VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (9-13, 5-4 America East) returns to action on Wednesday when the Bearcats travel to Durham, N.H. to face New Hampshire (11-11, 6-4 AE). Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Lundholm Gym, where UNH is 7-3 this season (3-1 in AE). The teams are separated by a half-game in the standings with the Wildcats occupying a share of third place and BU in fifth. 

The Bearcats had the bye weekend and haven't played since last Wednesday, when they lost 69-55 at UMBC.  

Senior guard Jacob Falko leads a trio of double-digit BU scorers with 13.2 ppg. Junior forward Armon Harried (12.0 ppg.) and graduate forward Miles Gibson (10.6 ppg.) are also in twin digures. Harried leads the team in rebounding with a 6.4 average.  

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 second of two games between the two teams, who sit a half-game apart
• They are two of five teams who are separated by just one loss in the standings
• There are seven games remaining in the regular season
• 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
• Idle since suffering 69-55 road loss at UMBC last Wednesday in Baltimore
• Loss was third in last four games after BU won four straight to land in first place
• Currently sit in fifth place but are just one game in back of second place
• At UMBC fell behind by 20 in second half before rallying to within eight
• Gave up 43 first-half points to dig hole
• Armon Harried led way with 17 pts., 10 rebs., six assists and three blocks
• Miles Gibson added 15 points but other 3 starters were held to combined 8 pts.
 
About UNH
• Had three-game win streak snapped in 70-46 loss at Bryant on Sat.
• Were held to just 16 second-half points after leading 30-29 at half
• Sit in tie for third place in standings, half-game out of second
• Picked to finish seventh of nine in the Coaches' Preseason Poll
• Rank second in AE in scoring defense and FG percentage defense
• Six-foot-6 forward Clarence Daniels leads the AE in rebounding (11.0) and is third in scoring (15.5)
• Marquee non-conference 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 24-22
• BU has won two straight, including a 68-50 rout in Vestal on Jan. 5
• In that game, Miles Gibson notched a double-double with game-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds and Armon Harried added 19 points. The Bearcats built a 14-point halftime cushion, led for more than 34 minutes and held the Wildcats 17 points under their season scoring average.
• Before that UNH won three straight
• UNH swept the season series last year before BU gained a measure of revenge with a 72-69 win at Lundholm in the AE quarterfinals
• The teams have split the last 10 games since 2019
• In Durham, the series is deadlocked at 11-11
• The road team has won three of the last five meetings
 
Last time at Lundholm
Binghamton returns to Durham and Lundholm Gym for the first time since last March 6, when sixth-seeded BU upset third-seeded UNH 72-69 in the America East quarterfinals. Jacob Falko scored a game-high 21 points and sophomore guard John McGriff converted an off-balance, driving layup with 30 seconds left to advance the Bearcats to the AE semifinals for the second time in four seasons. Falko returned to the lineup after an ankle injury kept him out of three straight games and his 15 second-half points lifted the Bearcats. The back-and-forth game featured 12 lead changes before Binghamton used a 13-1 run to seize the lead late. After McGriff's acrobatic layup, there was a series of UNH intentional fouls and a front-end miss by the Bearcats, which led to a wayward UNH 3-point attempt at the buzzer. BU hit 11-of-23 from 3-point range.

Harried dominates in hometown but BU can't rally past UMBC
Junior forward Armon Harried put on a display in front of a large hometown crowd but host UMBC put 43 points up in the first half and toppled visiting BU 69-55 on Feb. 1 in Baltimore. Harried chalked up game-highs of 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. It was his second double-double of the season and he set a career-high in assists and tied his high in blocks.  

America East standings jammed up
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, a cluster of teams have formed in spots 2-6. Five teams are separated by just one loss in the standings.  

Teams are protecting home court this year
Moreso than any recent year, America East teams are protecting their home courts this season. The top six teams in the standings are a combined 25-4 at home (86%). Binghamton and UNH are each 3-1 in home conference play. Adding in the seventh-place team (Maine), the win percentage is still 82% (28-6). Even including Albany (1-4), who is playing on a neutral court in Troy, N.Y., the overall home team win percentage is 69% — well above last year's 56%. This data makes securing a top-4 playoff position all the more important. Since 2015, AE tournament home teams are 40-8 (83%).  

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.

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 nine conference games, Petcash is shooting 51% from the floor (8th in AE), 43% from 3-point range (17-of-40, 2nd in AE) and 91% from the free throw line (19-of-21). He is averaging 12.2 points, typically guards the opponents' top player and is logging 33 minutes per game.    

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 (895), Armon Harried (855), Christian Hinckson (736) and Miles Gibson (719) keep piling onto their totals. Dan Petcash (550) 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 3-12 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 0-13. The Bearcats also are 5-2 when they commit fewer turnovers and 4-11 when they commit the same or more. When tied or leading at the half the Bearcats are 8-1. When trailing, they are 1-12.  

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.