VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball, winners of four of its last six games, begins an important two-game homestand on Thursday when the Bearcats (13-14, 5-7 America East) face New Hampshire (7-20, 5-7 AE) in a battle of teams deadlocked in the standings. Tip is slated for 6:07 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

With four games remaining in the regular season, Binghamton is one of five teams separated by just 1.5 games in the standings, with all eyes on a coveted fourth-place finish and accompanying home tournament quarterfinal game. The Bearcats play three of their final four games at home, including Saturday's Senior Day game against second-place Maine.  

ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Stunned UML 80-79 with a 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday
• Have won three of last four to surge up in the standings
• Five of the team's seven AE losses have come by 17 or more points
• 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 Anthony McComb (14.1 ppg.)
• Went 2-13 in non-conference play with both wins vs. D3 foes
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UNH
• UNH leads 27-23, thanks to six wins in last nine matchups
• UNH won first matchup 79-72 on Jan. 11 in Durham
• In that game, Binghamton built a double-digit first-half lead only to surrender the lead and the game in the second half. UNH used an 18-6 run spanning the first 10 minutes of the second half to grab its first lead since the game's opening possession. Down eight with 4:21 left, the Bearcats twice brought it back to within three before UNH made 14-of-17 free throws in the closing 2:56 to close it out. Tymu Chenery led the Bearcats with 18 points and Gavin Walsh had 17 points and 14 rebs.
• Home team has won six of the last seven games
• In Vestal, UNH leads 13-11 though Binghamton has won the last two
• 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 8-6

OVERTIME WIN AT NJIT ON SATURDAY  
Senior forward Nehemiah Benson tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds to lift Binghamton to a 75-71 overtime win over NJIT Saturday afternoon at the WEC. Benson scored 18 of his points in the second half and sank two clutch free throws with 8.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold then converted two inside buckets in a 34-second span late in OT and senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. sealed the win with four free throws in the final 13 seconds..

WALSH MAKING MARK IN NCAA
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh is putting himself in elite company with his rebounding this season. He has equaled or broken the school single-game rebound mark three times this season (19-20-23) and ranks among the NCAA top-10 in four categories. Walsh currently is:
• 2nd in NCAA in defensive rebounds (9.0)
• 4th in total rebounds (289)
• 4th in rebounds per game (11.1)
• 10th in double-doubles (12)
• One of just two players in NCAA with pair of 20+ rebound games
• His single-game-record 23 boards vs. UML on Feb. 6 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 11.1 average is highest of any America East player in 10 years (Jameel Warney, Stony Brook, 11.7 in 2014-15)  

BEARCATS HAVE WON FOUR OF SIX, BATTLING FOR 4TH PLACE    
With four regular season games remaining, the Bearcats are in the middle of a tightly-packed group of five teams all separated by just 1.5 games. UAlbany (5-6) is in the coveted No. 4 spot (home quarterfinal game) after its road win over UML Thursday. Binghamton is tied with UNH in fifth at 5-7. The Bearcats, who have won four of their last six, likely need to go 3-1 at minimum to get to 8-8 and have a shot at fourth place, likely via tiebreak. UAlbany holds an important tiebreak edge due to its win over first-place Bryant. Last season, Binghamton finished 3-1 to get to 7-9 overall, which was good for a share of fourth place ... but the No. 5 seed due to tiebreaks.        

STARTING UNIT IS 9-4
The current starting unit of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson is 9-4. All other starting groups are a combined 4-10.

UNBEATEN IN OVERTIME
The Bearcats are 3-0 in overtime this season. The last time they went through a season unbeaten in OT (more than one OT game) was in the 2008-09 championship season, when they also went 3-0 in OT. In games decided by five or fewer points this season, BU is 7-3.  

GO WITHOUT A 3-POINTER ... AND WIN??   
On Saturday at NJIT, the Bearcats went 0-for-15 from 3-point range but still came away with the OT win. It was the first time in 325 games spanning 13 years that Binghamton didn't make at least one 3-pointer. The previous low total this season was four, also in an OT win (vs. LIU). The Bearcats entered Saturday's game averaging nearly eight 3s per game and the team ranked second in the America East in 3-point accuracy (was 38%, now down to 36%).

BENSON MAXIMIZING MINUTES  
Senior forward Nehemiah Benson has been one of the most efficient scorers in the America East, averaging 12.5 points on 61% shooting in conference play.  Because of foul trouble, he's been limited to 27 minutes per game. His numbers prorated to 40 minutes result in a team-high 18.1 scoring average and 7.5 rebounds. Benson ranks third in the America East in field goal percentage (58%) and in conference play, has bumped that percentage to 61%. He is coming off a 20-point showing at NJIT on Saturday.  

WALSH REBOUND BINGO
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh has pulled down anywhere from 1-23 rebounds in games this season. The most common totals are 8 and 11, which he's posted three times each. Which five numbers hasn't he landed on yet?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

A DECADE IN THE MAKING: BINGHAMTON BEATS VERMONT   
On Jan. 30, Binghamton stopped a 22-game losing streak to Vermont dating back a decade with a 75-72 win at the Events Center. It was by far the longest losing skid against a conference opponent and during that 10-year span, the average losing margin was 18+ points. The Bearcats used an 18-2 second-half run to pull ahead and then sank four free throws in the final 21 seconds. Senior point guard Wes Peterson, Jr. scored eight of his team- and career-high 18 points during the pivotal run. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh totaled 17 points and 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Senior forward Chris Walker hit 7-of-8 free throws for 14 points and graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold finished with 13 points.  

WALSH SETS SINGLE-SEASON REBOUND MARK
With 14 rebounds against UMBC last Thursday, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh broke Binghamton's single-season rebound record of 266, held by Jordan Reed. Walsh now as 289. His current season average of 10.9 is also in line to set a record (Jordan Reed 9.5 in 2012-13). In his last seven games, Walsh is averaging a gaudy 15.0 rebounds (and 12.9 pts.).

Up Next: Season Double-Double Record
1. Jordan Reed (2012-13) 13
2. Gavin Walsh (2024-25) 12

IRONMAN CHENERY
In his final collegiate season, graduate guard Tymu Chenery is logging 36 minutes a game (T-1st in AE). Chenery will go over the 1,000-minute mark on Thursday for the first time in his five-year collegiate career. He is joining a short list of Bearcats (in D-1 era) who have averaged 36.0 or more minutes. George Tinsley averaged a school-record 38.4 minutes in 2019-20. Also on the list are Jimmy Gray (36.5 in 2012-13) and Mike Gordon (36.4 in 2006-07).  

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 (14.8) to Chris Walker (11.4). 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 SHARP
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 six games, he is averaging 12.3 points on 52% shooting. He is adding 2.4 assists, is shooting 78% from the free throw line and is logging more than 36 minutes a game.  

SEVEN-MAN ROTATION IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Head coach Levell Sanders always reduces his playing rotation as conference play begins but this year's version is a particularly lean one. It's a seven-player rotation with the starting group of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson averaging 34.0 minutes a game and accounting for 83% of the offense. Add in Callahan-Gold and Ashe as the sixth and seventh men and that seven-man group accounts for 99% of the points (all but six points) and 96% of minutes.  

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. Gold and her son with both be on display Saturday as a film crew is recording Judy watching her son play for a special project.

SHOOT 45%, REACH 70 POINTS ... WIN
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 10-4 and when they don't, they are 3-10. When they shoot 45% or better, they are 11-5. When shooting below that threshold, they are 2-9.