VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball looks to close out January with its fifth home win of the season when the Bearcats (4-18, 0-7 America East) host defending champion Bryant (6-14, 2-4 AE) on Thursday. The teams, right next to each other in the standings, close out the first half of conference play at 6:07 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. 

The Bearcats are coming off a tough New England road trip that featured a triple overtime loss at UNH and a follow-up defeat in frigid Maine two days later. 

After the Bryant game, Binghamton begins February by playing four-of-six on the road. 

ABOUT BRYANT
• Reigning champions sit at 6-14, 2-4 AE after 62-52 home loss to Vermont on Saturday
• Picked to finish sixth in Coaches' Preseason Poll after suffering heavy turnover (including coach) from team that went 14-2 in AE play (23-12 overall) and won regular season and tourney titles
• Had to replace entire starting lineup, including Player of Year Earl Timberlake, Newcomer of the Year Barry Evans and first team all-conference guard Rafael Pinzon
• First-year coach Jamion Christian has assembled 13 new players and a large roster of 19 players, including five internationals
• Posted conference wins over Maine (56-51) and UMBC (79-74) but lost to UMass Lowell, UAlbany and NJIT
• Are 5-2 at home but only 1-11 on road this season
• Bryant is the lowest-scoring team (AE play) in the league (58 ppg.) but is holding opponents to 69 pts (5th) on 43% shooting (4th)

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BRYANT
• Bryant leads 8-2 and has won won four straight and five of six
• The Bulldogs swept the season series last year, winning 83-69 in Smithfield and 78-71 at the Events Center
• In Vestal, Bryant leads 3-2
• In the last meeting at the Events Center last Feb. 8, first-place Bryant made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 18 seconds to hold off Binghamton. The loss in front of a season-high 3,018 fans, snapped the Bearcats' three-game win streak. Binghamton stood toe-to-toe with the league-leading Bulldogs in a game that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes. But Bryant used an 18-4 run to erase a five-point Binghamton second-half lead and the Bearcats couldn't keep up the scoring pace down the stretch. Bryant entered the game averaging a league-leading 83 points.
• The last Binghamton win in the series was an 84-67 home victory on Jan. 28, 2023 — almost three years ago to the date.

BEARCATS ENDURE TOUGH NEW ENGLAND TRIP
Ahead of the snowstorm last weekend, the Bearcats endured a tough two-game, four-day road trip to UNH and Maine. 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. Two days later, the depleted lineup couldn't solve Maine's 3-2 zone and was outscored by 15 points in the second half of a 79-63 loss. Even the Bearcats' bus had a rough trip north, refusing to start on the frigid Saturday morning in Orono, which necessitated rental vans to get from Bangor to Maine's campus. A new fuel filter got the team on the highway postgame for the 9+ hour return.  

PETERSON WITH CAREER GAME AT UNH
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.  

QUIGLEY CONTINUES TO LEAD AMERICA EAST IN ASSISTS, IS 8TH IN SCORING
Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley continues to lead the America East in assists (6.3/game) and ranks eighth in scoring (13.1 ppg.). Quigley ranks 20th in the country in assists and has registered 8+ assists seven times this season. Former PG Symir Torrence averaged a school-record 7.2 assists in 2023-24 (5th in NCAA).  

WALK A SEASON IN OUR SHOES
The shorthanded Bearcats will get no sympathy from opponents but to appreciate the unprecedented injuries, each opponent should:
1. Remove 46% of its roster (6 of 13 scholarship players)
2. Make sure to take away three starters
3. Wipe out team's top perimeter defender (Evan Ashe)
4. Remove the consensus all-conference center (Demetrius Lilley), who led AE in rebounds and was No. 2 in scoring before injury
5. Use 12 different starting lineups with no player starting all of them
6. Use a 7-8 player rotation for final 2+ months of season
7. Don't practice 5-on-5 after August because of volume of injuries

BALANCED SCORING
Binghamton had five players reach double digits at Maine. In 16 of the 22 games, the Bearcats have had at least three players in double figures. Six different players have had the team-high in points and for the season, six players are averaging 9.0+ points. Last season, the team had four players at 9.0 ppg. and above.

BEARCATS RANK NO. 6 IN NCAA IN POINTS VIA FREE THROWS
Led by junior guard Jeremiah Quigley (87 makes, 77%), Binghamton is getting to the free throw line and converting points. The Bearcats rank six in the entire nation in percentage of points from free throws with 25.9% of their points coming at the line. As a team, Bing leads the America East in free throw makes (369) and percentage (75%).