VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball finishes its regular season Tuesday in Baltimore when the Bearcats (11-15, 8-9 America East) meet UMBC (15-13, 10-7 AE) at 7 p.m. at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The Bearcats are in line to earn the No. 5 or No. 6 seed for the upcoming postseason and UMBC is currently in second place. The America East quarterfinals will be played Sunday and BU will open up on the road, where they are 5-3 this season against conference foes. 

Binghamton has won three of the last five head-to-head against the Retrievers, though UMBC beat the Bearcats 70-68 at the Events Center last month.  

About Binghamton
• Coming off 66-62 loss at UNH on Saturday — team's fifth loss in last six games
• Played game without leading scorer Jacob Falko (injury)
• UNH broke away from a 50-50 tie in the final 4:19 seven straight points. Wildcats hit a pair of dagger 3s in the final 1:32 and then made 6-of-6 free throws in the closing 32 seconds to seal the win.
• Christian Hinckson produced his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
• John McGriff had 12 points — his fifth straight double-digit game

About UMBC
• Coming off 93-79 win over Maine on Saturday
• Have averaged 92.5 points in last two games (beat Hartford 92-85)
• Have won nine of last 12 games after starting AE play 1-4
• Returned eight lettermen and three starters from 2020-21 team that went 14-6 and earned No. 1 seed for AE tourney (lost in semifinals to UMass Lowell)
• Were picked to finish fifth in Coaches' Preseason Poll

All-time series vs. UMBC
• The Retrievers hold a slim 21-19 lead in series, which dates back to 2003-04 when UMBC joined the America East
• UMBC leads 13-6 in games played at the RAC and Event Center
• BU has won three of the last five meetings after UMBC had run off 7 straight
• On Jan. 29 in Vestal, UMBC was granted a controversial 70-68 win after being awarded two two free throws with 1.8 seconds left after a loose ball scramble. The game was a back-and-forth affair with nine ties and 16 lead changes.    
• Last season the teams split two games in Baltimore

Top two scorers, Falko, McGriff returning to home state
Junior guard Jacob Falko (North East, Md.) and sophomore guard John McGriff (Glenn Dale, Md.) return to their home state for Tuesday's game at UMBC. Falko scored more than 2,000 points at Tri-State Christian Academy up the road an hour in Elkton, Md. McGriff starred at Bishop McNamara, about 45 minutes south in Forestville, Md. Both players are expected to have large fan support in attendance at the game.  

Bearcats set record with second-half shooting at UMass Lowell
Nursing a two-point halftime lead Feb. 19 at Lowell, BU embarked on a near-perfect second half, hitting 19-of-24 shots and putting up 44 points to pull away for the 78-64 win. By missing just five shots, the Bearcats set the school record for field goal percentage in a half (79.2%). The old mark was 74%, set in the first half against Northeastern on Jan. 21, 2004.  

McGriff continues scoring string
Sophomore guard John McGriff scored 12 points in Saturday's loss at UNH, giving him five straight double-digit point totals. McGriff netted a career-high 21 points in the road win at UMass Lowell on Feb. 19 and now has reached double figures in 11 of his last 13. McGriff is averaging 14.6 ppg. in his last 5 games.  

Sanders named permanent head coach
Levell Sanders was rewarded for the team's quick turnaround this season with a five-year coaching contract, announced on Feb. 17. His team has earned the most conference wins in 12 seasons and is in the thick of the playoff battle for a top-4 seed. Sanders was named interim coach last March after serving two years as an assistant. He will be BU's HC through at least the 2026-27 season.

Bearcats are cranking out 20-point performances
With John McGriff's 21-point performance against UMass Lowell on Feb. 19, Binghamton now has had 13 instances of a 20+ point performance this season. A league-best six different players have reached the plateau, led by junior guard Jacob Falko, who has six, most in the AE. Junior guard Tyler Bertram has done it three times and the others to reach 20 or more points in a game are Kellen Amos, Christian Hinckson and Dan Petcash.

Second half team
The Bearcats have been relatively slow out of the gate in conference play, averaging 31 points in the first half of games, compared to opponents' 34 points. In the second half, BU is averaging 36 points, compared to opponents' 34.    

First to 70 wins
When BU scores 70 or more points (in regulation), they are 8-1 this season. When opponents reach 70, BU is 1-8.

Falko making case for all-conference  
Junior guard Jacob Falko has the most 20+ point games (6) in the conference and against league opponents, ranks 10th in scoring (15.4), third in assists (3.8) and eighth in field goal percentage (49%). Falko went down with a foot injury less than eight minutes into the Vermont game Feb. 23 and missed the UNH game on Saturday. But before that, he had scored in double figures in six of the last eight games and was the America East Player of the Week on Feb. 7 after averaging 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a 2-0 week.  

Tinsley joins exclusive 600-point, 400-rebound club
Junior forward George Tinsley scored seven points Saturday at UNH to reach the 600-point plateau (602). He also has 416 career rebounds. Only six previous Bearcats have achieved the 600-point, 400-rebound milestones in BU's 21 years of Division I (Willie Rodriguez, Jordan Reed, Nick Billings, Thomas Bruce, Sebastian Hermenier, Bobby Ahearn).  

Hinckson filling up stat sheet
Junior forward Christian Hinckson has become a steady contributor across the stat sheet. In 17 conference games, Hinckson is averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. He has produced four double-doubles and is coming off a 15-point, 14-rebound showing at UNH on Saturday. That was a career-high rebound total. Hinckson also notched a career-high 20 points in the Jan. 24 win over Hartford. Hinckson ranks second in the America East in rebounds and is fourth in blocks (1.2/game). He is shooting 48 percent in league play and 42 percent from beyond the arc (19-of-45). For the season, Hinckson leads the team in blocks (25) and steals (26).  

Bearcats among stat leaders
In conference play, BU ranks among the league's top-3 in a handful of categories. Binghamton leads the league in rebounds (36.4/game) and 3-point defense (32%) and is third in blocks (3.7/game).