VESTAL, N.Y. - Riding back-to-back wins, Binghamton men's basketball looks to continue its rise in the standings when the Bearcats (11-12, 3-5 America East) host UMass Lowell (15-8, 4-4 AE) Thursday night to begin the second half of conference play. The teams will tip at 6:07 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

With wins over Vermont and UAlbany last week, Binghamton produced its first unbeaten week in conference play. The two wins moved the Bearcats into a tie for fifth place in the standings at the halfway point. Binghamton is one game behind Lowell for fourth place, which is the coveted spot that yields a home playoff game. 

The Bearcats play five of their final eight games at home, including another home contest Saturday afternoon against Bryant. 

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL 
•  Sit in fourth place (4-4) at the halfway mark of the conference slate
•  Coming off 16-point win at UMBC on Saturday
•  Have had uneven results in conference play with pair of 20+ point losses (to Bryant and NJIT), two double-digit wins (over UNH and UMBC) and three other games decided by a combined nine pts
•  Averaging 74 points on offense but allowing 75 in eight AE games
•  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 (15.3 ppg., 8.1 reb.) is second in nation in FG% (71%)

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMASS LOWELL
•    UML leads 18-9 (14-8 as Division I programs)
•    UML swept season series last year, winning 80-60 in Vestal and 87-80  in Lowell
•    Teams have split the last six games with UML winning the last three by an average margin of 14 points
•    In that last meeting on Feb. 22 in Lowell, UML converted 22-of-24 free throws in the second half to fend off Binghamton at Costello Athletic Center. The Bearcats shot 58 percent in the second half (to UML's 43%) but couldn't overcome the River Hawks, who made seven free throws in the final 2:10. 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 and Symir Torrence added a double-double of 12 points and a career-high-matching 11 assists.
•    Teams split season series two years ago with each winning at home
•    In Vestal, UML leads 8-7
•    UML won four of five matchups when both programs were D2

CHENERY GAME-WINNING BUCKET, BENSON DEFENSIVE PLAY LIFT BEARCATS OVER UALBANY   
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery drove to the hoop for a pretty high-banking layup with 10 seconds left and senior forward Nehemiah Benson stole an entry pass to snuff out a potential UAlbany game-tying basket in the closing seconds and the Bearcats beat the Danes 65-61 Saturday in Albany. Benson led the Bearcats with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh churned out 15 points and 15 rebounds – his league-leading 10th double-double of the season. Chenery wound up with 12 points, six boards, four assists and three blocks and senior point guard Wes Peterson, Jr. added 11 points and three assists. 

WALSH AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF WEEK      
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh has been named America East Player of the Week after averaging a double-double (16 pts., 14 rebs.) in the 2-0 week. Walsh went for 17 points and 13 rebounds in the 75-72 home win over Vermont and then racked up 15 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 65-61 road win at UAlbany. In the process, he notched his ninth and league-leading 10th double-double of the season. He now has five games with 15 or more rebounds. He was previously named Player of the Week on Jan. 6.

HOMESTAND: GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS      
After playing five of their last seven on the road, the Bearcats play back-to-back home games this week. That's the good news. Bad news? The games are against the reigning America East finalist River Hawks who have beaten Binghamton three straight (by an average margin of 14 pts.) and then against unbeaten, league-leading Bryant, who already owns a 14-point win over the Bearcats. 

DECADE IN THE MAKING: BEARCATS BEAT VERMONT     
Last Thursday, 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 WATCH
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh is moving up the ladder for single-season rebound totals. He is averaging 10.3 boards, which would stand as the record (Jordan Reed 9.5 in 2012-13 is current mark). Walsh currently is fifth in total boards.

Rebounds in a Season by a Bearcat       Season Double-Doubles
1. Jordan Reed (2012-13)        266            1. Jordan Reed (2012-13)        13
2. Jordan Reed (2013-14)        258            T2. Gavin Walsh (2024-25)    10
3. Thomas Bruce (2017-18)    256            T2. Jordan Reed (2013-14)        10
4. Mahamoud Jabbi (2010-11)    241            4. Thomas Bruce (2017-18)    9
5. Gavin Walsh (2024-25)        227

CHENERY PEAKING IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery has jumped his numbers since conference play began. After averaging 13.7 points in non-conference play, Chenery is scoring 15.5 against league foes. He is shooting 52% from the field, including 52% from 3-point range (17-of-34). In conference play, Chenery ranks first in minutes (37/game), second in 3-point shooting, sixth in blocks (1.3), seven in assists (3.4), eighth in 3-pointers per game (2.1), ninth in field goal percentage and 11th in scoring. He's the only America East player to be ranked among the top-11 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 are separated by just 4.5 points: Tymu Chenery (15.5) to Chris Walker (11.0). 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.   

TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Bearcats are 3-5 at the halfway point of conference play and the five defeats show a trend of second-half scoring dropoff. In the eight cumulative conference games, Binghamton is +19 in first-half scoring (on 53% shooting) but -52 in the second half (on 44% FG). Binghamton's scoring average by half is 37 pts-34 pts, whereas opponents are 34-41. Specifically, in the five-minute span between 15:00 and 10:00 on the second-half scoreclock, the Bearcats are -26 on the board and are shooting 44%. That span also accounts for the team's highest turnover total with 18 during that cumulative 40 minutes (5 minutes x 8 games). Binghamton is strongest in scoring differential in the final five minutes of the the first half (+13) and the first five minutes of the game (+9), so starting and ending the first half.  

PETERSON SHARP IN RETURN FROM INJURY
Senior point guard Wes Peterson, Jr. has been a key contributor since returning from an injury that cost him three games. In his last three games (Bryant, Vermont, UAlbany) he is averaging 14.7 points on 65% shooting. He is adding 2.7 assists, has hit 50% from 3-point range, 79% from the free throw line (11-of-14) and is logging more than 36 minutes a game. 

WALSH AMONG NCAA REBOUND LEADERS
With his 15-rebound showing at UAlbany on Saturday, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh continues to lead the America East in rebounding (10.3), by 1.5 over Bryant's Earl Timberlake (8.8). He ranks among the top rebounders in the nation in four categories: fifth in the NCAA in defensive rebounds (8.3/game), ninth in total rebounds (227), 10th in average (10.3) and 11th in double-doubles (10). 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 eight AE games, the starting unit is averaging 33 minutes per game and is scoring 81% of the points (58 pts./game). In six of the eight conference games, Sanders has used three or fewer 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 defending the 3-pointer (31%) and rank third in rebound margin (+1.7), field goal percentage (47%) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (7.6). Individually, aside from Gavin Walsh's dominace 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% (57%) and classmate Chris Walker is seventh (51%). Graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold is sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.3) and seventh in 3-pt. 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%, GET TO 70 POINTS ... WIN
This year, when the Bearcats reach 70 points on offense, they are 9-2 and when they don't, they are 2-10. When they shoot 45% or better, they are 11-4. 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. This season he ranks sixth in the America East with 2.3 "3s" a game (on 39% accuracy, 7th in AE). Callahan-Gold has 11 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 fifth in the conference. After shooting 31% from beyond the arc last season, the Bearcats are at 38% this season, which ranks second in the America East and is 23rd in the nation.