VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball continues a stretch of five straight games away from home when the Bearcats (2-5) head to Easton, Pa. for the three-day Lafayette Classic. Binghamton faces Niagara (1-4),on Friday, LIU (3-4) on Saturday and host Lafayette (2-4) on Sunday. All three afternoon games will be played at the Kirby Sports Center and broadcast on ESPN+.

 Binghamton will be playing in a three-day tournament for the first time in 14 years, since competing at the CBE Classic, hosted by Western Carolina in 2009. The only other time the program played games on three straight days was at the Alaska Top of the World Classic to open the 2003-04 season. Both times, the Bearcats went 1-2 in the event, winning on the final day.

Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold leads the Bearcats in scoring (13.1 ppg.) and 3-point shooting (3.1/game). Graduate guard Tymu Chenery is averaging 12.7 points on 50 percent shooting. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh leads the conference in rebounding and is averaging a double-double with 10.1 points and 10.0 rebounds. 

Binghamton Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. vs. Niagara | Video | Audio | Stats
Saturday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. vs. LIU | Video | Audio | Stats
Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2:30 p.m. vs. Lafayette | Video | Audio | Stats 

_________________________

BEARCATS BEATEN ON BOARDS, FALL AT CCSU
On Sunday, BU began its long stretch of road games with a 64-56 loss at Central Connecticut. The host Blue Devils owned the boards (+14), built a nine-point halftime cushion and held off a late Bearcats charge. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery (16) and senior forward Nehemiah Benson (14) combined for 30 points and Binghamton outshot CCSU (43% to 42%).       

WALSH AVERAGING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh produced four consecutive double-doubles (one shy of the school record) before coming up just short at CCSU on Sunday (9 pts., 8 rebs.). He is averaging a double-double for the season (10.1 ppg., 10.0 rpg.). He leads the America East in rebounding by one board per game. The last Bearcat to make a run at averaging a double-double for the season was all-conference freshman Jordan Reed in 2012-13. Reed averaged 16.6 points and a school-record 9.5 rebounds.  

EARLY AMERICA EAST STAT LEADERS 
Six 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 still the second-highest single-game mark in the nation. Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold leads the conference in 3-pointers per game (3.1). Senior forward Nehemiah Benson is third in field goal percentage (55%) and and sophomore guard Jayden Lemond is sixth in assists (3.1). As a team, BU is third in field goal percentage (46%) and fourth in both scoring defense (73.6 ppg.) and assists (15.0).   

ABOUT NIAGARA
•    Sit at 1-4 after losing back-to-back games to MAC opponents Bowling Green and Kent State
•    Have dropped last four but three have been by single digits
•    Picked to finish 8th of 13 in the MAAC Preseason Poll
•    Massive roster overhaul as one of six teams across country returning zero minutes from last year's roster
•    Welcome 13 newcomers (10 transfers, 3 freshmen) 
•    Went 16-16 (11-9 MAAC) last season, lost in MAAC quarterfinals
•    Head Coach Greg Paulus is familiar to Binghamton-area Syracuse fans from his graduate year as quarterback of the Orange (2009) after four years of basketball at Duke
•    Purple Eagles attempt 28 3-pointers per game and are shooting 40%
    
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NIAGARA
•    Series is tied 2-2 and have alternated wins (NU-BU-NU-BU)
•    Played in 2005 and 2006, didn't play for 16 years, then played in 2022 and 2023
•    Teams have split the last two years with each team winning on its home floor
•    Binghamton won 74-69 last Dec. 19 in Events Center
•    In that game, Senior center Tariq Balogun tallied a career-high 21 points and Binghamton made four free throws in the final 2:43. Binghamton led for more than 30 minutes of the game but needed to rally from four down in the closing minutes
•    Bearcats are 10-17 all-time against teams from the MAAC and have played the most games against Marist (7)

ABOUT LIU
•    Coming off an 87-65 loss at Winthrop on Monday
•    Opened season with eight games in 22 days, beginning with 90-60 loss at No. 24 Ole Miss
•    Well traveled, having played games in Colorado (Air Force), California (Cal. Baptist) and both Carolinas (Charlotte and Winthrop)
•    Picked to finish 5th of nine in NEC Preseason Poll
•    Head coach is famous NBA legend Rod Strickland
•    Suffered through an injury-plagued 2023-24 and went 7-22 (6-10 NEC), losing in NEC quarters
•    Open Classic against Lafayette on Friday

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LIU
•    Binghamton leads 4-2
•    Teams played four times in five years between 2002-06 then didn't play for 11 years before playing in 2017 and 2018
•    Last game was a memorable Bearcats' 68-67 win at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn six years ago on Dec. 21, 2018
•    In that game, senior guard J.C. Show drained a corner three-pointer as the horn sounded to lift Binghamton to the dramatic win. The Bearcats trailed 67-64 when Show was fouled and went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 2.6 seconds left. He made the first shot, intentionally missed the second off the back iron and the ball deflected out of bounds off an LIU defender, giving BU the ball underneath the basket, down 67-65 with 1.1 seconds left. Freshman guard Sam Sessoms inbounded to Show in the right corner and the captain swished the game-winner at the buzzer - his fourth three-pointer of the half. Binghamton trailed by as many as 12 points and were down 62-54 with 1:58 remaining before staging its final rally.
•    LIU is the second of four NEC teams the Bearcats will face this season (CSU, Le Moyne, Mercyhurst)
•    Binghamton is 27-25 all-time against the NEC

ABOUT LAFAYETTE
•    Have played tough non-conference schedule (Villanova, Rhode Island, La Salle) and have a D1 win over Penn
•    Return three starters and 10 lettermen from 11-21 team that went 10-8 in Patriot League
•    That team started PL conference play 9-2 before losing final seven games and then losing in the tournament quarterfinals
•    Boast three players standing 6-foot-10 or taller, including seven-footer Justin Vander Baan who ranked 28th in the country in blocks (2.2/game)
•    Picked to finish sixth of 10 in the Patriot League Preseason Poll
•    Begin Classic with games against LIU (Fri.) and Niagara (Sat.)

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LAFAYETTE
•    Series is tied 1-1 with each team winning on its home floor
•    Despite being separated by just 130 miles have played only twice in Binghamton's 24-year Division I history
•    Teams played in 2002 (Binghamton 77-68 home win) and 2003 (Lafayette 77-72 home win)
•    Binghamton is just 12-35 all-time against teams from the Patriot League