Bulldogs head to Binghamton Saturday

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: AmericaEast.tv
Listen: WOON 1240 AM
Live Stats: bryantbulldogs.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday

THE PARTICULARS
Bryant returns to the court after a seven-day holiday break to take on Binghamton University at the Events Center Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bearcats and the second at the Division I level. The teams played a home-and-home series during the 2000-01 campaign, with Binghamton visiting Smithfield on Nov. 19, 2000 and the Bulldogs returning the trip on Jan. 29, 2001. Bryant came out on top in both outings, taking a 61-50 win at home in the second game of the season before fighting to an 89-81 overtime victory in Vestal, N.Y., two months later. In the teams' last meeting, Bryant topped the Bearcats, 78-56, at home in the Chace Athletic Center on Dec. 8, 2012.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Four players average double figures for Binghamton, paced by 16.5 points per game from Jordan Reed. Marlon Beck, Nick Madray and Karon Waller chip in 11.9, 11.5 and 11.0 points each time out, while Reed also leads the team in rebounds (9.2 rpg), steals (16) and blocks (8). The Bearcats have struggled so far on the 2013-14 season, earning just a pair of victories through their first 11 games. Binghamton has topped Cornell and fellow Northeast Conference member Mount St. Mary's, but has yet to win at home in the Events Center. As a team, the Bearcats average just 63.3 points per game and are allowing opponents to score nearly 78 each time out.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. BINGHAMTON
Nine current Bulldogs appeared in last season's bout against the Bearcats. Current junior Dyami Starks paced the game with 25 points, and Bryant returns the contributors of 70 of the team's 78 points scored last season.

BRYANT vs. THE AMERICA EAST
Saturday's matchup marks the last of three contests against members of the America East in 2013-14. The Bulldogs defeated the University of Vermont, 87-64, in the team's home opener Nov. 16 and topped the University of New Hampshire later that month on the road (60-55, Nov. 24). Bryant enters the game 4-2 against the conference at the Division I level and 6-2 against current America East Conference members all time. In total, Bryant has met up with Binghamton (3-0), New Hampshire (2-0), Vermont (1-0) and Albany (0-2) since the 2000-01 season.

STARKS EARNS THIRD CHOICE HOTELS/NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
For the third time this season, Bryant University junior guard Dyami Starks has been named the Choice Hotels/Northeast Conference Player of the Week. Starks shined under the bright lights of the World's Most Famous Arena, displaying a flair for the dramatic and penchant for long distance bombing Saturday night when Bulldog faithful took over Madison Square Garden against University of Delaware in the BlackRock Gotham Classic finale.

Starks matched his career high and posted a game-best 35 points, highlighted by a remarkable 8-for-9 shooting performance from long range despite a 108-107 overtime setback to a Blue Hen team expected to contend for the CAA title. He also added a season-high eight rebounds and three assists. Starks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to twice regain the lead for the Bulldogs in the latter stages of the contest, then assisted on an Alex Francis layup with 0.8 seconds remaining that sent the game to overtime. The MSG outing marked his NEC-high fourth 30-point game of the season, and he set a new personal-best and a Division I program record for single-game triples. His eight trifectas also tied for the NEC single-game high this season.

The Duluth, Minn., native currently leads the NEC and ranks 11th nationally with 22.8 points per game. Starks, a three-time Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week this season who was also named the College Sports Madness NEC Player of the Week, is also the league leader with 3.58 treys per contest. Starks needs just 91 points to hit 1,000 on his career.

TURN OF THE CENTURY
The Bulldogs set a Division I program record against Delaware at Madison Square Garden, scoring 107 points despite the overtime loss. The loss to the Blue Hens also marked the first time in the program's DI history that both teams scored 100 points in a game. Bryant hit the 100-point mark for the first time since Jan. 10, 2013, when it put up 103 against Quinnipiac.

IN THE HEN HOUSE
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs drained a season-high 37 field goals last Saturday against the Blue Hens, tying the program's Division I record. Bryant also put up a season-most 65 attempts in the contest and shot with incredible accuracy from long range. In fact, the team's 61.1 percent accuracy from 3-point land bested its mark from the free throw line, as the Bulldogs finished the game at just 59.5 percent from the charity stripe (22-37).

GIMME A BREAK
After playing five games in 11 days from Dec. 4-14, the Bulldogs will hit the hardwood for just the second time in 14 days Saturday against Binghamton.

A STARK DIFFERENCE
Bulldog leading scorer Dyami Starks averages 22.8 points per outing and 3.58 triples per game this season, ranking 11th and ninth in the nation, respectively, and tops in the league circuit in both categories in the latest NCAA and NEC rankings (Dec. 23). Starks already has seven 20-point games and a quartet of 30-point performances to his name in 2013-14 and also sits in the conference's top-10 in free throw percentage (.877, first, 53rd nationally), 3-point percentage (.406, seventh, 65th nationally), steals (1.17, 10th) and minutes played (36.50, first, 21st nationally).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With the season's first half winding down, senior forward Alex Francis has already broken into the top five in the program's list of greatest scorers as well as its list of top rebounders. He enters Saturday's contest with 1,713 career points — good for fifth all-time and just three points away from displacing No. 4 on the list, Paul Berlo (1,715 points). After eight boards last Saturday against Delaware, Francis moved up to fourth all-time among the program's top career rebounding leaders and needs just 18 more to take sole possession of No. 3 on that list. Francis ranks in the program's top-10 in scoring average, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws made and rebounding average as well.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis continues to rocket up the NEC career scoring chart and enters play this week with 1,713 points, tops among active players in the conference and 23rd all-time. He could enter the top-20 in his next game, needing to pass Mount's Jeremy Goode (1,716), Quinnipiac's James Johnson (1,729) and CCSU's Corsley Edwards (1,731).

Francis is also 18th on the league's all-time rebounding list and has pulled down 811 in his career. He is one of 13 players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 rebounds, and just five players in the league annals to reach 1,700 points and 800 boards in his career. The New York City product has a chance to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Francis currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (17.2, sixth), rebounding (6.4, third), field goal percentage (.570, 1st) and blocks (1.0, ninth).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA rankings, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently sits among the top active NCAA Division I players in numerous categories. As of December 22, the senior is ranked third in career field goals (currently 652), fifth in career double-doubles (27), seventh in total rebounds (811), eighth in total points (1,713), 12th in career scoring average (16.5 ppg), 14th in free throws made (396) and 26th in rebounding average (7.8). He is one of just five active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 50th in field goal percentage this season, shooting at a .570 clip so far in 2013-14.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Bryant made its way into the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the first time this season last week, receiving five votes. The Bulldogs continue to garner votes, getting four this week. Last season, Bryant spent seven weeks in the rankings, climbing as high as No. 17 on Jan. 21.

1,000 REASONS...
After leading the Bulldogs in nearly every offensive statistic and setting the program's Division I mark for points in a season last year, junior sharpshooter Dyami Starks could become the third player in a two-year span to join the 1,000-point club. He enters Saturday's contest with 909 career points, 88 of those coming during his freshman campaign at Columbia (2010-11). Starks will need to average just 5.1 points per game — well below both his Bryant and career scoring averages — to eclipse the milestone by the end of the 2013-14 regular season.

FOR THE 100TH TIME...
Starting forward Alex Francis appeared in his 100th-career game Dec. 7 against North Dakota State, the most of any player on the Bulldog bench. Classmate and frontcourt counterpart Claybrin McMath needs just two more games to join him, while starting point guard Corey Maynard is nine appearances away from the mark.

A CONCENTRATED EFFORT
The Bulldogs have certainly added depth in 2013-14, but the Bryant bench has yet to prove it on the scoreboard. Against Division I opponents this season, just four Bulldog starters — juniors Dyami Starks and Joe O'Shea and seniors Alex Francis and Corey Maynard — are responsible for nearly 84 percent of Bryant's total scoring (742 of 886 points). If you go outside the starting lineup, Bryant's bench has contributed just 123 points so far this season (13.9 percent). Leading the way with 273 points, Starks alone accounts for more than 30 percent of the team's total offense.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the sixth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM and online at bryantbulldogs.com. Veteran sportscaster Jon Wallach of 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston returns to call the action as the voice of the Bulldogs, alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.

UP NEXT
Bryant returns home to close out the 2013 calendar year with a bout against Patriot League powerhouse Lehigh University at the Chace Athletic Center on Monday, Dec. 30. The 7 p.m. tipoff will be broadcast live on the Ocean State Network in Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut, as well as online at CoxSportsOnline.com and NECFrontRow.com.