VESTAL, N.Y. - On a short turnaround, Binghamton men's basketball (8-8, 0-4 America East) will face another unbeaten, first place team when UMass Lowell (13-4, 4-0 AE) comes to the Events Center Saturday afternoon. The teams will square off at 2 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court in a game broadcast on ESPN+.

The Bearcats are coming off an 82-62 loss to unbeaten Vermont on Thursday. In the game, BU trailed by just four at the break before the reigning conference champion Catamounts surged ahead early in the second half. Senior guard Tymu Chenery bumped up his season scoring average (14.7 ppg.) with a team-high 16 points. Graduate point guard Symir Torrence added 11 points and seven assists and graduate forward Armon Harried chipped in 10 rebounds and eight points. 

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL 
•  Unbeaten and in three-way first-place tie in AE standings
•  Have won six straight, including 97-76 win at UAlbany Thursday
•  In that game, senior Ayinde Hikim scored team-high 23 points and UML closed out the game with an emphatic 26-9 run
•  Beat ACC member Georgia Tech 74-71 in Nov. and have current NCAA Net Ranking of 118, best in America East
•  UML leads the AE in a host of stat categories, including scoring offense (81 ppg.), field goal percentage (50%) and rebounding
•  Seven players are scoring 9.5 or more points
•  Picked second in AE Preseason Poll after a 26-win season last winter that ended in the program's second AE title game berth in three years
•  Preseason all-conference selection Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (10.4 ppg.) is back after missing nine games with an injury    

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMASS LOWELL 
•    UML leads 16-9 (12-8 as Division I programs)
•    Teams split season series last year with each winning at home
•    BU has won three of the last four, thanks to a sweep in 2021-22
•    At home, BU is 6-7, but has won two straight
•    In the last meeting last Feb. 18 in Lowell, UML won 84-70
•    In that game, UML made 25-of-29 free throws and held off BU down the stretch. The Bearcats shot above 50% until the closing minutes and outshot and outrebounded UMass Lowell, but BU was called for 23 fouls and also hurt its cause with a season-high 23 turnovers. Dan Petcash scored a team-high 21 points for BU.
•     The last game at the Events Center was last Jan. 14 and BU won 66-65. Senior guard Jacob Falko scored nine points in the final 3:15 and sank the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left. The game featured seven ties and five lead changes and the entire second half was played within six points.
•    UML won four of five matchups when both programs were D2

BACK-TO-BACK 20-POINT SETBACKS 
The Bearcats have run into a tough early stretch to conference play and have dropped back-to-back 20-point AE games at Albany (95-75) and at home against Vermont on Thursday (82-62). BU is looking to avoid its first 0-4 league start in seven years.   

SATURDAY MAGIC 
BU is banking on some day-of-the-week magic, as the team is 5-1 on Saturdays this season. That combined with a 6-1 home record sets the table for a Bearcats win. 

BENSON COMING UP BIG
Senior forward Nehemiah Benson last been one of the team's most reliable scorers over the last 11 games. He is averaging 11.8 points on 67% shooting. Benson is offering that production in just 19 minutes per game. His prorated minutes (to 40 minutes) would translate into a team-high 21.3 scoring average and 8.4 rebound mark. Benson continues to lead the America East in field goal percentage (65%) and is now BU's second-leading scorer (10.3 ppg).

TORRENCE LEADS AMERICA EAST, RANKS 5TH 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 seven against Vermont on Thursday, he now ranks fifth in the country (7.2/game). That average also leads the America East by nearly two per game. Sam Sessoms holds the BU Division I record for season assist average (4.8 in 2019-20). Torrence also leads BU in rebounding (6.3, 8th in AE) and is fourth in scoring (9.3). He is one of just two NCAA players averaging 6-6-6 (pts-rebs-assts). The other is Tristen Newton of UConn (15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 6.0 apg). 

BALANCED SCORING, REBOUNDING 
Binghamton has six players averaging 7.0 or more points. By comparison, last season's team only had four in that range. Seven different players have led the team in game scoring this season (Chenery 8, Ashe 2, Balogun 2, Benson, Harried, Walker, Walsh). Seven different players have been the top rebounder.  

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE TO OPEN AE PLAY
Three of BU's first four America East games come against teams picked to finish in the top-three in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. Bryant (3rd), Vermont (1st) and UMass Lowell (2nd) await the Bearcats, who also have a road game at longtime SUNY Rival UAlbany to complete the quartet of tough games. Four of the team's first six games are on the road.  

BEARCATS PROTECTING THE RIM
Binghamton ranks third in the America East and 56th in the country with 74 blocks (4.6/game). The Bearcats also are second in the AE in rebound margin (+4.8) and rank 28th in the nation in defensive rebounds (28.4/game) and 57th in the nation in total rebs (39.4).   

NOTABLE TEAM TRENDS
The Bearcats are 8-1 when outshooting opponents and 7-0 when holding opponents to under 40% shooting. Binghamton is 7-2 when holding the rebounding edge. In scoring, BU is 9-4 when putting at least three players in double figures. When BU holds its opponent under 70, it is 7-0. Binghamton has held a halftime lead in nine of 16 games and is 8-1 in those games.   

20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF EVENTS CENTER IN JANUARY
This January will mark the 20-year anniversary of the Events Center — BU's home venue (4,429 capacity this season). The inaugural game in the $33.1 million building was Jan. 31, 2004 (a 75-68 win over Hartford). The venue has hosted multiple America East Championships (2005, 2006, 2008) and the marquee game — the 2009 America East championship game when the top-seeded Bearcats beat defending champion UMBC 61-51 to capture the program's only conference title and NCAA berth. Heading into this season, the Bearcats are 115-149 all-time in the Events Center (44%). Binghamton has led the America East in home attendance in 10 of the last 18 years. Last year BU finished second (2,110/game) to Vermont. 

BINGHAMTON FIRST IN ATTENDANCE
After drawing 3,345 Thursday against Vermont, Binghamton currently sits in first place in America East for home attendance at 2,174. The Bearcats are ahead of UAlbany (2,060) and Vermont (2,025) and the rest of the nine-team league. BU led the AE in attendance nine straight years between 2003-11 but hasn't won the "title" since 2013-14.  

TORRENCE AND BENSON ARE AMERICA EAST LEADERS 
Senior forward Nehemiah Benson leads the America East in field goal percentage (65%), joining graduate guard Symir Torrence as conference stat leaders. Senior guard Tymu Chenery is fourth in blocks (1.7), eighth in scoring (14.7) and ninth in field goal percentage (51.2%).