VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball begins an important stretch of three-of-four at home when the Bearcats (9-12, 1-5 America East) welcome three-time reigning conference champion Vermont (11-10, 4-2 AE) to the Events Center on Thursday. The teams tip at 6:07 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court. 

After Thursday's game, the Bearcats play at UAlbany on Saturday before returning to campus for a pair of home games next week.  

ABOUT VERMONT 
•    Three-time reigning conference champions and eight-time reigning regular season champions (55-5 last three years vs. AE)
•    Down two all-conference starting guards, Vermont fell behind by 16 at half and lost 80-63 to UMBC at home Saturday — the most lopsided home conference loss in 15+ years
•    Have now had two 17+ point AE defeats for first time in two decades 
•    After starting league play with wins over UNH and UMass Lowell, Catamounts are 2-2 in last four and are in third place
•    Have won 20 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons and have won 10 or more America East games in 16 straight seasons 
•    Lead AE in defense (65.2 pts allowed) but offense has been limited to 65.8 points (second-last in AE)
•    Returned top two scorers (Long, Bogues) and eight lettermen from last season's 28-7 team that went 15-1 in conference play    
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. VERMONT 
•    Vermont holds a commanding 46-8 lead in the series — the most lopsided among all BU's America East opponents
•    Vermont has won 22 straight in the series, including a 72-64 win in Burlington on Jan. 16
•    In that game, Vermont made four free throws in the final 27 seconds to hold off Binghamton at Patrick Gym. The teams were dead-even in 3-pointers and field goals but the Catamounts scored 23 points off Bearcat turnovers to provide the winning edge. The Bearcats shot above 60% until the closing minutes and were within striking range throughout the second half. Down 62-57 with 3:48 left, however, Binghamton missed six of its final nine shots. The eight-point showing was the closest Binghamton has been at Patrick Gym in 16 years. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery tallied 18 of his 20 points in the second half, including a 2:41 stretch when he canned three 3-pointers to keep the Bearcats close. 
•    Average margin of victory during the 22-game streak is 20.2 points and BU has been within single digits only three times (9,6, 8)
•    In Vestal, Vermont holds a 21-6 lead, including 10 straight wins
•    In that 0-10 stretch, BU has been outscored by an average of 18 pts.
•    BU's last win was 57-55 at Events Center Feb. 18, 2015 (10 yrs. ago). In that game, freshman forward Willie Rodriguez scored a game-high 18 points and Binghamton rallied from 10 points down in the second half. The Bearcats committed a season-low four turnovers on offense and on the defensive end, held the second-place Catamounts 13 points under their scoring average. Freshman Bobby Ahearn notched 12 points and seven rebounds and freshman guard Romello Walker tallied 10 points. Sophomore guard Marlon Beck II added nine points and made three crucial free throws in the final 30 seconds. 
•    BU has been held under 60 points in 19 of the last 24 meetings

UNBEATEN BRYANT OUTSLUGS BEARCATS      
Binghamton saw its losing streak hit four with an 83-69 road loss at Bryant Saturday in R.I. The Bearcats put five in double figures and were within four until a mid-second-half Bulldogs run created separation. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery scored 16 points, senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. tallied a career-high 15 and sophomore forward Gavin Walsh added his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds.   

CHENERY LIGHTING UP STAT SHEET IN LEAGUE PLAY
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery has jumped his numbers since conference play began. After averaging 13.7 points in 15 non-conference games, Chenery is scoring 17.8 against league foes. He is shooting 57% from the field, including 54% from 3-point range (14-of-26). In conference play, Chenery ranks second in 3-point shooting, fifth in scoring and seventh in field goal percentage, assists (3.3) and blocks (1.2), He's the only America East player to be ranked among the top-10 in all five categories. Further, in his last five games, Chenery is averaging 19.4 points with three 20+ point performances. In the process, he has run his career points total up to 1,357. 

BALANCED SCORING
Binghamton has FIVE players scoring in double figures — most in the America East. The five double-digit scorers are separated by just 4.8 points: Tymu Chenery (14.9) to Ben Callahan-Gold (10.1). That quintet is accounting for 82% of the team's scoring (58 pts. per game) and is shooting 49%, while the remaining eight players who have seen time are shooting 40% and contributing an average of 12 points.  

TALE OF TWO HALVES IN CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bearcats have begun league play 1-5 and one of the factors in the slow start has been a drop-off in second-half play. In the six cumulative conference games, Binghamton is plus 4 in first-half scoring (on 55% shooting) but minus 44 in the second half (down to 42% FG). Binghamton's scoring average by half is 37-34, whereas opponents are 36-42. 

WALSH STILL ATOP OF CONFERENCE REBOUND LIST
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continues to lead the America East in rebounding (10.0), by 1.6 over Bryant's Earl Timberlake (8.4). Walsh ranks sixth in the country in defensive rebounds (7.8/game), 14th in total rebounds (199) and 16th in rebounds per game. He also leads the conference and ranks 21st in the nation with eight double-doubles, thanks in part to a stretch of four consecutive (one shy of the school record). Walsh is back to averaging a double-double for the season (10.5 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.   

TRIMMED ROTATION
With conference play underway, head coach Levell Sanders has shortened up his rotation with the starters getting heavy minutes. In the first six AE games, the starting unit is averaging 33 minutes per game and is scoring 77% of the points (55 pts./game). In three of the six conference games, Sanders has used just two players off the bench.   

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 (38%) and third in rebound margin (+1.4) and defending the 3-pointer (31%). They are tied for fourth in 3-pointers per game (7.6). Individually, aside from Gavin Walsh's dominance on the glass and the aforementioned top-10 spots for Tymu Chenery, three other Bearcats are among the top-10. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson is third in FG% (56%) and classmate Chris Walker is seventh (52%). Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.4) and fifth in 3-point accuracy (39%).  

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%, REACH 70 POINTS ... WIN
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 8-2 and when they don't, they are 1-10. When they shoot 45% or better, they are 9-4. When shooting below that threshold, they are 0-8.  

CALLAHAN-GOLD, BEARCATS 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 18 games, he ranks fourth in the America East with 2.4 "3s" a game (on 39% accuracy, 5th in AE). Callahan-Gold has 10 games with three or more 3-pointers. With Callahan-Gold leading the way, Binghamton is also averaging 7.6 3-pointers per game, which ranks T-4th in the conference. After shooting 31% from beyond the arc last season, the Bearcats are at 38% this season, which ranks second in the AE and 30th in the nation.