VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball will meet its longtime SUNY rival in the postseason for the first time in 20 years when the fifth-seeded Bearcats (15-16) face fourth-seeded UAlbany (16-15) in the America East quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Broadview Center.

The game, a third between the teams this season, is the finale of a four-game playoff slate on Saturday. Top-seeded Bryant hosts No. 8 UMBC at 4 p.m., No. 2 Vermont hosts No. 7 UNH at 3 p.m. and No. 3 Maine hosts No. 6 UMass Lowell at 6 p.m. The advancing four semifinal teams will be re-seeded and play Tuesday night at the higher remaining seeds. The two finalists square off March 15 for the conference title and automatic NCAA tournament berth. 

BEARCATS ARE FAMILIAR WITH NO. 5 SEED
After again coming tantalizingly close to a top-4 seed and home playoff game, Binghamton will hit the road for the fifth straight year — and carry the No. 5 seed for the third consecutive postseason. The Bearcats have been the No. 5 seed six times in their America East tenure — their most common playoff seed. The team is 2-6 as the No. 5 seed. In 2022 and 2023, the Bearcats posted upset road wins in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. Last season, Binghamton took the No. 5 seed to No. 4 UNH and lost 77-64. The Bearcats are 6-11 all-time in the quarters.          

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS      
Graduate guard Tymu Chenery was named to the all-conference second team, sophomore forward Gavin Walsh was chosen for the third team and graduate forward Ben Callahan-Gold was voted to the All-Academic Team. The all-conference honors for Chenery and Walsh give the Bearcats two selections for the first time in 16 years. Callahan-Gold becomes the fourth Binghamton All-Academic honoree in the last three years. Full release here   

BEARCATS STUNG BY NJIT AT BUZZER    
Visiting NJIT scored the game's final six points, including the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, to rally past Binghamton 75-72 in the regular-season finale Tuesday night at the Events Center. Binghamton trailed for much of the game but used 29 free throws to keep within striking distance of the Highlanders, who entered the game having lost 21 straight road games and were already eliminated from postseason contention. Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh totaled team-highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds to notch his school-record-setting 14th double-double of the season. Graduate guard Tymu Chenery wound up with 17 points and four assists and senior forward Nehemiah Benson finished with 15 points.  

ABOUT UALBANY 
• Closed regular season with 79-71 loss at Vermont Tuesday
• Have won four of last six, including an OT win at UML and a home win over Maine
• Great Danes also own an impressive win over No. 1 Bryant
• Picked to finish seventh (one spot behind BU) in the Preseason Poll
• Score 75 ppg. (4th in AE) and give up 74 (5th)
• Hoist an average of 22 3-pointers (make 32%, 8th of 9 in AE)      
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UALBANY 
•    Albany leads the series, which dates back to 1948, 77-37
•    Teams split season series with each winning on the road one year after splitting season series with each team winning at home
•    In the two games this season, teams were separated by just one point in aggregate score (Albany 131-130)
•    UAlbany won 70-65 Jan. 18 in Vestal and Binghamton won 65-61 Feb. 1 in Albany
•    Binghamton averaged 18 turnovers in the two games
•    In the first game, visiting UAlbany made four free throws in the final 31 seconds. Neither team led by more than eight in the game, but UAlbany used a 23-8 run spanning eight minutes midway through the second half to turn the game in its favor. The Bearcats turned the ball over 17 times, including 11 in the pivotal second half. Tymu Chenery scored a game-high 23 points (16 in first half) and added a game-high 11 rebounds. Nehemiah Benson gave the Bearcats two in double digits with 10 points.
•    Two weeks later in Albany, Tymu Chenery snapped a 61-61 tie with a driving layup high off the glass with 10 seconds left. After a Great Danes' miss and subsequent shot clock violation gave the ball back to Binghamton with 38 seconds left, Chenery held the ball at the top of the key before driving to the hoop. With 13 seconds left, he drove to the right side and lofted a high banking shot that swished home. Albany looked to tie in the closing seconds but Nehemiah Benson got a hand on an entry pass and outhustled the Great Danes' player for the ball. He made a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left to seal the win. The second half saw 10 lead changes and Binghamton had to regroup after losing a double-digit lead early in the period 
•    Since both schools joined the AE, Albany leads 28-19
•    BU won 13 of the first 19 matchups as AE members (2002-10)
•    Thanks to a 14-game win streak between 2001-17, UA has won 21 of last 27 head-to-head
•    The road team has won seven of the last 12 games
•    In Albany, the Great Danes own a commanding 35-12 lead, though Binghamton has won three of the last four
•    The teams have played at all three NCAA divisional levels and joined the America East in the same year (2001-02)
•    The first meeting between the two schools was in 1948-49 (a 76-67 Binghamton win) 

STARTING UNIT IS 11-6
The current starting unit of Peterson-Chenery-Walker-Walsh-Benson is 11-6. 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 8-4.   

WALSH AMONG TOP-5 REBOUNDERS IN NATION
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-11 in four categories. Walsh currently is:
•    2nd in NCAA in defensive rebounds (8.8)
•    3rd in rebounds per game (11.0)
•    4th in total rebounds (330)
•    9th in double-doubles (school-record and AE-leading 14)
•    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 11.0 average is highest of any America East player in 10 years (Jameel Warney, Stony Brook, 11.7 in 2014-15)  

ON VERGE OF BEST 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).   

CONFERENCE WIN TOTAL PUTS BEARCATS IN RARE COMPANY   
In each of the last four years, the only teams to win seven or more America East games are three-time reigning champion Vermont and Binghamton. The Bearcats have won 8-8-7-7 going back to 2021-22, showing they are able to be consistent year-to-year and avoid the single-season struggles that have hit fellow conference foes UMass Lowell (6 wins this season), UNH (6 wins this season), Maine (3 wins in 2021-22), UMBC (5 wins this season) and UAlbany (3 wins in 2022-23). Next hurdle for head coach Levell Sanders will be to elevate a 7- or 8-win season into a 9+ win season, which each of the above opponents has done at least once in the last four years.     

WALSH SETS DOUBLE-DOUBLE RECORD    
Sophomore forward Gavin Walsh collected team-highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday night against NJIT and with his 14th double-double, set the new Binghamton single-season record. He had previously shared the mark with former all-conference guard Jordan Reed (2012-13). Walsh has four double-doubles in his last six outings and ranks ninth in the NCAA, in addition to being among the nation's top-5 in three other rebound categories. 

IRONMAN CHENERY
In his final collegiate season, graduate guard Tymu Chenery is logging 36.7 minutes a game in conference play (3rd in AE) and 35.6 overall. Chenery surpassed the 1,000-minute mark 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 35.0 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). Chenery also enters the game with 1,484 career collegiate points — the last two seasons at Binghamton after he played the first three years at Quinnipiac. 

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 (14.6) to Wes Peterson, Jr. (10.3). 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 MOVING UP AMERICA EAST BOARD 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 11.0 is also in line to set a record (Jordan Reed 9.5 in 2012-13). In his last 11 games, Walsh is averaging a gaudy 13.2 rebounds (and 13.3 pts.). Walsh also continues to climb the all-time America East rebound rankings, currently positioned at No. 6 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 five 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
6.    GAVIN WALSH (Binghamton, 2024-25)   330