VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball closes out its five-day, two-game road trip when the Bearcats (9-8, 1-1 America East) face New Hampshire (2-15, 0-2 AE) Saturday afternoon in Durham. The teams tip at 1 p.m. at Lundholm Gymnasium.

Binghamton is coming off an 82-71 loss at Maine Thursday night in a game they led for much of before the Black Bears rallied midway through the second half. The Bearcats put four in double figures, shot 51% and surpassed the 70-point mark, all of which typically results in a win. But Maine shot 73% in the second half and overcame a double-digit deficit to grab the home win.

ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Lost to visiting Vermont 60-40 in opener and then lost to UAlbany 61-57 Thursday
• Averaging just 48 points of offense in AE play, last in conference
• Returned just one starter (Trey Woodyard) and three lettermen from a 16-15 team that lost to Vermont in the 2024 AE semifinals
• Lost two all-conference players (Player of Year Clarence Daniels and third team guard Ahmad Robinson)
• A near-unanimous last place selection in Coaches' Preseason Poll
• Welcomed 11 newcomers, led by Bowling Green transfer and current team leading scorer Anthony McComb (14.9 ppg.)
• Went 2-13 in non-conference play with both wins vs. D3 foes
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE
• UNH leads 26-23, thanks to five wins in last eight matchups
• Teams split season series last year before UNH won the quarterfinal matchup in Durham, 77-64
• UNH won the regular season game at Lundholm 79-73 in OT and Binghamton won the return game five weeks later 87-74 at home
• In that postseason game, No. 4 New Hampshire used a 10-0 early-second-half run to take the lead, limited No. 5 Binghamton to nine second-half field goals and ended the Bearcats' season short of a third straight semifinal berth. Binghamton was within six points until the closing three minutes but could never fully make up the stagger. The Bearcats were hampered by 15 turnovers, 29% shooting from behind the arc and nine FT misses. Tymu Chenery led BU with 18 points.
• Binghamton is 11-13 at Lundholm Gym
• Home team has won five of the last six games
• Between 2002-11 Binghamton was 15-5 in the series
• UNH won nine straight between 2015-18
• In last six years, series has been near even with UNH leading 7-6

SECOND-HALF STRUGGLES COSTLY AT MAINE
The Bearcats saw a 10-point second-half lead slip away at Maine on Thursday as the Black Bears shot 73% to overtake Binghamton 82-71. Maine scored 50 second-half points and held the Bearcats to just two field goals over the game's final eight minutes. A closing 17-7 Black Bears run sealed the win. Binghamton put four in double figures and suffered a rare loss when reaching the 70-point mark (had been 18-4 over last two seasons when hitting 70).  

CHENERY FILLS OUT STAT SHEET
At Maine, graduate guard Tymu Chenery led the Bearcats in scoring (20), rebounding (7), assists (4), steals (1) and blocks (4). It's the first time one player has led the team in all five categories since Jacob Falko did it against Vermont in the 2022 America East semifinals. That's a span of 63 games covering three seasons. It also was the second time this season and seventh time as a Bearcat that Chenery has hit 20 points.

STRONG FINISH YIELDS OPENING WIN OVER UMBC
Binghamton opened conference play with a hard-fought 87-82 home win over UMBC Saturday at the Events Center. Senior guard Chris Walker scored 13 of his team-high 21 points in the closing seven minutes. Walker sparked a game-deciding 18-5 second-half run that turned a 64-60 Retrievers lead with 9:54 left into a 78-69 Bearcat lead. Binghamton sealed the win by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final 2:06. All five starters were in double figures and the 87 points were a season high.

WALSH AE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh produced yet another monster game in the win over UMBC on Jan 4. Walsh piled up 18 points and 17 rebounds — his league-leading sixth double-double of the season. It also was Walsh's third game with 17 or more rebounds — the most such games in the NCAA. Walsh nearly had a double-double by halftime with 12 points and nine rebounds. He was named America East Player of the Week and continues to lead the America East in rebounding (10.5) while averaging a double-double (10.1 ppg.).  

BALANCED SCORING
Binghamton has FIVE players scoring in double figures — the only America East team to have that many. The five are separated by just 3.4 points from Tymu Chenery (13.9) to Ben Callahan-Gold (10.1). In the win over UMBC, all five Bearcat starters reached double figures — the first time this season. The five starters accounted for 77 of BU's 87 points. When Binghamton has three or more players score in double digits, the team is 9-4.

PLUS/MINUS LEADERS
Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold leads the team with a +17 plus/minus rating. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh is at +16 plus/minus and graduate guard Tymu Chenery is at +12.

WALSH LEADS CONFERENCE IN REBOUNDS
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continues to lead the America East in rebounding (10.1) by more than two boards per game over Earl Timberlake of Bryant (7.9). Walsh ranks fifth in the country in defensive rebounds (8.1/game), 11th in total rebounds (162) and 17th in rebounds per game. He also leads the conference and ranks 26th in the nation with sixth double-doubles, thanks to a stretch of four consecutive (one shy of the school record). Walsh is averaging a double-double for the season (10.2 ppg., 10.1 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.  

WALKER DIALED IN AS STARTER
In his second season as a Bearcat, senior guard Chris Walker has raised his offensive statistics dramatically. Points have more than doubled (5.9 to 12.4 ppg.), field goal percentage is up from 33% to 55% and 3-point shooting is up from 28% to 52%. He has already surpassed his season 3-point total from last season (32 this year, 29 last year) with half the season remaining. In his last 10 games (all starts), Walker is averaging 16.4 points and has hit the 20-point mark a team-high four times. During that 10-game stretch, he is shooting a sizzling 59% from the field, 58% from 3-point range, and 72% from the line. He was the America East Player of the Week on Dec. 9.    

ASHE RISING
Sophomore guard Evan Ashe has increased his production now that conference play has begun. He averaged 6.0 points in 24 minutes during the non-conference portion of the schedule. In his first two America East games, Ashe has jumped his scoring average to 9.5 points in the same 24 minutes. He is shooting 57% from the floor and a perfect 1.000 from the line in conference play.

SCALED-BACK ROTATION
In seven of the last nine games, head coach Levell Sanders has used eight or fewer players. In each of the first two AE games, Binghamton has used just seven players, with only sophomore guard Evan Ashe (avg. 24 min) and graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold (15 min.) spelling the starting group of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson (5-2 as a group).

BEARCATS NEAR TOP OF AMERICA EAST RANKINGS
Binghamton is asserting itself in the conference rankings during the first half of the season. The Bearcats rank second in 3-point percentage (.383) and third in field goal shooting (47%) and rebound margin (+1.8). Individually, aside from Gavin Walsh's dominance on the glass, senior forward Nehemiah Benson (58%) and classmate Chris Walker (55%) are 3-4 in field goal percentage. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery is eighth in field goal percentage (48%), giving the Bearcats three of the top-10 shooters in the conference — the only team with three. Chenery also is fifth in blocks (1.3) and eighth in assists (3.3). Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.4) and fifth in 3-point accuracy (40%).  

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 (except at Maine)
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 8-1 and when they don't, they are 1-7. 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 9-2. When shooting below that threshold, they are 0-6.  

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 17 games, he ranks fourth in the America East with 2.4 "3s" a game (on 40% accuracy, 5th in AE). Callahan-Gold has had eight games with three or more 3-pointers. With Callahan-Gold leading the way, Binghamton is also averaging 7.5 3-pointers per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. After shooting 31% from beyond the arc last season, the Bearcats are at 38% this season.