VESTAL, N.Y. - Having closed the regular season with a three-game win streak, fifth-seeded Binghamton men's basketball (15-14) faces fourth-seeded New Hampshire (15-14) in an America East quarterfinal game Saturday in Durham, N.H. The teams square off in the tournament quarterfinals for the second time in three years and will see each other for the second time in eight days when they tip at 3 p.m. from Lundholm Gym. The winner advances to the semifinals, set for Tuesday night. The top four remaining teams will be reseeded to determine pairings and sites. 

The Bearcats were picked to finish fourth in the Coaches Preseason poll - tied for the highest in the program's 23 years of membership - and finished tied for fourth in the final standings. Binghamton won four of its last five to gain the tournament's No. 5 seed for a second straight season. The team's 15 regular-seaosn wins are the most in 15 years (since 2008-09 AE title team won 23). The Bearcats have increased their overall win total in three straight seasons (12-13-15). 

Binghamton and UNH have identical AE and overall records and are meeting in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years and third time since 2016. They split the season series and the all-time head-to-head series is also near-even with UNH leading 25-24. 

The Bearcats will enter the postseason with a chip on their collective shoulders after not receiving any all-conference selections from opposing coaches. It's the first time in 23 years that an America East top-5 team didn't yield at least one all-conference player.

ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE

• Lost four straight to end regular season but held on to No. 4 seed via tiebreakers (sweep over Maine plus win over UMass Lowell on Feb. 3)
• Played Vermont tight in 68-64 home loss on Tuesday
• Netted pair of all-conference selections in Player of Year and first teamer Clarence Daniels and third teamer Ahmad Robinson
• Daniels leads AE in scoring (19.6) and is second in rebounds (9.3)
• UNH handily surpassed preseason predicted finish (8th)
• First-year head coach Nathan Davis took over for longtime UNH coach Bill Herion
• Returned three starters and eight lettermen (6 newcomers)
• Key newcomer was JC transfer Ahmad Robinson
• Team leads AE in 3-point makes (9.0/game) and is 2nd in FT (74%)
• UNH scores 75 ppg. and gives up 75 ppg.    

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UNH

• It's been a tight series spanning 23 years with UNH leading 25-24
• Teams met one week ago in Vestal (March 2) and BU won 87-74
• In that game, Armon Harried compiled 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Harried logged 37 minutes at the point and led a BU offense that shot 55%. BU raced out to a 14-point lead in the game's first nine minutes and led for all but one minute throughout. Dan Petcash scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half and Harried followed with 17 of his 22 in the second half. The Bearcats shot 58% and made 19-of-22 free throws in the second half to thwart any Wildcat comeback attempt. Binghamton had five double-digit scorers. The Bearcats made 10+ three-pointers for the second straight game and never allowed UNH within single digits throughout the second half.
• The last time they met in Durham on Jan. 25, UNH snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a 79-73 OT win
• In that game, UNH closed out OT with a 13-4 run. The game featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes. The Bearcats twice led by three in OT, the last time on a 15-foot jumper from graduate forward Armon Harried that gave BU a 69-66 lead with 4:04 left. But UNH sank seven free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the win. Chris Walker led four BU players in double figures with 17 points. Dan Petcash had 16 points. BU played without leading scorer Tymu Chenery.
• In Durham, the series is even 12-12
• The last four games in Durham have been decided by a combined 15 points (3.8 point margin)

BEARCATS HANG ON TO BEAT UMBC 72-71 IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE
With a range of four different tournament seeds in play (Nos. 5-8) depending on the game's outcome, BU reached its ceiling by holding off host UMBC 72-71 in Tuesday's regular season finale in Baltimore. Binghamton stormed back from a 13-point second half deficit, closed the game with a 22-11 run and sealed the win when a Retrievers' free throw was off the mark with 0.8 left. Nehemiah Benson scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the pivotal second half, and packed eight of those points into a crucial 3:40 stretch when BU rallied from a 60-50 deficit. A wild final two dozen seconds finished with a BU block at the rim that was called a foul with 0.8 seconds left. The Retriever center made the first free throw but missed the second and a last-ditch UMBC scramble-shot was off the side of the backboard at the buzzer.    

BU CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH THREE STRAIGHT WINS, GRABS NO. 5 SEED  
After starting conference play in last place at 0-5, BU finished by winning seven of 11 to move into a tie for fourth place, equaling last year's finish, which is the highest since finishing first in 2008-09 (15 years).    

HARRIED REPEATS AS ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM CHOICE; WALSH MAKES ALL-ROOKIE TEAM   
Three Bearacts were honored by the league on Thursday with end-of-season awards. Graduate forward Armon Harried was named to both the five-man All-Defensive Team and the All-Academic Team. Freshman forward Gavin Walsh earned a spot on the five-man All-Rookie Team and graduate guard Dan Petcash joined Harried on the All-Academic Team. Harried was a repeat selection to the All-Defensive Team. In conference play, Harried averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds (9th in AE) while logging 37 minutes a game (4th in AE). In the last three games of the regular season, Harried averaged 17.7 points and 7.7 boards, powering the Bearcats to three wins which vaulted them into a fourth-place tie in the standings. He notched a pair of double-doubles (vs. Niagara and UAlbany) and is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. Harried becomes BU's first multi-year All-Defensive Team recipient since Mike Gordon earned three straight from 2005-08. He also earned All-Academic Team honors, thanks to a 3.82 GPA in his master's program in human rights. Walsh was honored after a strong first collegiate regular season. He was twice selected as Rookie of the Week and has been particularly productive down the stretch. In his last six games, Walsh is averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. His team-high 17 points lifted the Bearcats to an overtime win over Maine to start the late win streak. Walsh also produced a double-double with 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds against Bryant. Petcash, a five-year standout with the program, repeated as an All-Academic Team selection. He carries a 3.84 GPA in his MBA program after being a multi-year member of the America East and Binghamton AD Honor Rolls for his work in the classroom. On the court, Petcash is the program's all-time leader in 3-point accuracy and has totaled more than 900 career points and 400 career rebounds as a Bearcat. He becomes the school's first two-time All-Academic recipient since J.C. Show went back-to-back in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  

NO ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
For the first time in six years and just the fourth time in 23 years of conference membership, BU garnered no all-conference selections from opposing coaches. It marks the first time in 23 years that an America East top-five team in the final standings didn't yield a single all-conference choice. The last time it happened was in 2000-01 (Boston University). Binghamton's lineup features the No. 2 assist man in the entire nation (Symir Torrence) and one of the league's leading scorers (Tymu Chenery). Seemingly without an all-conference-caliber player, third-year head coach Levell Sanders should've received consideration for Coach of the Year after guiding BU to a fourth-place finish. Only two teams didn't have an all-conference selection - last-place NJIT and the Bearcats.      

BEARCATS SHOWING STEADY RISE IN AE RANKS
Having secured the program's second-straight fourth-place finish, BU begins its postseason run as one of just two teams (Vermont) to reach the semifinals in back-to-back seasons. Binghamton is also one of just three teams (Vermont, UNH) to win seven or more conference games in each of the last three seasons. The Bearcats have increased their win total in three straight years (12-13-15) and with its first regular season above the .500 mark in 15 years (15-14), BU is eligible and likely to be selected for the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament (CIT). Bids are announced after the NCAA and NIT selections are made on March 17 with pod games on March 19-20.

BEARCATS 5-2 IN CLOSE GAMES, SHARP ON SATURDAYS
The Bearcats are 5-2 in games decided by six or fewer points this season, including two of their last three games when they won by two points (vs. Maine) and one point (at UMBC). In games decided by one possession, BU is 3-1, with a 70-69 loss to Bryant being its only setback. Binghamton is also 8-4 on Saturdays, which bodes well for the quarterfinal game at UNH.      

OFFENSE IS CLICKING LAST SIX GAMES
In BU's last six games, the team is averaging 77.0 points and is 6-4 with a seven-point loss at UMass Lowell being among the two setbacks. During the team's three-game win streak to end the regular season, BU made an average of nine 3-pointers and shot 42 percent from 3-point range (28-for-67) after dipping below 30% for most of the season. The Bearcats made six 3-balls in the first half at UMBC to keep contact with a Retrievers' team that put 40 on the board and threatened to pull away early.  

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BU TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

• Binghamton is the No. 5 seed for the second straight year and sixth time in its AE history. It's the most common BU tourney seed. They are 2-5 all-time as the fifth seed. Last year #5 BU beat #4 UMBC 67-65 in Baltimore. The Bearcats have reached the semis twice as a #5 seed (2005, 2023).  

• Binghamton is 10-16 all-time in the America East tournament, including a 6-10 mark in the quarterfinals

• BU is 3-8 in road tournament games but has won its last two in 2022 and 2023

• It's the fourth time Binghamton will meet UNH in the tournament. The Bearcats are 2-1 with a quarterfinal win in 2022 (72-69), a quarterfinal loss in 2016 and a semfinal win in 2009 en route to a BU title.    

• Binghamton still holds the America East tournament record for most three-point field goals in a half (13) and a game (17). The Bearcats drilled a then-program-record 17 3s against UMBC in the 2011 first round game.

• The last time a BU player scored at least 30 points in the America East Tournament was when Greer Wright and Moussa Camara each did it against UMBC in the 2011 first round game. Wright went for 31 points, while Camara poured in 30, for the two highest totals in BU's tournament history.