Manhattan College (4-3) looks to come up to the rolling hills of Vestal Saturday to play the Binghamton University men’s basketball team (4-3).

The last time the two faced off was during the ESPN Bracket Buster Series last season in which Binghamton defeated the Jaspers, 66-56, without two of their starting players, including former Bearcat Lazar Trifunovic.

BU head coach Kevin Broadus hopes that this time it will be no different.

“[Manhattan] is playing very well this year,” he said. “They are shooting better and just working together in a way a team is supposed to work.”

In their last game, the men from the Big Apple lost to Rider University, a team Binghamton looks to defeat next Tuesday, Dec. 23.

The Manhattan lineup features sophomore Chris Smith, who has had the team-high in points in four of seven games. Smith averages 13 points a game and has a free throw percentage of .806.

Then there is Devon Austin who shoots at .429 and .350 from beyond the arc. The senior also leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game and chips in 14.7 points a game. The senior is also 17-19 in free throws this season.

“We’ve got to defend and just hold the [Jaspers] off,” Broadus said. “We have make sure we get rebounds, and we just have to carry our game and play hard.”

The Bearcats have junior DJ Rivera, who hammers in 20.3 points a game and has the lead in team points in all seven games. Meanwhile fellow Bearcat Malik Alvin has been averaging 13.5 points a game in the four games he has played this season, while senior Dwayne Jackson knocks in 11.7 points a game.

The Bearcats’ greatest weakness at this point has been shots from beyond the arc. In their last game against Bucknell, the team went 0-16 in 3-point shooting. In the game against Rutgers the Bearcats put in only four of 13 shots. Broadus says the team is working hard to rectify the setback.

“Practice, practice, practice,” he said. “Practice makes permanent. How you practice is how you perform. They will be able to get comfortable on 3-point shooting.”

The Bearcats meanwhile hope to have Chretien Lukusa back on the team for the showdown at the Events Center on Saturday. Sean Watson will be out until the end of this calendar year.

“Jan. 1 is the target date for Watson’s comeback,” Broadus said. “We will see how his recovery will go.”

The game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Events Center.