VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins the new calendar year with its first home conference game when the Bearcats (4-10, 0-1 America East) host New Hampshire (6-7, 1-0 AE) Thursday at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The teams tip at 7 p.m. in a game broadcast on ESPN+.

Binghamton will play two of the next three at home, where they have three of their wins this season. 

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 77th season of basketball, 22nd in D-I and the America East
• The Bearcats were picked to finish fourth of nine in the AE Coaches' Preseason Poll — tied for the highest in the program's 22 years of conference membership
• This is BU's home conference opener and the first game of the new year
• This is a rematch of last year's quarterfinals when BU upset No. 3 UNH in Durham
• BU returns four starters but only 61% of scoring and 63% of minutes (8 departures)
• BU has the third-oldest roster in the country with an average age of 22.0 years

About Binghamton
• Lost America East opener at Bryant 82-78 on Saturday
• Battled Bulldogs (picked to finish 2nd) to final seconds in strong performance
• Dan Petcash led with season-high 22 points and six rebounds
• Miles Gibson tallied 15 points and Armon Harried added 14 points and 9 rebs.
• Leading scorer Jacob Falko netted 14 points
• Falko ranks fifth in AE in scoring (14.9) and eighth in field goal percentage (50%)
• Coming off tough two-game stretch (in 3 days) against teams ranked in NCAA top-10 in scoring (Cornell and Bryant)

 About New Hampshire
• Picked to finish seventh of nine in the Coaches' Preseason Poll
• Went 5-7 in non-conference play (1-5 on road)
• Began AE play with a 67-51 win at Albany on New Year's Eve
• Opened with 23-8 run, led by 23 at half and cruised on the road
• Rank second in AE in both scoring D (64 ppg.) and FG% D (40%)
• Returned just 17% of scoring from last year's 15-13 team that went 10-8 in league play to secure the No. 3 seed
• Welcomed 10 newcomers to roster this winter with heavy turnover (graduated two all-conference players in Nick Guadarrama and Jayden Martinez)
• Six-foot-6 forward Clarence Daniels leads the AE in rebounding (10.9) and is second in scoring (16.1)
• Marquee win was 74-71 road win at ACC member Boston College on Dec. 6 (Daniels with 34 pts)
• Coach Bill Herrion is the longest-tenured coach in the conference, in his 18th season at UNH
 
All-time series vs. UNH
• It's been a tight series spanning 21 years with UNH leading 24-21
• UNH has won five of the last seven head-to-head
• BU won the last meeting, 72-69 in last year's quarters in Durham
• In that game, Jacob Falko scored a game-high 21 points and John McGriff converted an off-balance, driving layup with 30 seconds left to lead sixth-seeded BU over third-seeded UNH
• In Vestal, UNH holds a 13-9 advantage
• The last four games have been decided by an average of 5.5 points
• The road team has won three of the last four meetings
 
Petcash pours in 22 as BU pushes talented Bryant to closing seconds
Dan Petcash scored a season-high 22 points and BU took host Bryant to the final seconds in an 82-78 loss Saturday afternoon in Smithfield. Binghamton was within four points over the entire final 15 minutes of the game and had a last shot to tie it with four seconds left. The Bearcats led for nearly half the game and there were 10 lead changes.

The Bearcats in the America East
Binghamton is entering its 22nd season of membership in the America East. The Bearcats are 127-213 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 went 8-10 last season (7th) to record its highest America East win total in 12 years. That team reached the tournament semifinals for the second time in four years, thanks to a quarterfinal upset win at UNH.  

Harried produces best game of season
Junior forward Arman Harried scored a career-high 25 points Dec. 29 at Cornell (16 pts. in first half). He hit 11-of-19 from the floor and added eight rebounds and two blocks in a team-high 37 minutes.  Harried has moved his scoring average to 11.5 points in eight games.

Lineup options
Binghamton entered the season with its deepest roster in many years and the split of playing time is evidence. The team has 11 players (out of 12 on roster) averaging double-digit minutes and nine different players have been in the starting lineup. Only one player (Jacob Falko) is averaging more than 29 minutes and Coach Sanders has used nine different starting lineups in 13 games.

First-half telltale
The first half remains the most prominent indicator of BU's fortunes early this season. When leading at the half the Bearcats are 4-1. When trailing, they are 0-9. The Bryant game was the first time BU led at the half (41-40) but lost.

Falko explodes for career-high 36 points at Niagara
Senior guard Jacob Falko poured in 36 points to nearly lift BU to a comeback win at Niagara on Dec. 21. He scored 28 of those points in the second half, including 11 points in the final 1:08. Falko hit 12-of-16 from the floor after intermission, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. He drilled three 3-pointers in the final 28 seconds to keep the outcome in doubt. The 36-point showing broke Falko's previous career-high of 29, set at Stony Brook last February 2. It was the 10th 20+ point game of Falko's two-year BU career and it is the highest BU individual point total since Sam Sessoms tallied 38 against UNH on Feb. 29, 2020. Falko's 36 points are the most any America East player has scored this season.

70 remains tipping "point"
The 70-point scoring mark remains a key indicator for Binghamton's success. Early this season, BU is 4-1 when they score more than 70 and 0-8 when they are at or below 70. Last season, BU was 8-2 when they reached 70 points and 3-15 when they came in under 70.  

Second-half surge
Binghamton is minus 52 in first-half season scoring but is just minus three in the second half. On Dec. 21 at Niagara, BU scored a season-high 45 points in the second half. It was the fourth time this season the Bearcats have tallied at least 40 in the second half.