VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball will open the 2024-25 season with a Big Ten test at Penn State Monday night. The Bearcats and Nittany Lions will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Plus Network. 

Each team is coming off a double-digit exhibition game victory. The Bearcats put four players in double figures and shot 56 percent to topple Division II Queens College 83-70 on Wednesday. 

Senior forward Nehemiah Benson scored a game-high 22 points to lead the offense. Benson hit 9-of-12 shots and grabbed six rebounds in his 28 minutes. Senior guard Chris Walker scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half and added eight rebounds, five assists and was a team-best plus-24 in his 34 minutes. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh produced a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and in his Bearcat debut, graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold added 15 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night from 3-point range. Sophomore point guard Jayden Lemond handed out a team-high seven assists in his first outing in Binghamton green.

Penn State defeated Lafayette 79-64 on Oct. 25. The Nittany Lions hit 11-of-21 3-pointers (52.4%) and shot 50.0 percent from the field. Penn State scored 21 points off of 15 Lafayette turnovers and limited the Leopards to a 38 percent shooting. Seven-foot forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and four blocks. Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year  Ace Baldwin Jr. added 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals. 

ABOUT PENN STATE 

• Beat Lafayette 79-64 in an exhibition game last Friday
• Return three starters from 16-17 team last season (9-11 in B1G)
• Beat Michigan in B1G tournament first round
• Return reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in Ace Baldwin, Jr. (former VCU standout), who is the only active D1 player with 1K+ points, 600+ assists and 250+ steals
• Team is two years removed from 23-win, NCAA season in 2022-23
• 22-3 all-time vs. teams from America East
• Only AE teams to post upset wins were Stony Brook (2006), Maine (2010) and UAlbany (2016)    

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PENN STATE

• Only meeting came on Dec. 19, 2017 at the Bryce Jordan Center
• Penn State won 80-65 to snap BU's seven-game win streak
• BU trailed 39-36 at half before Penn State shot 65% in second half
• BU trailed by 68-60 with 5:20 left but could draw no closer
• Penn State hit 10-of-17 from 3-point range
• That Penn State team won 26 games and the NIT title

ALL-TIME VS. BIG TEN 

• BU is 0-9 all-time against the Big Ten
• Bearcats have faced five teams (Michigan 3x, Michigan State 2x, Northwestern 2x, Maryland and Penn State)
• BU's 11-point loss last Nov. 6 at Northwestern (72-61) was its closest margin against a Big Ten team

Common Threads 
•    BU sophomore forward Gavin Walsh shares Baltimore roots with Penn State graduate guard Ace Baldwin, Jr. and sophomore guard Eli Rice. Walsh and Rice were teammates at IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) in 2022-23, helping the team go 24-3 and reach the National Prep Championship quarterfinals. Previous to that, Walsh (Loyola Blakefield) squared off against Baldwin (St. Frances Academy) in the Baltimore Catholic League high school conference in 2019-20. Both Walsh and Baldwin were multi-year All-BCL selections during their careers.  

•    Elite guard Sam Sessoms starred two seasons at Binghamton (2018-19) before transferring to Penn State for two seasons (2020-22). He scored 1,151 points at Binghamton, added 556 points for the Nittany Lions and then finished up his collegiate career at Coppin State (20.5 ppg. in 2022-23). Sessoms graduated with 2,362 career points in five years. He now plays professionally in the France Pro A League.

•    On the soccer field, former Penn State and Olympic gold medalist midfielder Sam Coffey is the daughter of Binghamton alum and acclaimed sports journalist Wayne Coffey '76. Wayne has covered 12 Olympic Games and authored the New York Times' best-seller "The Boys of Winter."  


BEARCATS TOPPLE QUEENS IN EXHIBITION 83-70
Binghamton eased into its season with an 83-70 exhibition game win over Division II Queens College Wednesday night at the Events Center. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson tallied a game-high 22 points in 28 minutes and Binghamton shot 56% and pout four in double figures. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh had a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, graduate transfer Ben Callahan-Gold hit 4-of-4 from 3-point range en route to 15 points and senior guard Chris Walker added 16 points, eight boards and five assists. In his first game as a Bearcat, sophomore point guard Jayden Lemond handed out seven assists.  

CO-CAPTAIN CHENERY BACK FOR FINAL SEASON
Graduate guard and returning leading scorer Tymu Chenery suits up for his fifth and final NCAA season in 2024-25 and is an all-conference candidate. He will bring 1,044 career points into 2024-25 and is team co-captain alongside Nehemiah Benson. Chenery has played in 112 career games with 92 starts. He averaged 14.9 points on 51% shooting last season. Chenery played his first three collegiate seasons at Quinnipiac (642 pts.). He eclipsed the 1,000-poing mark last Feb. 29 against Maine. Chenery ranked eighth in the America East in scoring (14.9), ninth in field goal percentage (51%) and fifth in blocks (1.5). He scored a career-high 31 points vs. Le Moyne and then closed the season with 16 straight double-digit scoring games.  

SEASON OPENERS TOUGH SLEDDING FOR BEARCATS
With many of Binghamton's season openers historically against Power 5 programs, the team is 8-15 all-time during its 23-year Division I era and has lost six of its last seven. Last year, BU dropped a 72-61 decision at fellow Big 10 member Northwestern. In road openers, Binghamton is 1-9.    

ON THE RISE
Binghamton has increased its win total in each of the last three seasons, going from 12 wins (2021-22) to 13 (2022-23) to 15 (2023-24). 

70 WAS TIPPING POINT LAST SEASON
Last season when BU held its opponent under 70 (in regulation), it was 12-2. When opponents reached the 70-point mark, BU was 3-12. When the Bearcats scored 70 or more points (in regulation), they were 10-4. Under 70 they were 5-10.  

EIGHT WINS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY LAST YEAR
The Bearcats registered an 8-5 mark in 2023-24 non-conference play — the second-most non-conference wins in its Division I era. The team produced two separate three-game win streaks, with its marquee win being a commanding 82-59 victory over a Marist team that jumped to a 7-2 start heading into their MAAC conference play.  

BEARCATS ON SNY THIS SEASON
In addition to all home games (and away America East games) being broadcast on ESPN+ this season, Binghamton basketball will have five games televised on SportsNet New York (SNY). The men can be seen on SNY on Jan. 4 (home vs. UMBC), Feb. 8 (home vs Bryant) and March 4 (home vs. NJIT). The Bearcat women's team will appear on Nov. 17 (home vs. Pitt) and Dec. 18 (home vs. Syracuse). SNY is an Emmy Award winning, multiplatform regional sports network serving approximately seven million homes in the New York Metropolitan area and nine million homes across the country through unparalleled coverage of the New York Mets, Jets and all things New York sports. SNY is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

MARQUEE HOME FACILITY, CROWDS
Binghamton continues to be the envy of the America East Conference for its home facility (Events Center) and attendance figures. The Bearcats drew 2,230 per game last season, second-only to conference champion Vermont (2,361). Binghamton's average draw was nearly 1,000 more than the America East average and was higher than 15 Division I conferences across the country. The Bearcats led the America East in attendance 10 seasons between 2003 and 2014 and averaged a high of 3,894 during the team's NCAA run in 2008-09.  

THE BEARCATS IN THE AMERICA EAST
Binghamton begins its 24th season of membership in the America East this season. The Bearcats are 142-230 all-time (38%) during those two decades. The team's best regular season conference records came in 2008-09 (13-3, 1st) and 2005-06 (12-4, 2nd). The program also had 10 America East wins in 2003-04 (5th place) and nine wins in both 2002-03 (4th) and 2007-08 (T-4th). Binghamton went 8-8 in 2022-23 (T-4th) to record its best conference win percentage in 13 years. Last year the Bearcats went 7-9 to again tie for fourth. 

HEAD COACH LEVEL SANDERS' PEDIGREE
Head Coach Levell Sanders starred at Seton Hall in the late 1990s, where he squared off against BIG EAST (and NBA legends) Allen Iverson (Georgetown), Ray Allen (UConn), Rip Hamilton (UConn), Kerry Kittles (Villanova) and Lawrence Moten (Syracuse). Sanders scored 1,399 career points at Seton Hall before embarking on a successful 15-year professional career overseas. With the Pirates, Sanders averaged 12.4 points in 113 games and was named second team All-BIG EAST in 1998. A BIG EAST academic all-star, he graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. His pro basketball accolades include being named the All-Czech Republic League Guard of the Year in 2007 as well as being a two-time first team all-star. He ranks 11th on the all-time leading scorer list in the Czech Republic.

ALUMS IN THE PRO RANKS
Binghamton has several recent graduates playing professionally overseas. Armon Harried '24 is in his first season with Komarno in Slovakia. Fellow 2023-24 Bearcat Symir Torrence '24 plays for LoKoKo in Finland. Former BU leading scorer Jacob Falko '23 plays for IR in Iceland, along with former Bearcat teammate and Iceland native Hakon Hjalmarsson '22. Former Bearcat 1K scorer Willie Rodriguez '18 begins his seventh year of pro ball and is with Caribbean Storm in Colombia. Former teammates Christian Hinckson '24 (BG Hessing in German ProB League) and Miles Gibson '24 (Perth Redbacks in Australian NBL One) are also playing overseas.  

NEWCOMERS BRING SHOOTING RANGE
Binghamton, which averaged just five 3-pointers last season, focused on long-range firepower in its recruiting class. Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold made 88 3-pointers for Trinity last season, helping the D3 power reach the NCAA semifinals. Sophomore guard Dominic Capriotti shot 39% from 3-point range at Houston Christian, where he was Southland Conference Freshman of the Year.