VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball finishes out a two-game, four-day New England swing on Saturday when the Bearcats (4-17, 0-6 America East) play at Maine (4-17, 2-4 AE). The teams tangle at 2 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium at "The Pitt."

A triple overtime game, followed by short rest and a trek further north to Maine wasn't ideal for a Bearcats squad already limited to seven healthy scholarship players. But on Thursday, four Bing starters had to play 47+ minutes in the team's 88-82 3OT loss at New Hampshire. Senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. logged 54 minutes - the most of any player in the nation this season. 

After Saturday's game, the Bearcats will begin the 9+ hour bus ride and look to return to campus just ahead of the snowstorm headed to the area on Sunday.  

ABOUT MAINE
•    Coming off 52-49 home win over UAlbany Thursday night
•    In that game, trailed by nine at half but held Great Danes to just 16 second-half points
•    Black Bears have top-rated defense in AE (68.1 ppg. allowed) but have lowest-ranked offense (60.5 ppg.)
•    Lead conference in steals with 7+ per game
•    Picked to finish tied for second in the Coaches' Preseason Poll, with one first place vote
•    Placed third last year with a 10-6 mark (20-14 overall) and advanced to the championship game before falling 79-59 to Bryant
•    Graduated all-conference selections Kellen Tynes (2x AE Defensive Player of Year) and AJ Lopez
•    Have a famous brother in the lineup as NBA phenom Cooper Flagg's twin brother Ace is a freshman (5.1 ppg., 4.3 rpg. in 22 mpg.) 
•    Began season 0-11 but have gone 4-6 since

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MAINE
•    After a season split last year, the series remains tied 24-24
•    Each team won at home with the Black Bears winning 82-71 in Orono and Bing returning the favor in Vestal 71-69 13 days later
•    In that last game on Senior Day at the Events Center, Tymu Chenery drilled the game-winning 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to lift Binghamton. The game, in front of 2,394 fans, had a playoff atmosphere and featured eight second-half lead changes. The Bearcats trailed 69-66 with less than two minutes remaining before Wes Peterson, Jr. sank a pair of free throws with 57 seconds left to bring Binghamton within one, 69-68. After a Maine 3-point miss on the other end, Evan Ashe corralled the rebound and after a timeout, Peterson found Chenery on the right wing for the deciding bucket. Maine scrambled for a final shot in the closing seconds amid strong Bearcat defensive pressure and a last-gasp 3-pointer was off the front iron. The Bearcats trailed by 10 midway through the first half before closing the half with a 23-8 run to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room. 
•     Prior to last season's split, the teams had alternated sweeping season series in each of the last SIX years, with the Bearcats winning in 2019, 2022 and 2024 and Maine winning in 2018, 2020 and 2023 (minus 2021 COVID season when they didn't play each other)
•     Four of the last five games have been decided by four or fewer pts
•    In Orono, Maine leads 16-7
•    Last season at The Pitt, Maine shot 73% in the second half and closed the game with a 17-7 run. Despite owning a double-digit lead early in the second half, the Bearcats were held to just eight second-half field goals. 

BEARCATS COME UP SHORT IN TRIPLE OVERTIME AT UNH
On Thursday, Bing and UNH engaged in a 55-minute contest that wound up in the hosts' favor 88-82. It was the first triple overtime game for the Bearcats in 29 years and second-longest in school history. Binghamton led for more than 40 minutes and had an 18-point second-half cushion but came up short on the scoreboard and in the lineup, where three of its seven available scholarship players fouled out. Bing was one foul away from finishing the game with four players.  

PETERSON WITH CAREER GAME ON THURSDAY
Senior guard Wes Peterson, Jr. poured in a career-high 28 points in 54 minutes at UNH (most minutes any NCAA player has played in a game this season). Peterson had 10 points in the first half, tallied all seven Bing points in the first overtime and wound up with 13 points in the three extra periods. The big game gives Peterson 46 points in his last two games (18 vs. UMBC). It's his second 20+ point game of the season.