ORONO, Maine – After having off on Wednesday, the University of Maine men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday afternoon, when the Black Bears take on Binghamton. The opening tip against the Bearcats is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Vestal, New York. The America East matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN 3. On the radio waves Jim Chuchill can be heard on 96.1 FM WGUY, with audio streams available on goblackbears.com and the TuneIn radio app.
               

Maine Black Bears (3-17, 1-4 AE) at Binghamton Bearcats (5-3, 3-0 AE)
Date & Time	Saturday, Jan. 26 | 1:00 p.m.
Venue	Events Center (Vestal, N.Y.)
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	96.1 WGUY | GoBlackBears.com
Live Stats	Binghamton Live Stats Portal
Game Notes	UMaine (PDF)
Twitter	@BlackBearsMBB | #BlackBearNation | #AEHoops

 
LAST TIME OUT: For the fourth time in five America East matchups, the University of Maine Black Bears led at halftime. However, Stony Brook stormed back with a strong second half to steal a 64-61 contest at the Cross Insurance Center on Saturday afternoon. Terion Moss led the Black Bears (3-17, 1-4 AE) with 23 points, including an impressive shooting performance of 6-of-12 mark from 3-point range. He grabbed five boards, recorded three steals and did not commit a turnover in 40 minutes played. Sergio El Darwich shot 5-of-13 from the floor for 16 points, reaching double-figures in scoring for the eight-consecutive game. He also pulled down seven boards, while distributing five assists. Andrew Fleming cleaned the glass with a game-high nine rebounds, adding six points in the box score.
 
THE SERIES: Winners of the last three meetings in the series, Maine holds a 19-17 edge all-time against Binghamton. Both meetings were very competitive last season, with Maine pulling out a 81-79 contest in overtime in the last meeting on Feb. 3 2018, while the Black Bears earned a 76-73 victory in Vestal last season on Jan. 6. The two teams first met in 2002, as the Black Bears won the first three meetings before the Bearcats were victorious for seven of the next nine matchups. Since 2010, Maine is 13-5 against Binghamton. 
 
SCOUTING MAINE: Without its leading scorer, Maine held an 18-point second half lead to Stony Brook (15-3, 4-0 AE) in their last matchup, but the Seawolves outscored Maine 47-28 in the second half to take a close 64-61 contest at the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 19. The game marked the fourth time in five America East games that Maine held at least a nine-point lead at halftime. In the first half of America East games this season, the Black Bears are outscoring the opposition by a 153-123 mark. In total, Maine is outshooting its opponents from long distance (.377 to .336) and outrebounding (34.6 to 32.0) them, two categories the Black Bears struggled to do in its rigorous non-conference slate. Excluding the Vermont matchup in conference play, Maine is shooting above 40 percent from long range in four games (.404), as five Black Bears are averaging 8.3+ points per game against AE foes not named Vermont.
 
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON: Binghamton enters Saturday's game on a four-game losing skid after a 85-79 loss to UMass Lowell on Wednesday. The Bearcats led for 34 minutes in the contest, as Sam Sessoms recorded a season-high 32 points in the loss. The freshman is averaging 18.1 points per game, which ranks third in the America East. He shoots 45 percent from floor and 35.6 percent from long range to pace the Bearcat offense. Caleb Stewart and J.C. Show pour in 10.4 and 10.2 points per game apiece to supplement. The Bearcats have blocked the sixth most shots in the nation this season, averaging 5.5 swats per contest. Binghamton fouls the least of  all nine teams in the America East.
 
UP NEXT: The Black Bears remain on the road, heading down to UMass Lowell on Jan. 30. Maine completes the first half of its America East schedule at home on Sunday, Feb. 3 against UNH in 2019's first edition of the Border Battle.

-UMaine-