VESTAL, N.Y. - Riding a three-game win streak and with conference play quickly approaching, Binghamton men's basketball plays the first of two straight at home when the Bearcats (5-6) host Division III Lancaster Bible (5-4) Sunday afternoon. The teams tip at 2 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.

The Bearcats play two home games in a four-day span (Mercyhurst on Wed.) and then close out the calendar year with road games at Army (Dec. 22) and Marist (Dec. 29) to finish non-conference play. The team will then embark on its 16-game, nine-week America East schedule.

ABOUT LANCASTER BIBLE
•    Private seminary school located in Lancaster, Pa. with an enrollment of 2,700+ and 20 athletics teams that compete in the 17-member United East Conference (Division III)
•    Team is coming off 81-66 road win over Eastern Mennonite on Friday
•    Roster covers eight U.S. states plus Ghana and Bahamas
•    Have gone a combined 60-26 in the last three seasons (70%)
•    Have won 20+ games in two of the last three seasons
•    Advanced to second round of 2023 NCAA Division III tournament
•    Sixth-year head coach Jon Mack is a three-time conference coach of the year and has gone 50-10 in United East Conference play
•    Mack was a JUCO All-American as a player at Valley Forge in the late 1990s, where he scored 3,494 points, and grabbed 1,250 rebounds
    
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LANCASTER BIBLE
•    First meeting between the two programs
•    Bearcats are 3-0 vs. Bible schools with three wins against local training school Practical Bible in the 1990s

WALKER SPARKS BING IN INTERSTATE CLASH 
Senior guard Chris Walker poured in a career-high 30 points to lift the visiting Bearcats to a 72-62 win over Le Moyne in the second edition of the "Battle for the Interstate" Saturday night at Ted Grant Court. The win, Binghamton's third in a row, keeps the rival series trophy in Vestal after the Bearcats won last season's inaugural Interstate tilt. Walker scored 23 of his points in the second half and keyed a decisive 19-6 Bearcats run with 14 points in a 6+ minute span. For the game, he hit 10-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range..    

WALKER EARNS AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF WEEK 
Senior Chris Walker was named America East Player of the Week, his first weekly conference honor, thanks to a career-best showing against Le Moyne. He followed up his 20-point performance at Lafayette with a 30-point output in the win over the Dolphins. In his last four games, Walker is averaging 18.5 points on 57% shooting. From 3-point range, walker has hit 14-of-his-last-24 (58%).   

WALSH STILL LEADS AE IN REBOUNDING
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continues to lead the America East in rebounding (9.5) by nearly two boards per game over Max Brooks of UML (7.8). Walsh has posted double-digit rebounds in six of 11 games. He also leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with five double-doubles, thanks to a stretch of four consecutive (one shy of the school record). Walsh is close to averaging a double-double for the season (10.0 ppg., 9.5 rpg.). 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.   

CHENERY PILING UP NUMBERS 
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery is filling up the stat sheet in his final collegiate season. After cashing in his first double-double of the season at Lafayette (21 pts., 11 rebs.), Chenery turned playmaker at Le Moyne and dished out a career-high eight assists. He leads the Bearcats in points (13.6), assists (3.4) and blocks (1.1)  and is among the America East top-10 in five categories: minutes (34.1, 3rd), field goal percentage (50%, 5th), blocks (1.1, 6th), assists (3.4, 7th) and rebounds (5.2, 10th).  Chenery is closing in on 1,200 college points (1,194).  

WIN STREAKS
The Bearcats can equal their longest win streak (4) in seven years with a win over Lancaster Bible. Last year's squad won three straight on three different occasions and the 2022-23 team ran off four straight (in conference play). The program's Division I record is 11 in a row, set by the 2008-09 championship team. The 2017-18 team won seven in a row. 

BALANCED SCORING FOR BEARCATS
The Bearcats have FIVE players averaging double-digit points (last year they finished with three) — the most of any team in the America East. They have also had six different players lead the team in single-game scoring. Those five players in double figures (Chenery, Callahan-Gold, Walker, Benson, Walsh) are shooting a combined 49%, while the rest of the team is converting 37%.   

PETERSON EARNING MORE MINUTES AT POINT GUARD
Senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. has seen his minutes dramatically increase in the last three games — including the last two coming from the starting lineup. After averaging 12 minutes over his first eight games, Peterson has played 36 minutes per game in his last three. In that span, he is averaging 9.0 points with two double-digit scoring games. For the season, he is shooting 53% from the field for the season, including converting an eye-catching 14-of-20 (70%) inside the arc.   

WALSH TIES REBOUND 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 (five players have had 20).   

CALLAHAN-GOLD DIALED IN FROM BEYOND THE ARC
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 11 games, he is averaging 2.9 "3s" a game (on 43% accuracy, 3rd in AE). Callahan-Gold has had seven games with three or more 3-pointers and he ranks 19th in the NCAA in made 3s (32). In his last eight games, he is shooting 49% from beyond the arc (25-of-51). With Callahan-Gold leading the way, Binghamton ranks fourth in the AE in 3-pointers per game (7.9) and is shooting 38% as a team (4th in AE).