VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball looks to duplicate its road result from a week ago when the Bearcats (8-12, 2-5 America East) face Hartford (11-10, 4-2 AE) at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Chase Arena. The most recent bus trip turned into a big win at Stony Brook and BU will try to continue that away momentum against a Hawks team that sits in a tie for second place in the standings.

Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms enters the game just 38 points away from the 1,000-point mark (962). He is aiming to become just the seventh player in the 41-year history of the America East to reach the milestone during his sophomore season. Sessoms leads the Bearcats and ranks third in the America East with an 18.7 scoring average. He also leads the league in assists (4.5/game). Freshmen Brenton Mills (12.0 ppg.) and George Tinsley (10.7 ppg.) give BU three players in double figures.  

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
• The Bearcats are 111-181 (.380) in 18 years of America East play with one regular season and one tournament title, each won in 2009
• BU returns just one starter and two scholarship players from 10-23 team
• This is the last game of January and with it, the first half of AE play wraps up
• BU is just 2-8 on the road this season but in its most recent road game last Wednesday, posted an 83-79 win at then league-leading Stony Brook

Last time out
• Visiting New Hampshire erased a nine-point second half deficit with 58 percent shooting and handed Binghamton a 77-69 setback Saturday at the Events Center
• BU stretched a two-point halftime lead with a 7-0 run to open the second half and led 39-30 with 17:36 left before UNH countered
• Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second frame. He hit for 20+ for the third straight game and 10th time this season
• Freshman forward George Tinsley had 13 points (5-of-7 FG) and eight rebounds and senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. added 10 points and nine boards            

About Hartford
• Have won four of last six, including wins over Stony Brook and Albany
• On Saturday, limited host Albany to just six second-half field goals and received 31 points from graduate transfer Malik Ellison, who singlehandedly outscored the Great Danes 22-21 in the second half
• Ellison leads Hartford in both scoring (17.0 ppg.) and rebounding (10.5 rpg.)
• Ellison, son of former Louisville great and NBA player Pervis Ellison, has five double-doubles in 11 games since returning from an injury. He previously played two years at St. John's before captaining the Pitt team last year
• Graduated all five starters from an 18-win team that went 10-6 in AE play and reached the tournament semifinals; picked to finish T-6th in the Preseason Poll (with Binghamton) but are currently in a tie for second place
• Return seven letterwinners but newcomers feature Ellison and strong freshman class that has garnered five Rookie of the Week honors, tied with BU for AE best      

All-time series vs. Hartford
• Hartford has rattled off five straight wins and has won 15 of the last 17 to stretch its lead in the all-time series to 25-13
• The Hawks hold a 13-5 lead in games at Chase Arena
• Last winter Hartford swept the season series, winning 86-60 at home and then 96-76 four weeks later in Vestal. The Hawks drilled a combined 31 3-pointers in the two games, including 19 in West Hartford
• The last BU road win at Hartford was a 68-54 victory on Feb. 11, 2016

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).

Tinsley nabs third Rookie of the Week honor
Freshman forward George Tinsley was been selected as the America East Rookie of the Week on Jan. 27. It's the third time this season that Tinsley has earned the honor - the most of any freshman in the league. Tinsley averaged 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. In the two games, he shot 11-for-14 (79%) from the floor and also continued to pace the conference in minutes played by logging 78 minutes in the two games.

Sessoms closing in on 1,000 career points  
With his 28-point performance against UNH on Saturday, sophomore guard Sam Sessoms now has 962 career points, still less than halfway through his collegiate career. He is bidding to become just the seventh player in the league's 41-year history to reach the 1K mark as a sophomore. Sessoms currently ranks sixth in Div. I era scoring at Binghamton and his career average (18.2 ppg.) puts him in pace to 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.    

Young BU lineup is delivering  
Binghamton is receiving 74% of its offense from underclassmen and its top three scorers are all first or second-year guys.

70 is magic number on offense  
The Bearcats can eye the number 70 on the scoreboard. When BU puts 70 on the board they are 8-1. When the Bearcats score less than 70, they are 0-11.  

Mills emerging as consistent scoring threat  
Frelshman guard Brenton Mills has gone for double-figure points in six of his last eight games and is averaging 14.0 points in that span. He remains the highest scoring freshman in the conference (12.0 ppg.).  

Caldwell moves into starting lineup  
After coming off the bench for much of the season, senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. has started the last four games. In his last five outings, he is averaging 10.4 points in 36+ minutes of action. He has hit double-figures in three of those five games, including each of the last two. In the big win at Stony Brook on Jan. 22, Caldwell hit a career-high six field goals and blocked a crucial 3-point attempt with just over a minute to play.    

Bearcats riding 3-point scoring  
BU ranks 21st in the country in made 3-pointers (195) and is 26th in 3-pointers per game (9.8). Both figures lead the America East. They have canned 10 or more 3s 10 times this season, including a season-best 14 twice (NJIT and Hartwick). The Bearcats rank No. 7 in the country in 3-point reliance (Ken Pom), with 42% of their offense coming via the 3-ball.

Second-half Sam
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms is scoring 63% of his points in the second half and has scored 13 or more second-half points eight times this season, including 27 pts. in the second half at NJIT and 20 in the second half vs. Sacred Heart. He also had 28 in the second half and OT against Boston University. In BU's 83-79 win at Stony Brook on Jan. 22, Sessoms scored nine straight points in the final 2:10 to lift the Bearcats to a victory. He had 17 second-half points and then added 19 second-half points in the follow-up game against UNH. Sessoms ranks 11th in the NCAA in underclassman scoring.

Bearacts among the America East, NCAA stat leaders  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms leads the America East in assists (4.5/game) and is third in scoring (18.7). He also ranks third in minutes (34.3), fourth in steals (1.6) and free throw percentage (.836), seventh in 3-pointers per game (2.2) and eighth in 3-point percentage (.317). Freshman forward George Tinsley ranks fifth in the nation in minutes (38:07/game). Tinsley is third in the America East in rebounding (7.9) and fifth in blocks (1.1/game). Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fifth in the AE in rebounding (7.5). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is third in the AE in 3-point percentage (38%) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.3). Mills is the top-scoring freshman in conference (12.0 ppg.).      

Tinsley ranks fifth 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 fifth (38:07). Tinsley has played a full game eight 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 (38.1 minutes/game), sophomore Sam Sessoms (34.7) and freshman Brenton Mills (34.1) and are 1-3-5 in the America East in minutes played.