VESTAL, N.Y. - After a nine-day break for final exams, Binghamton men's basketball (6-4) resumes its schedule with a home game Tuesday night against Niagara (3-6). The teams will tip at 6:07 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center and it will mark the first of three remaining non-conference games before BU begin America East play in the New Year.

Binghamton has won two in a row and six of its last eight games. In successive outings, BU has posted double-digit wins over Stonehill (79-64) and Le Moyne (91-79). 

Reigning America East Player of the Week Tymu Chenery leads the team with 15.6 points per game. Graduate point guard Symir Torrence leads the conference and ranks seventh in the nation in assists with 6.7 per game. 

ABOUT NIAGARA 

• Coming off 89-81 home win Saturday against fellow AE team NJIT
• Trailed by one at half before scoring 51 second-half points
• Put six in double figures, led by Harlan Obioha (20 pts., 15 rebs.)
• Return one starter and five lettermen from 16-15 team that went 10-10 in MAAC and lost in semifinals to eventual champion Iona
• Lost the MAAC leading scorer Noah Thomasson (19.5 ppg.), who transferred to Georgia. He scored 27 points against BU last season
• Welcomed eight newcomers (7 transfers) to program
• Head Coach Greg Paulus played four years for Coach K at Duke before starring with Syracuse as QB for his grad season. Paulus is a Syracuse native who played both sports at CBA
• One of NU's leaders is former UMBC standout Yaw Obeng-Mensah
• Team's leading rebounder is seven-footer Harlan Obioha
• Picked to finish ninth (of 11) in MAAC Preseason Poll — one spot behind Marist, who BU defeated 82-59 on Nov. 18
• Roster covers nine U.S. states plus two internationals 

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. NIAGARA 

• Niagara leads 2-1
• Schools have alternated wins with Niagara winning in 2005 in Vestal, BU winning in 2006 in Niagara Falls and Niagara taking last year's game in Niagara Falls, 73-67
• Last year, Niagara used a late 11-2 run to hold off a strong Jake Falko-led BU charge. The Bearcats trailed the entire game and were down by as many as 16 before mounting a rally. Binghamton twice trimmed its deficit to two but the Purple Eagles used the key run to reclaim a double-digit margin and then made 16-of-18 free throws in the final 3:17. Niagara needed every point to offset a barrage of second-half points from BU senior guard Jacob Falko, who scored 28 of his career-high 36 points in the final period to nearly lift the Bearcats to a comeback win.
• BU is 9-17 all-time against the MAAC with an 82-59 home win over Marist last month adding to the win column 

BREAK FOR FINALS
Binghamton hasn't played since Dec. 9 with final exams and papers occupying the team. The nine-day gap between games is the second-longest of the season, surpassed only by the upcoming 11-day holiday break before the America East opener on Jan. 11 (BU has a bye in the first week of conference play). 

BEARCATS WIN CORRIDOR CLASH
Binghamton toppled Le Moyne on Dec. 9 in the first "Battle for the Interstate" rivalry game between the two I-81 schools that are separated by 81 miles. The promotion drew a season-high 3,583 (81% capacity). 

CHENERY LIGHTING IT UP, NAMED AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF WEEK
Senior guard Tymu Chenery has been on a scoring spree the last five games (21.2 pg.) and his most recent outing was magnificant — a 31-point, 12-rebound showing (first career double-double) against Le Moyne on Dec. 9. Chenery hit 13-of-17 shots, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and added four blocks and two assists for measure. His 13 field goals matches the most of any AE player this season. He scored 16 points in first half and 15 more in second. CHenery was named America East Player of the Week for the performance. 

TORRENCE LEADS AMERICA EAST, RANKS 8TH IN NCAA IN ASSISTS 
Graduate guard Symir Torrence has moved near the top of the nation in assists. With at least five assists in every game this season and coming off a career-high 11 against Le Moyne, he has totaled 67, which currently ranks eighth in the country. Additionally, his 6.7 assist average is ninth. Both numbers are No. 1 in the America East. Sam Sessoms holds the BU Division I record for season assist average (4.8 in 2019-20). Torrence also leads BU in rebounding (5.9) and is third in scoring (9.8). He has reached double figure points in three of his last four games and is shooting 40% from 3-point range. 

BENSON RAISING HIS PRODUCTION
Senior forward Nehemiah Benson has become a reliable contributor in the rotation. In his last five games (four starts), is averaging 11.0 points on 56% shooting. He's gone for double-digits in four of those games and also has averaged 5.6 rebounds in that span, while only averaging 23 minutes. For the season, Benson is averaging 8.9 points on 59% shooting. 

PETCASH BOUNCES BACK FROM INJURY
Graduate guard Dan Petcash returned to the lineup after missing three games and produced 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the win over Le Moyne on Dec. 9. Petcash played 33 minutes and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals. With his 4-for-7 accuracy from 3-point range, he moved back up to 40% for his career (3-pt.), still the highest in program history. 

UNBEATEN AT HOME 
Binghamton is 4-0 at home to start the season. It equals the best home start to a season (4-0 in 2017-18) in the program's 23-year Division I tenure. The overall record for most home wins to start a season is seven, set by the Division III 1992-93 team that went 19-9 overall, including an 11-6 mark at home. Last season, BU went 8-7 at home, including a 3-4 mark in non-conference games. The best home record for an entire season is 12-2, (86%), set by the 2008-09 championship team.  

FAST STARTING BEARCATS
Binghamton has enjoyed some separation during the first 10 minutes of games this season. In the opening five minutes, BU is +8 in points but between the 15-minute and 10-minute mark, the Bearcats have really turned it on, owning a +30 point differential. Thus, during the first 10 minutes, BU is +38 and has had the lead in seven of 10 games (all but Pitt, Sacred Heart and Colgate). The Bearcats are +26 at the half and then are +2 in the second half. Both BU and its opponents are scoring at a higher rate in the second half (BU +3.1, opponent +5.5) 

FEAST OR FAMINE
The Bearcats have played just two of 10 games that were decided by single digits this season. Both games were victories: 63-57 at Loyola and 75-68 over Army. The average margin of victory in the other eight games (where BU is 4-4) has been a whopping 24 points. 

STAT COMPARISONS TO LAST SEASON
Almost one-third of the way through the regular-season and BU has seen an uptick in several key team statistics from a year ago. The Bearcats are averaging 74 points, an increase of 5 ppg. from last year. They are also averaging 4 more rebounds per game (38.9 this season). The team is shooting 46% this season (45% last year). They are holding opponents to 41% shooting, better than last year's 44% mark. Three-point shooting has risen a notch from 32% last season to 33% this winter and the makes per game have bumped up one to 6.5. 

BEARCATS PROTECTING THE RIM
Binghamton ranks second in the America East and 37th in the country with 50 blocks (5.0/game) and is second in rebound margin (+4.0). The Bearcats rank 38th in the nation in defensive rebounds (28.6/game).   

NOTABLE TEAM TRENDS
The Bearcats are 6-0 when outshooting opponents and 5-0 when holding opponents to under 40% shooting. Binghamton is 5-1 when holding the rebounding edge. In scoring, BU is 7-2 when putting at least three players in double figures. When BU holds its opponent under 70, it is 5-0. Binghamton has held a halftime lead in seven of 10 games and is 5-1 in those games.   

CHENERY NEXT UP FOR 1K POINTS 
With Armon Harried reaching the 1,000-point plateau in November, focus now turns to teammates Tymu Chenery (798 pts.) and Dan Petcash (733) in their quest for 1K. If both players keep up their season scoring marks, Chenery would reach 1K in mid-February and Petcash would be close by the end of the regular season.   

BINGHAMTON SECOND IN ATTENDANCE
Binghamton currently sits in second place in America East home attendance at 2,098. The Bearcats only trail UAlbany (2,210), which has been aided by the re-opening of its renamed Broadview Center (formerly SEFCU Arena) after a year of renovations. Vermont is third (1,840) and UMBC is fourth (1,554). 

AMERICA EAST BRAG RIGHTS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY 
The America East has had a strong start to the 2023-24 season. Seven of nine programs are at .500 or better and all nine have combined to go 55-43 (.561) so far this season. In the Dec. 11 NCAA Net data, two AE teams ranked in the top 150 (out of 362): UMass Lowell (82) and Vermont (138). UNH (158) and Maine (166) are others among the top half of the nation and top 20 regional peers. The AE sits higher as a conference than the CAA, Patriot League, MAAC and NEC in the NET data. Bryant owns a win over No. 10 FAU and UMass Lowell toppled Power 5 program Georgia Tech. Vermont is 8-3, 5-1 at home. Binghamton is at #237 — 104 spots higher than BU was at this time last season.