VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball looks to begin February the way it left off January when the second-place Bearcats (9-12, 5-3 America East) travel to Baltimore to face reigning conference finalist UMBC (14-9, 4-4 AE) Thursday night. The teams square off for the first of two times this season at 7 p.m. at the Chesapeake Insurance Arena. 

The Bearcats went 5-2 in January to move near the top of the conference standings and are coming off an impressive 84-67 home win over Bryant on Saturday. The game drew 3,394 Events Center fans and was BU's most complete performance of the season. Binghamton enters the second-half of league play just one game behind Vermont. Eight games remain before the top eight teams advance to the America East tournament the first week in March, with the top four earning home quarterfinal games. 

UMBC is just one game behind BU and has already finished up its two-game set against Vermont. The Retrievers are 10-2 at home this season and have won three of the last four matchups against Binghamton. 

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 the first of two matchups between the teams this month
• Today's game begins the second half of league play
• After a 5-2 January, BU finishes up the regular season with 8 games (4 home-4 away)
• 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
• Toppled visiting Bryant 84-67 Saturday in front of 3,394 at the Events Center
• Dan Petcash led four in double figures with a season-high 24 points (5-of-7 3s)
• Jacob Falko added 17 points, 8 rebounds, five assists and two steals
• Roared to a 35-16 lead, led by 13 at half and didn't let Bulldogs inside 13 pts.
• Held league's top scoring team 17 points under its season scoring average
• Shot 53% from field and converted 26 free throws
• Win snapped two-game losing streak
 
About UMBC
• Have dropped two straight after winning five of previous six
• Are 10-2 at home and just 4-7 on road this season
• Lost 74-68 to league-leading Vermont on Saturday in Burlington
• Team has 10 newcomers (out of 14) this season
• Picked to finish fifth in Coaches' Preseason Poll (one spot behind BU)
• Have had same starting lineup for nine straight games
• Average 77 points (3rd in AE) and give up 73 on defense (7th)
• Two of team's four conference losses have come to Vermont
• Balanced scoring in AE play with six players averaging betw. 8-13 pts.

All-time series vs. UMBC
• UMBC leads 22-19, thanks to three wins in the last four matchups
• Retrievers swept the season series last year, winning 70-68 in Vestal and 78-68 in Baltimore one month later (regular season finale)
• In that last game on March 1, 2022, BU trailed by 12 points early in the second half before using a 20-9 run to pull within one, 61-60, with 7:07 left. But UMBC hit back-to-back 3s and used an 11-3 run to stabilize. The Retrievers then made five free throws in the final 46 seconds to seal the win. After allowing UMBC to shoot 63 percent in the first half, BU tightened its defense in the second, limiting the hosts to nine field goals (39%). But the climb was too great. Christian Hinckson tallied 15 points and nine rebounds to pace the Bearcats
• UMBC used a run of seven straight wins between 2016-19 to take lead
• Bearcats are 6-14 in Baltimore but have won two of the last three
• Last BU road win was 75-69 on Dec. 28, 2020 when teams split back-to-back games in Baltimore during COVID scheduling
• Last six games have been decided by an average of five points
 
Petcash 24 points fuels 17-point win over Bryant
Senior guard Dan Petcash poured in 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting to pace BU in its 84-67 win over Bryant Saturday in front of 3,394 fans at the Events Center. BU put four in double digits and held Bryant 17 pts. under its season scoring average in its most complete game of the season.

Season-high crowd of 3,570 attend Vermont game
The Vermont game on Jan. 25 drew a season-high 3,570 to the Events Center on Weis Markets "Pack the House Night." The 3,570 mark is the highest of any home AE team this season. With back-to-back 3,300+ attendance marks, BU is averaging 1,895 fans, second only to Vermont.

America East standings jammed up
At the midway point of the conference season, a cluster of teams have formed in the top seven spots. After dropping two straight, longtime power Vermont has rebounded to push to the top of the standings. But the next six teams, including Binghamton, are separated by just one loss.  

Petcash peaking in final go-around of conference play
Senior guard Dan Petcash is winding down his collegiate career and the sharpshooter is showing his accuracy against America East foes. In eight conference games, Petcash is shooting 52% from the floor (7th in AE), 46% from 3-point range (17-of-37, 1st in AE) and 91% from the free throw line (19-of-21). He is averaging a team-high 13.3 points, typically guards the opponents' top player and is logging 34 minutes per game.    

Eight different leading scorers this season
BU has had eight different players share or lead the team in single-game scoring this year and no one player has been the team leader in back-to-back games since Jacob Falko did it in early December. The Bearcats also have had five different players tally 20 or more points (Falko 3x, Dan Petcash 3x, Christian Hinckson, Armon Harried and Miles Gibson.  

Balanced lineup
Binghamton entered the season with its deepest roster in many years and the split of playing time and scoring is evidence. The team has 11 players (every healthy player) averaging nine or more minutes and nine different players have been in the starting lineup. In conference play, BU has four players scoring in double figures.

Five players with 500 or more career points; Falko, Harried set sights on 900 mark
Consistent with a veteran team, BU has five players with 500 or more NCAA career points and three with 700 or more. Jacob Falko (891), Armon Harried (838), Christian Hinckson (736) and Miles Gibson (704) keep piling onto their totals. Dan Petcash (546) is the other Bearcat to reach the 500-point plateau.

70 remains tipping "point"
The 70-point scoring mark remains a key indicator for Binghamton's success. BU is 6-1 when they score more than 70 and 3-11 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.  

Other predictors
Three-point shooting accuracy has become a strong indicator of BU's success. In games when BU shoots a higher percentage than its opponent, the Bearcats are 9-0. When opponents shoot the 3-ball better, BU is 0-12. The Bearcats also are 5-2 when they commit fewer turnovers and 4-10 when they commit the same or more. When tied or leading at the half the Bearcats are 8-1. When trailing, they are 1-11.