VESTAL, N.Y. - With a top-four playoff seed on the line, Binghamton men's basketball (15-14, 7-7 America East) faces host UMass Lowell (16-13, 5-9 AE) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Costello Athletic Center. The game is the second-to-last regular season game and both teams are jockeying for position in the middle of the conference standings. 

Binghamton has won six of its last eight games - it's best eight-game conference stretch in 16 years. After Saturday's game, the Bearcats return home to host NJIT on Tuesday.  

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL 
•    Coming off a heartbreaking 79-78 loss to Bryant on Thursday when an inauspicious foul call at the buzzer gave the Bulldogs two deciding free throws
•    In that game, the lead changed 19 times but UML led for nearly entire second half
•    Have dropped five of last six but three of those losses came by two or fewer points
•    Averaging 80+ points on offense but allowing 75 points
•    Picked second in AE Preseason Poll after a 22-win season that ended in the program's third AE title game berth in four years
•    Max Brooks (15.6 ppg., 7.9 reb.) leads entire nation in FG% (70%)

ALL-TIME SERIES
•    UML leads 18-10 (14-9 as Division I programs)
•    In the first meeting in Vestal 3+ weeks ago, Binghamton held visiting UMass Lowell 27 points under its season scoring average and won 66-54. The Bearcats held the high-flying River Hawks to a season-low point total on 30% shooting. Gavin Walsh extended his own school rebound record with 23 boards - the second-highest single-game total in the NCAA. Tymu Chenery led a trio of Bearcats in double figures with 18 points - 13 coming in the second half. Nehemiah Benson hit 8-of-14 inside for 16 points, Wes Peterson, Jr. contributed 14 points and a career-high seven assists and Chris Walker added 11 points. The Bearcats led for nearly 33 minutes but used an 18-2 mid-second-half run to build a comfortable margin.
•    UML swept season series last year, winning 80-60 in Vestal and 87-80  in Lowell
•    In Lowell, UML leads 10-4
•    Last Feb. 22 in Lowell, UML converted 22-of-24 free throws in the second half to fend off Binghamton 87-80 at Costello Athletic Center. The Bearcats shot 58 percent in the second half (to UML's 43%) but couldn't overcome the River Hawks down the stretch. Lowell made seven free throws in the final 2:10 to hold off a BU charge. Tymu Chenery scored a team-high 24 points – 15 of which came in the second half. Nehemiah Benson tallied 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
•    UML won four of five matchups when both programs were D2

BEARCATS EDGE MAINE IN PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE     
Last Saturday on Senior Day, graduate guard Tymu Chenery drilled the game-winning 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to lift Binghamton over Maine 71-69. The game, in front of 2,394 fans, had a playoff atmosphere and featured eight second-half lead changes. Senior forward Chris Walker scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first half. The second half margin never expanded beyond seven points as both teams traded blows. A 10-2 Black Bears run late in the game gave them a 65-63 lead with 3:22 left. But sophomore forward Gavin Walsh (13 pts., 8 rebs.) hit a big 3-pointer with 3:00 left and that set the stage for the dramatic closing two minutes.

6-2 STRETCH BEST SINCE 2009
Binghamton has won six of its last eight games to move into the No. 4 playoff spot after a 1-5 start to conference play. The 6-2 stretch is the best eight-game America East span since the 2008-09 championship team rattled off eight straight wins to close the regular season (16 years). 

STARTING UNIT IS 11-4
The current starting unit of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson is 11-4. All other starting groups are a combined 4-10. 

UNBEATEN IN OT, STRONG IN CLOSE GAMES
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 8-3.   

WALSH AMONG NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
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 (8.9)
•    3rd in total rebounds (310)
•    5th in rebounds per game (11.1)
•    9th in double-doubles (school-record-tying and AE-leading 13)
•    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)  

ON VERGE OF HIGHEST WIN TOTAL IN 16 YEARS     
With the team's next victory (No. 16), Binghamton will snap last season's mark of 15 and post the program's highest win total in 16 years, since the 2008-09 NCAA team went 23-9 (13-3 AE). The 16 wins would also give the Bearcats and head coach Levell Sanders a fourth consecutive season of raising its win total (12-13-15-16).   

BATTLING FOR 4TH PLACE, HOME PLAYOFF GAME      
With two regular season games remaining, the Bearcats are in the middle of a tightly-packed group of four teams all separated by just 2 games. Binghamton (7-7) and UAlbany (7-7) are tied for the coveted No. 4 spot (home quarterfinal game) but the Great Danes hold an important tiebreak edge due to their win over first-place Bryant. UNH (6-9) and UML (5-9) can force a complicated multi-team tiebreak with wins. Last season, Binghamton finished 3-1 down the stretch to get to 7-9 overall, which was good for a share of fourth place ... but the No. 5 seed due to tiebreaks. The last time BU hosted a home playoff game was the 2009 championship game, which No. 1 BU won 61-51 over No. 6 UMBC. The last time the Bearcats hosted a quarterfinal game was in 2006, when No. 2 BU toppled No. 7 Maine, 71-62. Binghamton is 10-17 all-time in the America East tournament (3-3 home).         

IRONMAN CHENERY
In his final collegiate season, graduate guard Tymu Chenery is logging 37.3 minutes a game in conference play (3rd in AE) and 35.8 overall. Chenery surpassed the 1,000-minute mark last Saturday for first time in his five-year collegiate career. He is close to 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 (14.7) to Nehemiah Benson (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.   

WALSH MOVES UP AE LADDER
With 14 rebounds against UMBC on Feb. 13, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh broke Binghamton's single-season rebound record of 266, held by Jordan Reed. His current season average of 11.1 is also in line to set a record (Jordan Reed 9.5 in 2012-13). In his last nine games, Walsh is averaging a gaudy 14.0 rebounds (and 13.1 pts.). Walsh also continues to climb the all-time America East rebound rankings, currently positioned at No. 11 for single-season rebounds (since Binghamton joined the conference in 2001-02). The list is a "Who's Who" of high caliber players over the last 25 years, including four Players of the Year. All nine players in front of Walsh were first team all-conference selections.    

America East Rebounds in a Season (since Binghamton joined in 2001-02)
1.    Jameel Warney (Stony Brook, 2014-15)    409
2.    Chris Holm (Vermont, 2006-07)        401
3.    Kenny Adeleke (Hartford, 2005-06)        366
4.    Jameel Warney (Stony Brook, 2015-16)    357
5.    Iba Camara (UNH, 2017-18)        331
T-6.    Clarence Daniels (UNH, 2022-23)        320
    Marqus Blakely (Vermont, 2007-08)        320
    Trevor Gaines (Vermont, 2001-02)        320
T-9.    Tommy Brenton (Stony Brook, 2009-10)    311    
    Brian Voelkel (Vermont, 2011-12)        311
11.    GAVIN WALSH (Binghamton, 2024-25)    310
                                    

PETERSON ON POINT
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 nine games, he is averaging 12.0 points on 54% shooting. He is adding 2.2 assists, is shooting 77% from the free throw line and is logging more than 35 minutes a game.  

SEVEN-MAN ROTATION
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 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 eight points) and 97% 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. 

WBNG feature on Callahan-Golds

SHOOT 45%, GET TO 70 POINTS ... WIN
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 12-4 and when they don't, they are 3-10. When they shoot 45% or better, they are 13-5. When shooting below that threshold, they are 2-9.