VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball opens an important two-game road trip Thursday in Baltimore when the Bearcats (12-13, 4-6 America East) face UMBC (11-14, 3-7 AE) at 6 p.m. at The Peake. 

With just six games remaining in the regular season, Binghamton is hunting its fourth win in five games and will aim to complete a season sweep of UMBC. Binghamton sits a half-game out of fourth place in the congested middle-of-the-America East standings. The top four teams host quarterfinal games on March 8.

ABOUT UMBC
• Have dropped four in a row (and six of eight) since an impressive 80-63 road win over Vermont on Jan. 25
• Same as Binghamton one month earlier, Retrievers lost both games during the long trek to UNH and Maine last week
• On Saturday, lost 73-50 at Maine after being held to 17 first-half points and committing 19 turnovers in the game
• Lead America East in field goal percentage (47%), 3-point percentage (39%) and 3s per game (8.8)
• Score 80 points per game (2nd in AE) but allow 77 (last in AE)
• More than half their games (13 of 25) have been blowouts (15+ points) but seven have been decided by five or fewer points with three going to OT
• In AE play, UMBC's average margin has been 12+ points
• Senior guard Marcus Banks was a Preseason All-Conference selection after hitting 85 3-pointers and making the 3rd team last year
• Picked fifth in preseason poll, one spot above Binghamton

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMBC
• On the strength of five wins in the last eight meetings, UMBC leads the series 25-22
• Binghamton has won three of the last four however, including 87-82 in the AE opener on Jan. 4 in Vestal
• In that game, 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. That run, spanning 5:33, featured 10 points from Walker - a pair of 3-pointers, a jumper and two free throws. Binghamton sealed the win by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final 2:06.
• Teams split season series last year with each team winning on road
• In Baltimore, UMBC leads 15-8 but Binghamton has won the last two
• Last 12 meetings have been decided by average of 6 points
• Three of last five have been decided by one possession (<3>
• Last time the teams met in Baltimore, the Bearcats stormed back from a 13-point second half deficit and pulled out a 72-71 win in the regular-season finale last March 5. The Bearcats 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.

WIN STREAK SNAPPED VS. BRYANT  
At home on Saturday, Binghamton saw its three-game win streak snapped against first-place Bryant, 78-71. The Bulldogs made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 18 seconds to preserve the road win, which came in front of a season-high 3,018 fans. Binghamton stood toe-to-toe with the league-leading Bulldogs in a game that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes. But Bryant used an 18-4 run to erase a five-point Binghamton second-half lead and the Bearcats couldn't keep up the scoring pace down the stretch. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery led the Bearcats with 18 points. Sophomore guard Evan Ashe had one of his strongest games of the season with 17 points (7-of-10 FG). Senior guard Chris Walker and sophomore forward Gavin Walsh added 10 points apiece

WALSH, ASSOCIATE HC JOHNSON HAVE TIES TO BALTIMORE
The game in Baltimore marks a homecoming for sophomore forward Gavin Walsh, who played high school ball 18 miles up the road from UMBC at Loyola Blakefield High. Baltimore also has strong ties for associate head coach Brian Johnson, who served on the UMBC staff from 2013-16. Johnson is a native of Annapolis and also coached two years at Prince George's CC, some 31 miles south of campus in Largo, Md.  

WALSH MAKING MARK IN NCAA, AMERICA EAST REBOUND CIRCLES
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh is putting himself in elite company with his rebounding this season. After equaling or breaking the school single-game rebound mark for a third time this season (19-20-23) with his 23-board total in the Feb. 6 win over UML, Walsh is:
• 2nd in NCAA in defensive rebounds (8.79)
• 7th in total rebounds (259)
• 8th in rebounds per game (10.8)
• 13th in double-doubles (10)
• One of just two players in NCAA with pair of 20+ rebound games
• His single-game 23 boards is tied for fourth-highest in America East history, behind pair of NBA draft picks (Malik Rose, Drexel and Spencer Dunkley, Delaware); it's also the highest total in an AE regular season game in 30 years
• His current 10.8 average is highest of any America East player in 10 years (Jameel Warney, Stony Brook in 2014-15)  

BEARCATS IN MIX FOR TOP-4 SPOT     
With six regular season games remaining, the Bearcats are still in the mix for a top-4 spot and its accompanying home quarterfinal game. There are four teams separated by just a half-game for that No. 4 spot. History shows that it takes a 9-7 final record to secure fourth place, meaning Binghamton would have to go 5-1 over these final three weeks. With the logjam in the middle of the standings, an 8-8 mark with tiebreak advantages also might be enough. The Bearcats play just two of six remaining games against teams above them in the standings (Maine, UML) and still have two games against last-place NJIT, giving Binghamton the "easiest" path on paper to fourth place.    

STARTING LINEUP IS 8-3      
The starting lineup of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson is 8-3 this season. That same group has started the last four games (3-1).

CHENERY OVER 1,400 COLLEGE POINTS     
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery just eclipsed the 1,400 career scoring mark and now has 1,410 in 137 collegiate games. He spent his first three collegiate seasons at Quinnipiac before closing his career with two seasons as a Bearcat. Chenery is a captain and an all-conference candidate this year.

WALSH WATCH
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh is eight rebounds away from setting the Binghamton single-season rebound record. His current season average of 10.8 is also in line to set a record (Jordan Reed 9.5 in 2012-13). In his last five games, Walsh is averaging a gaudy 15.0 rebounds (and 12.0 pts.).

Rebounds in a Season by a Bearcat
1. Jordan Reed (2012-13) 266
2. Gavin Walsh (2024-25) 259

Season Double-Doubles
1. Jordan Reed (2012-13) 13
T2. Gavin Walsh (2024-25) 10
T2. Jordan Reed (2013-14) 10

CHENERY ALL OVER STAT SHEET
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery has jumped his numbers since conference play began. After averaging 13.7 points in non-conference play, Chenery is scoring 16.0 against league foes. He is shooting 50% from the field, including 49% from 3-point range. In conference play, Chenery ranks second in minutes (37/game) and 3-point shooting, seventh in blocks (1.3) and assists (3.1), eighth in scoring, ninth in field goal percentage and 10th in 3-pointers per game (2.2). He's the only America East player to be ranked among the top-10 in all SEVEN categories.

BALANCED SCORING
In conference play, Binghamton has FIVE players scoring in double figures — most in the America East. The five double-digit scorers range from Tymu Chenery (16.0) to Chris Walker (10.9). The last time the Bearcats had five average in double figures for the season was the 2008-09 NCAA team and the program hasn't had a team with more than three in double figures in that 16-year span.  

PETERSON PLAYS KEY ROLE
Senior point guard Wes Peterson, Jr. has been a key contributor since returning from an injury that cost him three games in mid-January. In his last five games, he is averaging 12.6 points on 57% shooting. He is adding 3.0 assists, has hit 42% from 3-point range, 76% from the free throw line and is logging more than 35 minutes a game.  

BEARCATS NEAR TOP OF AMERICA EAST STATS
Binghamton leads the America East in defending the 3-pointer (30%) and ranks second in 3-point percentage (38%). The Bearcats also rank third in rebound margin (+1.8) and opponent FG% (42%). Individually, aside from Gavin Walsh's dominance on the glass and the aforementioned top-10 spots for Tymu Chenery, two other Bearcats are among the top-5. Senior forward Nehemiah Benson is third in FG% (57%). Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is fifth in 3-point accuracy (38%).  

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 9-3 and when they don't, they are 3-10. When they shoot 45% or better, they are 11-4. When shooting below that threshold, they are 1-9.