VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (8-14, 2-7 America East) begins an important stretch of games by hosting standings-rival Maine (6-17, 2-7 AE) Saturday afternoon at the Events Center. The teams tip-off at 2 p.m. as BU begins a stretch of four-of-five at home, where the team is 6-4 this season.

Maine came to town Thursday ahead of the snowstorm and the Black Bears will be looking for a season sweep of the Bearcats after posting a win up in Bangor three weeks ago.

Last time out
• On Wednesday at Albany, the Great Danes opened the game with a 25-9 surge and then used an 11-3 second-half run to create ample distance in a 62-49 win.
• Freshman forward George Tinsley had 13 points and nine rebounds and senior forward Pierre Sarr added 12 points and nine boards to pace the Bearcats.
• Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms added nine second-half points to move closer to the 1,000-point mark (980 pts.)            

About Maine
• Have lost four straight and seven of its last nine with AE wins over UMass Lowell (104-98, OT) and Binghamton (86-63) nestled in-between
• On Wednesday lost at Vermont 77-52 but played without leading scorer, rebounder and all-conference selection Andrew Fleming (back injury). That result was far different than the first time the teams met in Bangor on Jan. 22, when Vermont escaped with a 59-57 win
• Senior forward Fleming (1,200+ career pts.) was named to the preseason all-conference team and leads the Black Bears in scoring and rebounding
• Is the lowest scoring team in the conference (60.3 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
• With Maine's home win in the season's first head-to-head matchup three weeks ago, the Black Bears now lead the all-time series, 20-19
• Binghamton holds a 13-6 cushion at home
• Maine has won four of the last six meetings
• In the most recent matchup on Jan. 19, Maine shot 53 percent, built a 13-point halftime lead and eased past BU 86-63 at Cross Insurance Center. Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms scored a team-high 21 points but Maine put four players in double figures and nearly doubled up BU on the glass. Binghamton trailed 46-33 at intermission and then Maine opened the second half with a 12-5 run to stretch the margin to 20. The Bearcats couldn't bring it under 14 the rest of the way. Sergio El Darwich went off for 26 points for Maine.

Bearcats one of youngest teams in nation
Binghamton now is ranked No. 325 in experience (15th 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 980 career points and can reach the 1K mark with 20 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 (18.0 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 75% 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 0-13.

Sarr selected to Midseason Watch List for Dos Equis 3x3U event
Senior forward Pierre Sarr has been selected as one of 10 seniors from the America East on the Dos Equis 3x3U National Championship Midseason Watch List. The event pits seniors representing all 32 NCAA Division I conferences in a FIBA-sanctioned 3-on-3 event that carries a grand prize of $150,000. This year's event will take place April 3-5 in Atlanta. Last year a squad from the mid-major Colonial Athletic Association won the event.  

Mills emerging as consistent scoring threat  
Freshman guard Brenton Mills has gone for double-figure points in seven of his last 10 games and is averaging 13.0 points in that span. He remains the highest scoring freshman in the conference (11.7 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 six games. In his last seven outings, he is averaging 8.6 points in 31+ minutes of action. He has hit double-figures in three of those games, including two of the last four. 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, rank fifth in country in long distance reliance  
BU ranks 23rd in the country in 3-pointers per game (9.5) and 32nd in made 3-pointers (210). They have canned 10 or more 3s 10 times this season, including a season-best 14 twice (NJIT and Hartwick). The Bearcats rank No. 5 in the country in 3-point reliance (Ken Pom), with 42% of their offense coming via the 3-ball.

Bearacts among the America East, NCAA stat leaders  
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms ranks second in the America East in assists (4.4/game) and fourth in scoring (17.8). He also ranks third in minutes (34.8), fifth in steals (1.5) and eighth in 3-point percentage (30%). Freshman forward George Tinsley ranks fourth in the nation in minutes (38:17/game). Tinsley is third in the America East in rebounding (7.8) and fifth in blocks (1.1/game). Senior forward Pierre Sarr is fourth in the AE in rebounding (7.3). Freshman guard Brenton Mills is fourth in the AE in 3-point percentage (38%) and sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.2). Mills is the top-scoring freshman in conference (11.7 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 (38:17). Tinsley has played a full game nine times this season, including all 45 minutes in the overtime win over Boston University on Dec. 7.