VESTAL, N.Y. - Winners of four of its last five, Binghamton men's basketball (6-7, 3-1 America East) hosts longtime SUNY rival Stony Brook at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Events Center. The matchup against the preseason favorite Seawolves (10-6, 2-1) figures to be BU's toughest task to date early in the conference season. 

Binghamton is coming off a 73-65 road win at Maine on Sunday in a game BU led for 34 minutes but needed a 9-1 closing run to seal the victory. Junior guard Jacob Falko kept up his strong play with a game-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the decisive second half. Sophomore guard John McGriff added a season-high 18 points (15 in first half). 

Falko leads the Bearcats in scoring with 11.5 points. Junior guard Tyler Bertram (10.6) and McGriff (10.5) are also in double figures. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 76th season of basketball, 21st in the America East
• The 2021-22 season marks the NCAA coaching debut of Levell Sanders, who was elevated to the head coach position in March after two seasons as an assistant coach. Sanders previously coached five years in the Czech Republic after a 17-year pro career overseas
• BU has won four of its last five games
• BU has started 3-1 in AE play for the first time since the 2010-11 season  

About Binghamton
• Coming off 73-65 win at Maine on Saturday (closed game on 9-1 run)
• BU converted four free throws in game's final 1:01 to seal the road win
• Have won three of first four conference games for first time in 11 years
• Jacob Falko scored game-high 22 points (16 in second half) and John McGriff added a season-high 18 points (15 in first half)
• Bearcats controlled boards with 42-28 rebound advantage
• BU led for 34 minutes but didn't take final lead until a Christian Hinckson 3-pointer with 3:27 left

 About Stony Brook
• Coming off 65-51 home win over UMBC on Monday
• Held Retrievers to just eight FG in each half and 5-of-26 from 3-point range
• Earlier beat Maine (80-72) and lost at Vermont (98-65)
• Won nine of 12 before losing in Burlington
• Rank second in America East in scoring (72.1 ppg.)
• Picked to finish first in AE Preseason Poll after bringing in four transfers with more than 4,200 career points, headed by former first team all-conference forward Elijah Olaniyi, who played last season at ACC member Miami
• St. Bonaventure transfer Anthony Roberts leads team in scoring
• Program has won 20 or more games in seven of last eight full seasons

All-time series vs. Stony Brook
• Stony Brook leads the series, which dates back to 1962, 46-30
• Since both schools joined the America East in 2001, Stony leads 27-17
• Stony has won three straight and 22 of the last 26 after BU began the series with a commanding 12-4 lead between 2001-10
• In Vestal, the series is near-even with Stony holding a 20-19 edge
• Last Dec. 19-20 at Events Center, Stony won 73-59 and then 80-70 in OT
• BU owns most prominent win with 78-72 stunner in 2019 AE quarterfinals on Long Island in a rare 7-over-2-seed upset  

Schedule Updates
The home game vs. Hartford has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. or 30 minutes following the women's game that evening. So the Bearcats will face the defending conference champs twice in a three-day span next week. The Hawks haven't played since Dec. 22 with COVID issues.  

Falko moves near top of conference scoring
After scoring a game-high 22 points at Maine on Saturday, junior guard Jacob Falko now has scored in double figures five consecutive games with three 20+ point performances. He is averaging 19.2 points during that span on 63 percent shooting. In America East play, Falko is averaging 20.3 points, second in the America East. Early in conference play, Falko ranks third in the America East assists (4.3 apg.).  

Bearcats second in league in shooting
Binghamton has found an offensive rhythm this season and ranks second in the America East (behind Vermont) in field goal percentage (46%). The Bearcats have shot above 50% in four games and above 58% in three of those. BU also ranks second in the AE in 3-point shooting (36%). They are taking four fewer per game (22) than a year ago but have raised their accuracy from 33%.  

Hinckson also picking up steam in starting role
Since moving into the starting lineup on Dec. 8, junior wing Christian Hinckson has averaged nearly a double-double with 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds over the last six games. During that stretch he is shooting 47% from the floor, including 53% from 3-point range. Hinckson leads the America East in rebounding (8.5) and is second in blocks (2.0) in conference-only games.

McGriff back in form with season-high 18 points at Maine
Sophomore point guard John McGriff scored a season-high 18 points in Sunday's win at Maine with 15 of those coming in the first half. McGriff hit 7-of-12 from the floor and added six boards and three assists. It was his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season but first since Dec. 1.  

The Bearcats in the America East
Binghamton is entering its 21st season of membership in the America East. The Bearcats are 119-203 all-time (37%) during those two decades. The team's best regular season conference records came in 2008-09 (13-3, 1st) and 2005-06 (12-4, 2nd). The program also had 10 America East wins in 2003-04 (5th place) and nine wins in both 2002-03 (4th) and 2007-08 (T-4th). Binghamton has been kept below six conference wins in 11 straight seasons.  

70 is magic number
When the Bearcats score 70 or more points, they are 5-1 this season. When opponents reach 70, BU is 1-4.

Akuwovo still tops team in season plus/minus ratings
Junior center Ogheneyole Akuwovo has the best plus/minus rating on the Bearcats with a +21 mark (not including the team's games against Division III opponents). Akuwovo was +15 (in 25 min) at Maine for his best single game. Kellen Amos is second on the team at +1.