VESTAL, N.Y. - After a short holiday break, Binghamton men's basketball returns to the floor Sunday when the Bearcats (5-7) host regional foe Hartwick (6-3) Sunday afternoon at the Events Center. The teams square off for the third straight year in a 2 p.m. game that will be shown on ESPN+. 

The Bearcats have four players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore guard Sam Sessoms (19.3 ppg.). Sessoms has the unique distinction of leading the America East in both scoring and assists (4.6/game). No player has ever led the league in both categories at season's end. Freshmen George Tinsley (11.8 ppg.) and Brenton Mills (10.7 ppg.) and senior forward Pierre Sarr (10.3 ppg.) round out the team's top four scorers. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 74th season of basketball, 19th at the Division I level
• BU was picked to finish T-6th (of 9) in the America East Preseason Poll
• BU returns just one starter and two scholarship players from 10-23 team
• This will be an exhibition game for the Division III Hawks
• This is the last non-conference game before BU opens America East play Jan. 4 vs. Albany at the Events Center

Last time out
• BU finished off an 0-2 road trip with a 79-53 loss at ACC member Pitt on Dec. 20
• Pitt built a 41-21 halftime bulge and forced a season-high 27 BU turnovers
• BU was only minus 1 on glass and outscored 38-32 in second half
• Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms had game-high 23 points (5-of-11 3s)        

About Hartwick
• Return seven players from a 10-15 team that went 6-10 and tied for sixth (of 9) in Division III Empire 8 Conference
• Key player is 2019 E8 honorable mention selection Kyle Bradshaw (13.9 ppg.), who poured in 31 points (seven 3s) in a 82-78 win over fellow BU opponent Oneonta on Nov. 21 — five days before BU defeated Oneonta 90-69
• Local standouts Pat Garey (Johnson City) and Austin Haskell (Susquehanna Valley) are contributing juniors. Garey drilled 79 3-pointers a season ago, including 5-of-5 shooting against the Bearcats. Haskell pulled down nine boards in that game
• Hartwick has been off for 15 days since a 67-58 win at Morrisville St. on Dec. 14
• Hawks have balanced scoring with five players scoring in double figures  

All-time series vs. Hartwick
• Hartwick leads the all-time series, which began in 1946, 36-11
• The teams had a long-standing rivalry as Division III programs
• Binghamton has won the last five matchups, including all three meetings when BU was a Division I program (2014, 2017, 2018)
• Last season, BU led by 13 at half and withstood 15 3-pointers from the Hawks to post an 89-70 win at the Events Center

Bearcats are eighth youngest team in nation
Binghamton is ranked No. 346 in experience (eighth youngest team in nation) by KenPom. The team's normal starting lineup is composed of three freshmen (Mills, Tinsley, Hjalmarsson), a sophomore (Sessoms) and a senior (Sarr).  

Sessoms sets school scoring records in OT win over Boston on Dec. 7  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms added to his resume with a record-setting performance against Boston University on Dec. 7. In BU's 84-79 overtime win at the Events Center, Sessoms broke single-game records for points (40) and field goals (15) — both records he previously shared. Sessoms scored 28 of his points after halftime (9 in OT) to break the old mark of 34 points that he shared with J.C. Show and Dusan Perovic. His 15 field goals broke the mark he set twice and also shared with three others.  

Tinsley leads nation in minutes played  
Freshman forward George Tinsley continues to lead the nation in minutes per game (39:19). Tinsley has played a full game six times this season, including 45 minutes in the overtime win over Boston University on Dec. 7.  

Trio of Tinsley, Mills and Sessoms loading up on minutes  
Binghamton's starting trio of freshmen George Tinsley (39.3 minutes/game), sophomore Sam Sessoms (34.8) and Brenton Mills (33.7) are 1-2-3 in the America East in minutes played.

Bearcats riding 3-point scoring  
BU ranks 26th in the country in made 3-pointers (115). They average 9.6 per game, which ranks second in the America East and 37th in the country. The Bearcats rank No. 4 in the country in 3-point reliance (Ken Pom), with 44% of its offense coming via the 3-ball.

Young BU lineup is delivering  
Binghamton is receiving 78% of its offense from underclassmen and its top three scorers are all first or second-year players.

Bearcats boast four different players with double-doubles  
With the most recent double-double by senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr., BU now has four different players produce a double-double this season. Freshman forward George Tinsley has four, sophomore guard Sam Sessoms and senior forward Pierre Sarr have two apiece. That's the most of any BU team in school history and also leads the America East this season.

Bearacts among the America East, NCAA stat leaders  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms leads the America East in both scoring (19.3) and assists (4.6). No player in the history of the conference has led in both categories at season's end. Sessoms also ranks third in both free throw percentage (83%) and steals (1.3). Freshman forward George Tinsley leads the nation in minutes (39:19/game). Tinsley is second in the America East in rebounding (8.6) and is averaging 11.8 points, tops among conference freshmen. Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fourth in the AE in rebounding (8.2). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is fourth in the AE in 3-point percentage (.385) and seventh in 3-pointers per game (2.1).    

Sessoms already over 800 career points  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms is averaging 19.3 points this season and has quickly moved his career total to 820 points less than halfway through his second collegiate season. He currently ranks ninth in Div. I era scoring at Binghamton and his career average (18.2 ppg.) is on pace to reach 1K in early February (midway through conference play) and become the program's all-time scoring leader (1,705 pts.) by the end of his junior season. Sessoms is also on pace to surpass the 2,000-point mark by the time he graduates, which would make him a 2K scorer in both high school and college.