranks 12th (5.3/game). Individually, senior forward Caleb Stewart swatted a career-high five vs. Columbia and has 45 blocks, which ranks third in the conference and 37th in the country. His 2.0 average is 45th. Senior forward Chancellor Barnard had a career-high seven-block showing (all in second half) against UMass Lowell and has 35 blocks (4th in AE). 

Stewart has huge week, reaches 1K and is AE Player of Week
Thanks to back-to-back double-doubles and eclipsing the 1,000-point milestone, senior forward Caleb Stewart was named America East  Player of the Week this week — his first career AE honor, and also was named the University's Athlete of the Week. In two games last week, Stewart averaged 24.0 points and 13.5 rebounds and shot 60 percent from the field. He pulled down 16 rebounds against UMass Lowell, the most of any AE player this season. Then in BU's win over Maine, Stewart scored a career-high 26 points (17 in first half). His free throw with 19 seconds left was his 1,000th collegiate point (4th Bearcat to reach in last 3 years). After single seasons at South Carolina-Aiken (224 pts.) and Saint Leo (467 pts.), Stewart is finishing his last two seasons at Binghamton and is averaging 11.1 points this season. 

Sessoms goes off in first half against UMass Lowell, flirts with record
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms hit 8-of-10 shots (4-of-5 3-pt.) in the first half against UMass Lowell on Jan. 23 and wound up with 22 points in 15 minutes of action. He added 10 more in the second half to wind up with 32 points, two shy of tying the school single-game record. His total is the sixth-most by an AE player this season and the highest BU total since teammate J.C. Show went for a school-record-tying 34 points vs. Central Connecticut State on Nov. 11, 2016. His eight first-half field goals were the third-most in a half in program history.

Stewart surging of late
Senior forward Caleb Stewart has been on a roll of late. In his last eight games, he is averaging 16.5 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field, including 48 percent from 3-point range. He has scored in double figures eight consecutive games. 

Sessoms remains sixth in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks third in the conference in scoring (17.9 ppg.) and is sixth in the entire nation in freshman scoring. In his last seven games, he is averaging 19.7 points and has seven 20+ games this season. Sessoms ranks 40th in the country in made field goals.  

Sessoms has won five America East Rookie of Week honors
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms has been named America East Rookie of the Week honor five times this season (Nov. 12, Nov. 26, Dec. 10, Dec. 24, Jan. 7). With five weekly honors, he ties former BU standout and 2010 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 2012-13.

Barnard is beast on block
Senior forward Chancellor Barnard has maximized his relatively small 6-foot-4 frame in the low post. Barnard is coming off a seven-block showing against UMass Lowell on Jan. 23 and ranks fourth in the America East in blocks and eighth in rebouunds (6.8). He ranks 10th in the country in rebounds among players 6-foot-4 or shorter. His highlight glass games were against Columbia (1/2) and UNH (1/5), when he had back-to-back 11-rebound performances.