VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (2-3) welcomes one of its strongest Events Center opponents ever when the Bearcats face reigning Big South Conference champion and NCAA tournament team Longwood (Va.) (4-0) Tuesday night at Dr. Bai Lee Court. The teams tip for the first time at 6:07 p.m. 

The Bearcats are unbeaten at home and will look to take advantage of a third game at the Events Center before hitting the road for their next five games. 

About Longwood
•    Public school in Farmville, 65 miles west of Richmond in Central Va.
•    Have advanced to NCAA tournament two of last three years
•    Unbeaten at 4-0 after rallying past UT Martin 64-62 Saturday
•    In that game, Longwood put 40 on the board in the second half but trailed by eight with 1:56 left before ending game with 7-0 run
•    Also won home games vs. Randolph, Morgan State and Milwaukee
•    Returned one starter and seven lettermen from 21-14 team that won Big South tournament title and reached NCAAs last winter
•    Program has won 67 games in last three years (26-20-21)
•    Elevated to Division I in 2007, six years after Bearcats moved up
•    Roster features players from 10 states plus two European countries
•    Picked third (of nine) in Big South behind High Point and Winthrop
•    Head coach Griff Aldrich shares UMBC roots (2016-18) with BU associate head coach Brian Johnson (2013-16). They missed overlapping by one year in Baltimore. 
•    Lancers will go straight from Binghamton to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, which begins Friday    

All-time series vs. Longwood
•    This is the first meeting between the two programs
•    This is the fifth time Binghamton will play a team from the Big South (Radford 2x, Charleston Southern, VMI)
•    BU is 2-2 against the Big South with wins over VMI (72-63) and Charleston Southern (38-34) both during the 2003-04 season
•    It's the second time a Big South member has played at the Events Center (Radford on Nov. 23, 2013 - a 69-63 Bearcats loss)

Bearcats tame Cougars on Saturday
On Saturday, BU stretched a 15-point halftime cushion and rolled past Division III visitors Misericordia 77-48 at the Events Center. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and kept the Bearcats unbeaten at home early in 2024-25. Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold scored a game-high 19 points (11 in first half) and sophomore forward Gavin Walsh earned his third straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Chris Walker accumulated 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists and graduate guard Tymu Chenery added 12 points to give Binghamton four in double-digits.  

Walsh double-double string currently at three
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh has produced three consecutive double-doubles (Miami, Fordham, Misericordia). Walsh went for 11 and 11 against Misericordia and in the process, became the first Bearcat in 12 years to register three straight double-doubles (Jordan Reed in 2012-13). The record is five straight double-doubles set by Mahamoud Jabbi in 2010-11. Walsh is averaging a double-double on the season with 10.2 ppg. and 10.0 rpg.

America East stat leaders 
Four games into the season, several Bearcats are near the top of the statistical rankings in the America East. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh leads the conference in rebounds (10.0/game) and his 19-rebound performance at Fordham is the second-highest single-game mark in the nation. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson is second in field goal percentage (.541), graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is third in 3-pointers per game (2.8) and sophomore guard Jayden Lemond is fourth in assists (3.8). As a team, BU is second in assists (16.4), third in defensive rebounds (28.2) and fourth in rebound margin (+4.0), field goal percentage (46.3%) and field goal percentage defense (42.7%).  

Feast or famine 
Binghamton has played five games this season and each has resulted in a 15+ point margin. BU began its season with a 108-66 loss at Penn State in a game they fell behind by 31 points at half. The Bearcats turned the page with an 82-63 home win over Division III SUNY Oneonta in a game that they led by as many as 41 points. Then in Miami, the team fell to the ACC member Hurricanes 88-64 after trailing by 21 at half. Two days later at Fordham, BU made a run at the Rams in the second half before losing by 15. The Bearcats pulled away to win by 29. The average margin of victory in BU's first five games is 25.8 points.   

Walsh ties record with 19 boards
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh tied the school record for rebounds in a game with 19 (10 in first half) at Fordham on Nov. 12, equaling the mark set by Thomas Bruce against UMass Lowell on Jan. 21, 2018. His rebound total is the second-highest in the NCAA this season (Maryland 6-foot-10 freshman Derik Queen had 20 vs. Manhattan on Nov. 4).   

Newcomer Callahan-Gold brings shooting range
Binghamton, which averaged just five 3-pointers last season (8th in AE), 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. Through five games, he is averaging 2.8 "3s" a game (on 38% accuracy), good for third in the America East. As a team, the Bearcats have bumped up their 3-pointers per game to 7.2, which ranks fifth.    

Bearcats dialed in during second half 
On the road trip to Miami and Fordham, Binghamton showed its grit with near-even second halves against higher-tier opponents. At Miami, the Bearcats were only outscored 42-39 and at Fordham two days later, BU was outscored 40-35. Even against Penn State, Binghamton was much better in the second half with 54% shooting and 43 points. Through five games, Binghamton is averaging 31.6 points in the first half and 38.8 in the second.