Boston U’s Kevin Gardner (Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula) and Albany’s Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) share this week’s America East Player of the Week honors, while Maine’s Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon/Redemption) earns Rookie of the Week honors. The awards were announced Monday (January 30).
Gardner recorded back-to-back double-doubles, with 10 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s 54-40 win over Hartford and 16 points and 10 boards in Sunday’s 53-51 loss to Hartford. They were the fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season for Gardner and he now has six for his career. Against Maine, Gardner’s 16 points were a game high, as he connected on 8-of-14 from the field. He had six of his points in the final six minutes, as the Terriers attempted in vain to rally against the Black Bears. It was the first back-to-back double doubles by a Terrier since Ryan Butt accomplished the feat Dec. 28-29, 2001 (17 points, 15 rebounds at Wisconsin Green-Bay; 16 points, 11 rebounds vs. Cal Irvine).
Siggers was key in a pair of America East victories last week that moved Albany into first place in the standings. He made a game-winning eight-foot baseline jumper with six seconds left in a 52-51 win at Binghamton as his team rallied from 11 down with 4:22 to play. Against UMBC, he poured in a career-high 18 points, all in the second half, as Albany reversed a seven-point, final-period deficit in a 62-50 triumph.
Tchekane Bofia averaged 9.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg this past week. He recorded his third career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Stony Brook and was also credited with two blocked two shots. He followed that up with six points and six rebounds at Boston University.
AMERICA EAST NOTES:
Albany gets BracketBusters: The University at Albany men’s basketball team has been selected to play a nationally-televised game in the fourth annual BracketBusters presented by eBay. The Great Danes will travel to Richmond, Va. to face Colonial Athletic Association opponent Virginia Commonwealth University. The game will be aired live on an ESPN network (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN 360) with game time, date and programming information to be determined.
Close competition: Of the 39 America East men's basketball games that have been played this season, 19 have been decided by five points or less (three by 5, two by 4, five by 3, four by 2 and five by 1). Vermont has played the most games (six) decided by five or fewer points (2-4), while Albany has the best record (3-1) in those games.
A wild one: In last week’s America East TV Game, Binghamton needed two overtimes to defeat Vermont, 61-60, in front of a raucous crowd of 4,450 at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. Senior forward Sebastian Hermenier (Rockville, Md./St. John’s Prospect/Magruder/Maret) made 4-of-4 free throws in the second overtime and sank 17-of-20 for the game, lifting the Bearcats to the victory. Binghamton’s season-high crowd was treated to the longest game in the program’s Division I tenure and longest home game since a double overtime win over Hamilton in 1993-94 at West Gym. An overflow student crowd of 1,332 - the most ever at Events Center - was boisterous throughout the game. The contest also marked the first ever double overtime America East TV game. Log on to AmericaEast.com to watch an archive of the television event.
Mr. Double Double: Hartford’s Kenny Adeleke (Queens, N.Y./Paul Robeson/Hofstra) has been a force in the paint so far this season for the Hawks. The 6-9 forward has tallied 12-straight double-doubles and 16 total on the season. He is currently leading the league in scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (12.3 rpg), ranks second in blocks (1.89 bpg) and field goal percentage (58.0 percent).
America East TV Game: The 2005-06 men’s America East TV schedule continues this week as Albany hosts Boston University on Saturday, February 4 in a basketball doubleheader. Both the women’s game (5 p.m.) and the men’s game (7:30 p.m.) will be featured on TV as part of Albany’s winter homecoming, Big Purple Growl. Rodger Wyland (play-by-play) and Ron Perry (color analyst) will call the game live on New England Sports Network (NESN) and Time Warner Cable (Albany). The game can also be seen live on the internet through America East All Access. A live streaming feed of the game will be posted once made available. Log on to www.AmericaEast.com on Saturday to follow the action.