VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men's basketball (5-19, 1-8 America East) will look to split the season series with first-place NJIT (12-12, 7-2 AE) when the teams meet Saturday afternoon in Newark. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. at the Wellness and Events Center (WEC).

The Bearcats are coming off a 17-point loss to UMBC Thursday night in Baltimore. After Saturday's game, Binghamton will play four of its final six regular season games at home, where the team is 5-6 this season. 

ABOUT NJIT
• Hold a share of first thanks to three straight wins and a 7-2 AE mark
• Coming off dominating 81-56 home win over UML Thursday
• In that game, led 42-15 at half and held UML to 3-for-19 from 3-pt.
• Picked eighth of nine in America East Coaches' Preseason Poll
• Return two starters and nine lettermen from 6-25 team that went 3-13 in conference play
• Big graduation loss was Tariq Francis, who led entire America East in scoring (19.2 ppg.)
• Started season 3-7 but are 9-5 since Dec. 10

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NJIT
• Binghamton leads the all-time series, which began in 1983, 9-5
• NJIT has won two in a row, however, including a 73-65 win at the Events Center on Jan. 3 to open conference play
• In that most recent game five weeks ago, visiting NJIT used a 19-5 run to grab the lead midway through the second half. The Bearcats led by three at half and outshot NJIT for the game. But Bing was minus-11 on the glass and was held to just 20 points on six field goals in the deciding second half. Binghamton led 48-44 with 12:42 left before the Highlanders used the big run to build a 10-point cushion, 63-53, with 5:04 remaining. The Bearcats trimmed the margin to six twice in the final three minutes but couldn't draw closer. Two Bearcat starters fouled out. Junior guard Ryan Richardson led the Bearcats with 16 points – 11 in the first half. Junior forward Bryson Wilson added 15 points.
• Since the Highlanders joined the America East in 2021-22, Binghamton leads 8-3
• The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on the road
• In Newark, the Bearcats are unbeaten (7-0)  

SHORTHANDED BEARCATS LOSE AT UMBC
On Thursday at first-place UMBC, Binghamton trailed by 13 at half and with five healthy scholarship players, couldn't make a second-half run. Junior guard Jeremiah Quigley earned his fourth double-double of the season and wound up with game-highs of 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. It was his sixth 20+ point performance of the season and his 11 boards were a career high. Junior forward Bryson Wilson and graduate guard Jackson Benigni added 18 and 14 points, respectively. Binghamton had three players log 40 minutes and another go 39.

QUIGLEY LEADS AE IN ASSISTS, IS 6TH IN SCORING
Junior point guard Jeremiah Quigley continues to lead the America East in assists (6.3/game) and ranks seventh in scoring (13.8 ppg.). Quigley ranks 17th in the country in assists and has registered 8+ assists eight times this season. Former PG Symir Torrence averaged a school-record 7.2 assists in 2023-24 (5th in NCAA).  

BEVERLY RANKS THIRD IN AE IN EFFICIENCY
Junior forward Zyier Beverly ranks third among all America East players in Player Efficiency Rating (sports-reference.com). The rating is based on per-minute production and Beverly has a rating of 21.2 (league average is 15). He also ranks ninth in wins share (1.8). In traditional stats, Beverly ranks second in FG% (63%), fifth in blocks (1.5), eighth in rebounding (5.2) and 13th in scoring (12.2). He however missed the UMBC game with an injury.

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 14 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 on Jan. 24. In 16 of the 23 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. 5 IN NCAA IN POINTS VIA FREE THROW LINE
Led by junior guard Jeremiah Quigley (95 makes, 79%), 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 25.5% of their points coming at the line. As a team, Bing leads the America East in free throw makes (396) and percentage (75%).