VESTAL, N.Y. - After waiting out their weekend bye in the schedule, Binghamton men's basketball returns to action on Wednesday when the Bearcats (8-13, 2-6 America East) travel across I-88 to face Albany (12-11, 5-3 AE). The game kicks off the second-half of the conference schedule.

The Bearcats are coming off a 73-57 loss at Hartford last Wednesday - the team's second straight defeat following the upset road win over Stony Brook. Heading into the second go-around of league play, BU sits just one game out of fifth place as the top four teams have gained separation from a clustered lower five.

Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms still leads the America East in assists (4.5) and is third in scoring (18.2). The freshman tandem of Brenton Mills (12.0) and George Tinsley (11.5) give the Bearcats three players scoring in double figures. Tinsley is third in rebounding (7.8) and Mills is the top-scoring freshman in the conference. Senior forward Pierre Sarr ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (7.3). 


Last time out
• Hartford used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to gain separation and the host Hawks made 11-for-12 free throws in the final 2:42 to hold off BU 73-57 last Wednesday at Chase Arena
• Freshman forward George Tinsley tallied a career- and game-high 25 points
• Tinsley scored 17 in the second half to help the Bearcats keep pace
• Freshman guard Brenton Mills added 11 points            

About Albany
• Second only to Vermont in all-time AE win perc. (.536) and league titles (5)
• Coming off 86-75 home loss to Vermont on Saturday
• In that game UA shot 56% in the first half (and trailed by 2) before Vermont limited the Danes to eight second-half field goals and pulled away. All-conference players Ahmad Clark and Cameron Healy each scored 22 points to lead UA
• Have wins over all five teams below in the standings and losses to three above
• Picked to finish fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll (and in 4th)
     
All-time series vs. Albany
• Albany leads the series, which dates back to 1948, 71-34
• Since both teams joined the America East (2001), Albany leads 24-14
• Albany has won 18 of the last 19 after BU had won 13 of 19 previous
• One month ago in Vestal, Albany built a 14-point halftime lead and won 74-62. Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms scored a game-high 22 points and BU cut its deficit to four, midway through the second half, befor the Danes closed the door.
• Freshman guard Brenton Mills added 17 points and senior forward Pierre Sarr had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Albany owns a sizeable 33-9 lead in home games in the series (9 straight)
• Binghamton's last win at SEFCU was a 62-57 win on Jan. 7, 2010

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 two freshmen (Mills, Tinsley), a sophomore (Sessoms) and two seniors (Sarr and Caldwell).

Sessoms closing in on 1,000 career points  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms now has 971 career points and can reach the 1K mark with 29 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 fiifth in Div. I era scoring at Binghamton and his career average (18.1 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 0-12.

Mills emerging as consistent scoring threat  
Freshman guard Brenton Mills has gone for double-figure points in seven of his last nine games and is averaging 13.7 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 five games. In his last six outings, he is averaging 11.8 points in 31+ minutes of action. He has hit double-figures in three of those games, including two of the last three. 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 22nd in the country in 3-pointers per game (9.7) and 37th in made 3-pointers (203). 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.

Bearcats 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 (18.2). He also ranks third in minutes (34.7), fifth in free throw percentage (83%), seventh in both steals (1.5) and 3-pointers per game (2.1) and eighth in 3-point percentage (31%). Freshman forward George Tinsley ranks fourth in the nation in minutes (38:12/game). Tinsley is third in the America East in rebounding (7.8) and fifth in blocks (1.1/game). Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fifth in the AE in rebounding (7.3). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is fourth in the AE in 3-point percentage (38%) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.2). Mills is the top-scoring freshman in conference (12.0 ppg.).      
Tinsley ranks fourth 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 fourth (38:12). Tinsley has played a full game nine 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 (38.2 minutes/game), sophomore Sam Sessoms (34.7) and freshman Brenton Mills (34.0) and are 1-3-6 in the America East in minutes played.