VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins a stretch of four-of-five on the road when the Bearcats (7-10, 1-3 America East) travel 10 hours to Bangor to face Maine (5-13, 1-3 AE) on Sunday. The teams tip at 2 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center in a game broadcast on ESPN+.

Binghamton has dropped two straight since knocking off UMBC on Jan. 8. Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms continues to lead the team in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and assists (4.2). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is averaging 17.8 points in his last five games and is the reigning America East Rookie of the Week.

Last time out
•    Fell into 21-point halftime deficit and lost to visiting Vermont 72-53
•    Shot just 30% (1st half) and gave up 20-8 run before half and never recovered
•    Brenton Mills scored team-high 13 points despite foul trouble (28 minutes)
•    Sam Sessoms added nine points and Javon Brown added season-high eight 
•    Sessoms was held to single digits for the second straight game — the first time that has happened in his two-year collegiate career          

About Maine
•    Coming off a wild 104-98 overtime win over visiting UMass Lowell Wednesday
•    Senior guard Sergio El Darwich nearly had a triple-double with 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as Maine almost doubled its season scoring average
•     Returned three starters from a 5-27 team that placed eighth in the America East and lost in the quarterfinals
•    Senior forward Andrew Fleming (1,200+ career pts.) was named to the preseason all-conference team and leads the Black Bears in scoring and rebounding
•    Played a pair of nationally-ranked teams in a challenging non-conference slate that also included UConn, UMass and three Ivy League members
•    Is the lowest scoring team in the conference (60.6 ppg.)
•    Has players from 10 different countries on its roster
•    Assistant Coach Edniesha Curry is the lone female coaching men's basketball in the NCAA Division I ranks. The former WNBA player is in her second season   

All-time series vs. Maine
•    The all-time series, which dates back to 2002, is even at 19-19
•    Maine holds a 12-6 cushion at home
•    Binghamton swept the season series last year, snapping a three-game Maine win streak head-to-head
•    BU won 78-66 at home and 83-60 at the Cross Insurance Center
•    In the most recent matchup last March 2, J.C. Show drilled a record 10 3-pointers and BU set a new team mark with 19 3-pointers in the lopsided win

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

Mills garners second Rookie of the Week honor
Freshman guard Brenton Mills was named America East Rookie of the Week for Jan. 13. He averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Bearcats. Mills hit for a game-high 22 points to pace BU in a home win over UMBC, scoring 16 of those points in the first half to stake Bearcats to a seven-point lead. He added 14 points at UMass Lowell.

Young BU lineup is delivering  
Binghamton is receiving 76% of its offense from underclassmen and its top three scorers are all first or second-year guys. 

Caldwell coming on of late   
Senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. is averaging 9.7 points over his last three games. He scored a season-high 14 points at Lowell and then chipped in eight points and a team-high seven boards in a season-high 34 minutes against Vermont. 

Mills emerging as consistent scoring threat  
Freshman guard Brenton Mills has gone for double-figure points in five straight games, with three of those resulting in 15+ point performances. Mills is averaging 17.8 points on 48% shooting in that span. He is the highest scoring freshman in the conference (12.8 ppg.).  

Minutes rising for J.J. Brown  
Junior guard Javon "J.J." Brown has seen his minutes dramatically increase and also his scoring production. After averaging less than four minutes a game in his first seven outings as a  Bearcat, Brown has earned double-digit minutes in three of the last four games and is averaging 12 minutes per game and 5.6 points during the most recent four-game stretch. Against Vermont, Brown played a season-high 23 minutes and chipped in eight points and four rebounds.   

Bearcats boast four different players with double-doubles, five players with 20 or more points in a game  
Binghamton has four different players produce a double-double this season. Freshman forward George Tinsley has four, senior forward Pierre Sarr has three, sophomore guard Sam Sessoms has two and senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. has one. That's the most of any BU team in school history and also leads the America East this season. With freshman Dan Petcash's 25-point showing against Hartwick, BU now has five different players who have scored 20 or more points in a game this season (Sessoms 5x, Mills 3x, Tinsley 2x, Sarr 2x, Petcash).  

Bearacts among the America East, NCAA stat leaders  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms third in the America East in scoring (17.7), assists (4.3), steals (1.5/game) and free throw percentage (.837). Sessoms also is fifth in minutes played 34.2). Freshman forward George Tinsley ranks third in the nation in minutes (38:16/game). Tinsley is third in the America East in rebounding (8.3) and fourth in blocks (1.3/game). Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fifth in the AE in rebounding (7.6). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is fifth in the AE in both 3-point percentage (.379) and 3-pointers per game (2.3). Mills is the top-scoring freshman in conference (12.8 ppg.).      

Sessoms remains on Lou Henson Award Watch List 
The 2019-20 Lou Henson Award mid-season Watch List came out on Jan. 9 and sophomore gaurd Sam Sessoms kept his place on the list, which honors the nation's top Division I mid-major player. Sessoms was on the preseason list and made the first-half cut to what is now 50 players from 22 different eligible conferences. Sessoms was one of just two players from the America East (Vermont senior Anthony Lamb) and one of just nine underclassmen on the list. The Player of the Year Award will be announced in April.  

Tinsley ranks third in nation in minutes played  
Freshman forward George Tinsley led the nation in minutes for the first two months of the season and currently ranks third (38:16). Tinsley has played a full game seven times this season, including all 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 freshman George Tinsley (38.3 minutes/game), sophomore Sam Sessoms (34.2) and freshman Brenton Mills (34.1) and are 1-5-6 in the America East in minutes played. 

Bearcats riding 3-point scoring  
BU ranks 30th in the country in 3-pointers per game (9.5). That average leads the America East. The Bearcats also rank 30th in the country in made threes (162) and are shooting 33% from beyond the arc. The Bearcats rank No. 9 in the country in 3-point reliance (Ken Pom), with 41% of their offense coming via the 3-ball. 

Sessoms already nearing 900 career points  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms is averaging 17.7 points this season and has quickly moved his career total to 888 points halfway through his second collegiate season. He currently ranks eighth in Div. I era scoring at Binghamton and his career average (17.5 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.