VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins its postseason on Saturday when the fifth-seeded Bearcats (12-17) travel to Baltimore to face fourth-seeded UMBC (18-13) in the America East quarterfinals. Tip-off is 1 p.m. at Chesapeake Arena.   

QUICK HITS
• This is Binghamton's 77th season of basketball, 22nd in D-I and the America East
• BU will make its 17th America East playoff appearance in 22 years of membership
• BU has reached the semis in two of its last three tourney appearances (2019, 2022), joining UMBC and Vermont as the only current AE teams to do so
• The Bearcats were picked to finish fourth and matched that (T-4, #5 seed)
• BU wound up in a three-way tie with UMBC and Bryant but lost on the last home playoff spot (#4) because of its season sweep at the hands of the Retrievers
• BU's final AE win percentage (8-8, .500) is the best of any Bearcat team in 13 years (2009-10 team went 8-8)
• The final place (T-4th) is the highest in 14 years (2008-09 team went 13-3, T-1st)
• BU slipped in the standings with four straight losses to end regular season, including back-to-back overtime heartbreakers at home in a four-day span
• BU and UMBC will play for second time in five days and fourth time in postseason
• BU will open the postseason against the same team it closed out the regular season against for first time
• BU has the third-oldest roster in the country with an average age of 22.0 years

About Binghamton
• Lost to UMBC 70-67 in overtime Tuesday night in Vestal
• Suffered team's second straight home OT loss with top-4 seed on line
• Jacob Falko had 19 points (12 after half), career-high 9 rebounds
• Falko reached 1K scoring mark with a floater in lane that gave BU 62-59 lead with 23 seconds left
• UMBC responded with a tying 3-pointer with 0:19 left and BU missed two good looks in final second of regulation
• Missed 8-of-9 shots in the OT period, including a pair of potential game-tying 3-balls in the closing seconds
• Dan Petcash had 11 pts., Ogheneyole Akuwovo added 12 rebs.
• BU pulled down 50 rebounds — most in 10 yrs (52 vs. Maine 2-16-13)
• BU lost four straight to end regular season

About UMBC
• Snapped a three-game losing streak with the win at Events Center
• Shot just 36% but led for 34 minutes and made 6-of-8 FT in OT
• Are 13-3 at home this season
• Earned a top-4 tournament seed for sixth straight year
• Rank fourth in AE in offense (72.1 ppg.) and sixth in defense (73.3)
• Balanced scoring in AE play with six players between 9-12 ppg.

All-time series vs. UMBC
• UMBC now leads 24-19, thanks to five wins in the last six matchups
• On Tuesday visiting UMBC won 70-67 in overtime
• On Feb. 1 in Baltimore, UMBC won 69-55
• In that game, UMBC built a 15-point halftime bulge and held off a late BU charge at the Chesapeake Arena. The Bearcats trimmed a 20-point second-half hole to eight with seven minutes remaining but couldn't complete the comeback, despite 32 combined points from Armon Harried (17 pts.) and Miles Gibson (15). Harried added 10 rebounds for his second double-double and also had team-highs of six assists and three blocks.
• UMBC used a run of seven straight wins between 2016-19 to take lead
• Bearcats are 6-15 all-time in Baltimore but have gone 2-3 in the last five with wins in 2019-20 (75-69) and 2020-21 (76-74)

A win over UMBC would ...
• Advance BU to the semifinals for the second straight year and third time in the last five years (2019, 2022)
• Give BU its most overall wins (13) since 2009-10 (13-18)
• Give BU an upset tourney win for second straight year (beat #3 UNH)

Bearcats are No. 5 seed
After a tense final night of the regular season on Tuesday, where three games went to the closing moments and BU/UMBC went to overtime, the Bearcats have emerged with the No. 5 tournament seed. BU could've been anywhere from 3-6 but landed on #5 and will carry that seed for the fifth time (it's BU's most common seed in its 22-year AE history). The Bearcats are 1-4 all-time with the No. 5 seed and most recently, lost to No. 4 UNH 56-51 in the 2016 quarterfinals.  

Third time's a charm? Again?
Binghamton will have to reverse the outcome of its two regular season games against UMBC, when the Retrievers produced a season sweep with wins of 69-55 at home and 70-67 (ot) at Vestal. For inspiration, however, BU need look no further than last year when UNH swept the season series before the Bearcats exacted their revenge in the quarterfinals on the road. Last year the turnaround time between the regular season road loss (66-62) and the tournament road win at Lundholm Gym (72-69) was eight days. This year, it will be just four days between games against UMBC but 31 days since the teams last met in Baltimore.        

Falko named all-conference, Harried all-defensive and Petcash all-academic
Three Bearcats earned honors from the conference this week. Senior guard Jacob Falko was selected to the all-conference second team — giving him back-to-back all-conference honors in his two years at Binghamton. Junior forward Armon Harried earned All-Defensive Team recognition and senior guard Dan Petcash was on the All-Academic Team. Falko (13.7 ppg.) becomes just the sixth Bearcat to become a two-time all-conference selection. Harried, who leads the team in rebounds (6.3) and blocks (0.8) and is second in scoring (12.3) gives BU an all-defensive pick for the second straight year (Christian Hinckson last season). Petcash has a 3.56 GPA in psychology and is BU's first all-academic selection since J.C. Show went back-to-back in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  

Teams are protecting home court this year
Moreso than any recent year, America East teams are protecting their home courts in conference this season. On Tuesday, home teams went just 3-1 with BU suffering the lone home loss. For the AE season, the top six teams in the standings are a combined 39-10 at home (80%). UMBC went 6-2 at home, including a win over the Bearcats. Since 2015, America East tournament home teams are 40-8 (83%). The Bearcats are 2-6 in all-time tournament road games.

Bearcats have won two straight road quarterfinal games
Binghamton has won two consecutive quarterfinal games — both upsets on the road over top-3 seeds. In 2019, No. 7 BU went to Long Island and stunned No. 2 Stony Brook 78-72 in the quarters. Last March, No. 6 BU went to Durham and eliminated No. 3 UNH 72-69.    

Binghamton tops in attendance during conference play  
Boosted by a season-high 3,678 last Saturday for the Maine game, the Bearcats drew a league-leading average of 2,635 in conference play this winter. That's nearly 300 per game higher than Vermont (2,398) and nearly 1,000 more per game than any of the remaining America East teams. Binghamton drew 3,500+ three times in the last six home games. The 2,635 figure is 612 more per game than last year (30% increase). The team averaged 2,110 in 15 home games this season.  

Falko eclipses 1,000-point scoring mark
Senior guard Jacob Falko netted a game-high 19 points against UMBC on Tuesday to eclipse the 1,000-point scoring plateau. He scored 12 of those points after halftime and reached the 1K mark with his dramatic floater in the lane with 23 seconds left in regulation — a bucket that gave BU a 62-59 lead. He added two free throws in overtime and brings 1,002 points (3 NCAA seasons) into the postseason. Falko also scored 1,143 points in his first two collegiate seasons of junior college play (Cecil College, Md.).  

Petcash tops America East in 3-point shooting during conference play
Senior guard Dan Petcash wrapped up his final conference season with high shooting averages. In 16 conference games, Petcash led the league in 3-point shooting (35-for-75, 47%) and was sixth in overall field goal percentage (51%). He also is BU's top free throw shooter (34-for-39 on season, 87%). In his last seven games, Petcash is averaging 13.1 points, has logged an average of 35 minutes and typically guards the opponents' top player. Petcash currently is the school's all-time 3-point percentage leader. In his four years, he has hit 100-of-248 for a .403 accuracy. J.C. Show finished his BU career at .363 (186-for-512).  

Bearcat veterans padding career points totals
Consistent with a veteran team, BU has five players with 600 or more NCAA career points and three with 700 or more. Jacob Falko (1,002) just went over the 1,000-point NCAA plateau Tuesday against UMBC. Armon Harried (945) is within 55 points of the 1K mark. Miles Gibson (806) is over the 800-point mark and Christian Hinckson (792) is closing in on it. Dan Petcash (642) is the other Bearcat to reach the 600-point plateau.

Several Bearcats approaching final collegiate games
With the single elimination postseason here, several BU players will have their careers on the line with each tournament game. Graduate students Christian Hinckson (132 NCAA games), Ogheneyole Akuwovo (91) and Miles Gibson (73) plus seniors Dan Petcash (94), Jacob Falko (82), Taveion White (56) and Ador Athuai (33) are expected to close the book on their collegiate careers after this season.  

70 remains tipping "point"
The 70-point scoring mark remains a key indicator for Binghamton's success. BU is 8-1 when they score more than 70 and 4-16 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 11-2. When opponents shoot the 3-ball better, BU is 1-15. The Bearcats also are 7-2 when they commit fewer turnovers and 5-15 when they commit the same or more. When tied or leading at the half the Bearcats are 11-3. When trailing, they are 1-14.