VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball returns home, where it will play four of its next six games, when the Bearcats (6-17, 2-6 America East) hosts SUNY rival Stony Brook (18-5, 6-2 AE) Wednesday night at the Events Center. The teams will tip at 7 p.m. in a game broadcast on ESPN3.

Freshman guard Sam Sessoms continues to lead the team in scoring (17.8 ppg.) and Sessoms ranks sixth in the entire nation in freshman scoring. Senior forward Caleb Stewart has posted double-digit rebounds in four consecutive games and he leads the team in boards (7.3) and is second in scoring (10.7). Stewart will be honored pregame for eclipsing the 1,000-point scoring plateau for his collegiate 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
• Tonight's game begins second half of AE play (8 games left in regular season)  

Last time out
• BU dug itself an early 19-0 hole to start the game but rallied to push this game to the closing minutes before falling 64-50 at Albany on Wednesday
• Bearcats were within six, with 4:21 left before the Danes used a 12-2 run to ice it
• Freshman guard Sam Sessoms scored team-high 13 points and freshman forward Calistus Anyichie added 10 points, seven boards and three steals      

About Stony Brook
• Currently at No. 17 in the Mid-Major Top 25 and are 6-2 in AE (T-2nd place)
• Coming off an 86-77 win over visiting Hartford on Saturday
• In that game, four players reached double figures, led by sophomore guard Elijah Olaniyi, who recorded a career-high 29 points (20 in first half)
• Junior forward Akwasi Yeboah was second team all-conference last year and is team's top leading scorer and rebounder
• Sophomore guard Elijah Olaniyi is reigning AE Rookie of the Year
• Returned three of its top four scorers; picked to finish fourth in preseason poll 

All-time series vs. Stony Brook
• Stony Brook leads the series, which began in 1963, 43-27
• Stony Brook has won 18 of the last 20 games
• One month ago on Long Island, Stony Brook used a 15-0 run to snap a second-half tie and the Seawolves held off BU 59-46 at Island Federal Arena
• The Seawolves shot 50 percent and withstood a gritty effort from the Bearcats, who forced 15 turnovers but shot just 29 percent on the offensive end
• The home team has won the last seven matchups
• BU has an 18-16 edge at home in the series 

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 117 blocks through 23 games, tops in the AE andninth-most in the country. In blocks per game, BU led the country for a week and currently ranks 16th (5.1/game). Individually, senior forward Caleb Stewart swatted a career-high five vs. Columbia and has 42 blocks, which ranks third in the conference and 44th in the country. His 1.8 average is 53rd. Senior forward Chancellor Barnard had a career-high seven-block showing (all in second half) against UMass Lowell and has 38 blocks (4th in AE). 

Stewart has string of double-digit rebounds
Senior forward Caleb Stewart, recent member of the 1,000-point club, has stretched his string of double-digit boards to four. In the last four games, he has pulled down 16-11-10-10 to bump up his season average to 7.3, which ranks fifth in the America East. He is one off the program's Division I record of consecutive games with double-figure rebounds, set by Mahamoud Jabbi in 2010-11.  

Anyichie provides boost off bench
Freshman forward Calistus Anyichie came off the bench to produce a season-high 10 points in 29 minutes at Albany. In his longest stint of the season, he hit 4-of-6 from the field and also had seven boards, three steals and a block. 

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.

Sessoms remains sixth in nation in freshman scoring
Freshman guard Sam Sessoms ranks third in the conference in scoring (17.8 ppg.) and is sixth in the entire nation in freshman scoring. In his last nine games, he is averaging 19.2 points and has eight 20+ games this season. Sessoms ranks 32nd in the country in made field goals.