VESTAL, N.Y. - Riding a six-game win streak and unbeaten in the month of December, Binghamton men's basketball wraps up non-conference play on Sunday when the Bearcats (8-6) face similarly-surging Marist (8-2) in Poughkeepsie. The teams meet at 2 p.m. at McCann Arena in a game broadcast on ESPN+.

ABOUT MARIST
•    Sit at 8-2 after 76-73 OT win vs. fellow America East member UMBC on Dec. 21
•    Held UMBC scoreless for final 3:40 of OT to improve to 5-0 at home
•    Team is off to its best start of a season in 18 years
•    Are Binghamton's highest ranked opponent (#218 in NCAA NET Rankings) since Longwood
•    Before that beat former America East member Stony Brook 68-66
•    Also beat UNH 54-49 on Nov. 23
•    Began MAAC play with wins over Mt. St. Mary's and Manhattan
•    Picked 2nd of 13 in MAAC Preseason Poll, behind only Quinnipiac
•    Sophomore guard tandem Josh Pascarelli and Jadin Collins-Roberts on MAAC Preseason All-Conference Team
•    Returned seven lettermen from 18-13 team that went 12-8 in MAAC and lost to No. 2 Fairfield in tournament semifinals
  
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MARIST
•    Binghamton leads 4-3, thanks to back-to-back wins (2022, 2023)
•    The teams have played in each of the last four seasons
•    Four of the seven games have been decided by four or fewer points
•    Last year's 82-59 home win was the most lopsided in the series and also was the most lopsided loss for Marist last season (and the most points they surrendered up all season)
•    In Poughkeepsie, Binghamton is 2-1 with wins in 2009 and 2022
•    Last season at Events Center, BU built a 14-game halftime lead and then shot 65 percent in the second half to topple visiting Marist. The Bearcats broke away from an 11-11 tie six minutes into the game and used a 27-8 run spanning 11+ minutes to forge a 38-19 cushion. The Red Foxes scored the last six points of the period to enter intermission down 38-24. But after seeing their margin cut to 10 three minutes into the second half, BU responded with a 26-9 run and never looked back. Binghamton made 15-of-23 shots in the second half.

WIN STREAK
The Bearcats have won seven in a row, the longest streak in seven years (2017-18). The program's Division I record is 11 in a row, set by the 2008-09 championship team., During the win streak, Bing is shooting 50% as a team (43% from 3-point) and is averaging 75.7 points on offense, while giving up 67. 

PERFECT DECEMBER
The Bearcats remain unbeaten in December (6-0) and have a chance to record the program's first perfect December in 31 years (and second in school history) since the Division III 1993-94 team posted a 5-0 December en route to a 23-7 season (SUNYAC runnerup).  

WALKER ON A TEAR 
Senior guard Chris Walker has nearly doubled his season scoring average since moving into the starting lineup on Nov. 29. As a starter (6 games), Walker is averaging 18.4 points. In his last five, he is averaging 21.0 points on 67% shooting. He's been even more dialed in from 3-point range. In his last five games, Walker is shooting a sizzling 69% from beyond the arc (18-for-26).  For the season, he is shooting 55% from the field (3rd in AE, up from 33% last season), including 51% from 3-pt. range (up from 28% last season).    

BEARCATS SECURE WINNING NON-CONFERENCE SEASON
With its eight wins in Nov.-Dec., Binghamton is assured of a second straight winning record in non-conference play. The team went 8-5 last season, giving the Bearcats back-to-back above-.500 seasons in non-conference play for the first time in seven years. The eight wins are the second-highest non-conference total in the team's 24-year Division I era (9 wins in 2016-17 and 2017-18).  

WALSH SETS REBOUNDING RECORD WITH 20 BOARDS AT ARMY
Six weeks after tying the school record (Div. I era) with 19 boards at Fordham, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh secured the record himself with 20 rebounds at Army on Dec. 21. Walsh had 10 in each half and wound up with three offensive and 17 defensive boards to set the new standard. He now is one of eight players across the country with 20 rebounds in a game and he's the shortest of all of them (at 6-foot-8). Walsh is one of just two to have a 19-rebound AND a 20-rebound game (along with 6-foot-10 center Johni Broome of Auburn). 

BINGHAMTON PLUS/MINUS LEADERS
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh leads the team with a +36 plus/minus rating. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery is at +28 and graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is at +20. 

BENIGNI CLOSE TO RETURNING
Graduate guard Jackson Benigni is close to returning to action after missing the last 6+ weeks with injury. Benigni, who averaged 11.3 points at Stonehill last season, played the first two games of the season (Penn State, Oneonta) before suffering an injury. He was expected to be in contention for a starting role this year as a 2-guard and perhaps more importantly, a vocal, veteran leader. 

WALSH HAS COMMANDING AMERICA EAST REBOUNDING LEAD
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continues to lead the America East in rebounding (10.0) by more than boards per game over Earl Timberlake of Bryant (7.8). Walsh ranks fourth in the country in defensive rebounds, seventh in total rebounds and 15th in rebounds per game. He also leads the conference and ranks 21st 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 (9.5 ppg., 10.0 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.   

BEARCATS NEAR TOP OF AMERICA EAST RANKINGS
Binghamton is asserting itself in the conference rankings during the early portion of the season. The Bearcats lead the America East in 3-point shooting (39%), field goal percentage defense (40%) and defending against the 3-pointer (28%). The team also ranks third in scoring defense (70.1 ppg.), field goal shooting (48%), 3-pointers per game (7.9), rebounds (35.8) and rebound margin (+1.9). 

CALLAHAN-GOLD FAMILY HAS LAST LAUGH
Graduate forward and Manhattan native Ben Callahan-Gold has quickly made his impact at Binghamton after playing the previous four years at Division III power Trinity. An added bonus has been the addition of Ben's famous mother, Judy Gold, who is a stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster and television writer. She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Judy hosts the podcast "It's Judy's Show with Judy Gold." Gold's stand-up specials have aired on Comedy Central, LOGO, and HBO and she has made appearances on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and has been a guest on The View, The Today Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and a free-speech advocate on MSNBC, CNN and NewsNation. 

SHOOT 45%, GET TO 70 POINTS ... WIN
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 7-0 and when they don't, they are 1-6. The trend is a continuation from last season, when 70 became a line of demarcation. 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. This season, when the Bearcats shoot 45% or higher, they are 8-1. When shooting below that threshold, they are 0-5.  

CHENERY PILING UP NUMBERS 
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery is filling up the stat sheet in his final collegiate season. He has scored in double figures in 12 of 14 games and leads the Bearcats in points (14.1), assists (3.1) and blocks (1.3)  and is among the America East top-10 in six categories: minutes (34.4, 3rd), blocks (1.3, 5th), field goal percentage (48%, 8th), assists (3.1, 8th), scoring (14.1, 9th) and rebounding (4.9, 10th).  Chenery eclipsed the 1,200-point career scoring mark (1,241) in December.  

BALANCED SCORING FOR BEARCATS
The Bearcats have FOUR players averaging double-digit points (last year they finished with three) — tied for the most of any team in the America East. They have also had six different players lead the team in single-game scoring. Those four players in double figures (Chenery, Walker, Callahan-Gold, Benson) are shooting a combined 52%, while the rest of the team is converting 40%.   

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 14 games, he ranks second in the America East with 2.7 "3s" a game (on 44% accuracy, 4th in AE). Callahan-Gold has had eight games with three or more 3-pointers and he ranks 37th in the NCAA in made 3s (38). With Callahan-Gold leading the way, Binghamton leads the America East and ranks 20th in the nation in 3-point percentage (39%). The team is also averaging eight 3-pointers per game, which ranks third in the conference.