Reigning America East Player of the Year Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. (Our Savior New American School)) earns his first Player of the Week accolade of the season and the fifth of his career, while Vermont’s Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) garners the first Rookie of the Week award of his career. The awards were handed out on Monday (November 20).
Wilson scored 18 of his 33 points, the second-highest total in his career, in the first half as Albany toppled the Colonial Athletic Association’s Delaware. He added 10 rebounds and six assists with just one turnover in 38 minutes played. Wilson tallied his third career double-double and scored 30-plus for the sixth time as a collegian.
Vermont’s Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) made his first career start on Monday and helped the Catamounts knock off 14th-ranked Boston College on the road in convincing fashion, 77-63. The freshman scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and pulled down eight boards while tacking on two steals and a block. Trapani followed that up with his second start against Drexel, netting a game-high 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Upset Special: UVM Downs No. 14 BC
Behind 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals from sophomore Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke's School), the Catamounts shocked 14th-ranked Boston College. The victory marks the first win by an America East team over a ranked opponent since UVM defeated #11 Syracuse 60-57 in overtime of its 2005 first round NCAA Tournament game. Vermont outrebounded BC 58-39 and shot 49.2 percent from the floor, compared to the Eagles 30.2 percent. America East teams have handed Boston College its last two non-conference home losses, as Northeastern downed the Eagles, 72-67, back on Jan. 5, 2003.
Seawolves Get Marquee Win
Stony Brook recorded arguably its biggest win in program history on Friday night as the Seawolves went on the road and defeated the Big Ten's Penn State, 59-51. SBU's duo of Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) and Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) dropped in 21 and 22 points, respectively, to lead the Seawolves to an impressive victory. Stony Brook forced 21 Nittany Lions turnovers, converting those into 23 points.
Road Warriors
America East has made its presence felt around the NCAA in the early going by winning non-conference road games. Most notably was Vermont's victory at #14 Boston College, but road wins by Stony Brook (at Penn State and Colgate), Binghamton (at Niagara), Boston University (at Harvard), UMBC (at Hampton) and Maine (at St. Francis (N.Y.) have made national news of late. Eight of the league's 10 non-conference victories thus far have come away from home. As a whole, America East teams won just 10 non-conference games all of last season.
Second-Round Rematch
Vermont heads to East Lansing, Mich. Tuesday to take on Michigan State in a rematch of the 2005 NCAA Tournament second round game. In that contest, the Spartans outlasted the Catamounts, 72-61, ending Vermont's cinderella season that included an upset victory over Syracuse in the tournament's first round, 60-57 in overtime.
Crosstown Rivalry Renewed
Last season marked the first time since 1943-44 that crosstown rivals Boston University and Northeastern did not meet on the hardwood. The Terrier-Husky rivalry will be renewed at Northeastern's Matthews Arena on Tuesday night (7 p.m.) as NU hosts Boston U. The Terriers lead the all-time series 69-64.
Why Not Us, Part Deux
When Connecticut hosts Albany on Sunday, November 26 (5 p.m.) it will mark the rematch of last season's first round NCAA Tournament game. Playing under the "Why Not Us" mantra a season ago, Albany nearly became the first 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to knock off a 1 seed as the Great Danes gave Connecticut all it could handle at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Albany eventually fell to UConn, 72-59, but the Great Danes led by 12, 50-38, with under 12 minutes remaining in the ball game. Sunday's match-up can be seen live on FSNY.
Reed Returns to Form
After receiving a medical redshirt for the 2005-06 campaign, Maine's Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./St. Thomas More Prep) got off to a slow start to the 2006-07 season, but knocked the rust off in a big way at St. Francis (N.Y.). The 6-2 guard was shooting just 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from the field and 12.5 percent from three (2-for-16) through the Black Bears' first three games before going off in Maine's win over the Terriers. Reed connected on 10-of-19 field goal attempts, including 8-of-11 from beyond the arc, to score a game-high 30 points.
Boston's Youth Movement
With one of the least-experienced rosters in the nation, the youth movement at Boston University has begun. Only seven programs in all of Division I feature rosters with fewer career games played entering the 2006-07 season than the Terriers, with only five having less games started as well. Head coach Dennis Wolff returns a squad that has seen action in 144 Division I games, with a combined 50 career starts in those outings.
Four freshmen and a sophomore make up the current Terrier starting five. Led by Tyler Morris' (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) 14.7 ppg, Boston U.'s freshmen class is responsible for 73.3 percent of the Terriers offense.
Ticket Sales Begin December 1
Tickets for the 2007 America East Men's Basketball Championship on March 2-4 at Boston University's Agganis Arena go on sale on Friday, December 1. To purchase tickets visit www.AmericaEast.com.
Albany Tops Coaches’ Poll
Coming off its first-ever conference championship and subsequent berth to the NCAA Tournament, the University at Albany has been unanimously picked to win back-to-back America East men’s basketball titles, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The Great Danes received all eight possible first-place votes (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team) to pace the conference’s teams with 64 points. Picks two through five are just seven points apart as University of Maine (49 points), University of Vermont (48), University of New Hampshire (45) and Boston University (42 points with one first-place vote) are narrowly separated in the conference’s top five.
Binghamton University (30), which finished second in the regular-season last year, has been tabbed to finish sixth in 2006-07, while Stony Brook University (22), UMBC (22) and University of Hartford (9) round out the league’s nine-team poll.
Preseason All-Conference Squad
The reigning America East Player of the Year, Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows/Our Savior New American School) of Albany, and the league’s other returning first team all-conference selection, Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) of New Hampshire, highlight the 2006 America East Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. Wilson and Janev were unanimous selections as they both received all eight possible preseason votes from the league’s head coaches (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes).
Joining Wilson and Janev on the preseason squad is Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) of Maine, Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) of Stony Brook and Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s School) of Vermont. Four of the five preseason picks come from teams that are slated to finish in the top half of America East, according to the preseason coaches’ poll, with Beauford being the only exception as Stony Brook was picked 7th.
Lights, Camera, Action
America East announced its most comprehensive television schedule in history with more than 50 men’s and women’s basketball games slated for broadcast in 2006-07 (see following page for complete schedule). Included in the package is the America East Men’s Basketball Championship, which will air live on ESPN2 on March 10 at 12 noon. It marks the 19th-consecutive year that the championship game will appear on ESPN or ESPN2.
America East and ESPN Regional Television will team up to produce and distribute games throughout the America East geographic footprint, which includes several of the nation’s top 25 media markets including New York (No. 1), Boston (No. 5), Washington, D.C. (No. 8), Baltimore and Hartford. In addition, no fewer than 12 games will be included in the ESPN Full Court package, the subscription service provided by ESPN. The games will also be available on-line via video streaming at AmericaEast.com, through the conference’s multi-media partner, XOS Technologies.
Basketball Standards Set
In an effort to further the development of the league as a whole, America East has established a set of men’s and women’s basketball standards that will enhance the league’s premier sport by implementing competitive scheduling policies, radio and television requirements and a marketing fund aimed at boosting basketball awareness conference-wide. The standards are a product of the league’s annual Athletic Director’s meeting in June and were later approved by the conference’s nine member-institution Presidents.
With an emphasis on an opponents’ two-year average RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), the league’s new scheduling policy calls for member institutions to effectively schedule games versus tougher non-conference foes. Effective for the 2007-08 season, minimum requirements have been established to stress the importance of strength-of-schedule around the league, which should help bolster the conference’s overall RPI.
With more than 50 televised basketball games planned for the 2006-07 season, the increase in television coverage is the most significant and visible standard established. The comprehensive television schedule is more than double any previous season total in conference history. Likewise, every basketball game will now be available online via a streamed radio broadcast, with men’s games required as over-the-air broadcasts as well.
A number of new marketing initiatives have been set up for the 2006-07 season with none more beneficial than the marketing fund. Established for basketball marketing and promotions efforts, institutions shall apply to the conference office for use of this fund.
Among the conference’s other marketing initiatives are the promotion of America East Opening Night, a full-color, 24-page America East Basketball Fan Guide, a nightly fan handout, the recognition of America East Players of the Game following each men’s and women’s basketball contest and a re-designed website through a partnership with XOS Technologies.
Championship Returns to Boston
The America East Men’s Basketball Championship returns to Boston in 2007 as Boston University hosts the nine-team tournament on March 2-4 at Agganis Arena. The first round game will take place on Friday, March 2, followed by the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 3 and the semifinals on Sunday, March 4.
Tournament ticket packages are $30 for youth/students and $60 for adults. To purchase tickets call 617-353-GoBU or online at www.AmericaEast.com. To request media credentials for the conference’s premier event, email K.J. Cardinal (cardinal@americaeast.com).
New Website Debuts
America East and XOS Technologies have partnered to launch a new and improved www.AmericaEast.com. For this partnership, XOS will provide an online platform that includes website design, technology development and integration and E-commerce solutions. The newly launched site, which is aimed toward an interactive audience, will offer FREE online streaming of the America East television package, live championship statistics, an upgraded webstore and online auctions.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Albany Great Danes
UAlbany (2-0, 0-0 America East) is off to a 2-0 start for just the second time as a Division I program following an 87-67 victory against Delaware before 3,883 fans at SEFCU Arena on Nov. 17... The Great Danes defeated a Division I opponent by 20 or more points for the sixth time... UAlbany shot 52.9 percent from the field on 27-of-51 attempts... Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) scored 18 of his 33 points in the first half, and added 10 rebounds and six assists... Wilson, who posted his second-highest scoring total as a collegian, recorded his third career double-double, but first since Feb. 16, 2003... The 6-1 senior is No. 3 on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,589 points... Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) added 13 of his 17 points in the final period... Siggers, who also had 17 points in the opener against Bucknell, matched a career-high with three steals... Brian Connelly (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic) was one of several players who made a solid contribution off the bench... Connelly, a 6-8 sophomore, tied a career-best with six points and grabbed three rebounds... Carl Ross (Fresno, Calif./Washington Union) made his first appearance in a UAlbany uniform after transferring from San Joaquin Delta College... Ross had two points, two assists, two rebounds and three steals in 13 minutes... freshman center Brett Gifford (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) totaled three points, two rebounds and two blocks, plus made a key turnaround jumper in the lane with 3:47 remaining when the lead had been whittled down to 73-61... Brent Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) needs one 3-pointer to reach the 100-career mark ... the Great Danes will attempt to avenge a pair of last year’s losses this week against Sacred Heart (Nov. 21) and Connecticut (Nov. 26)... UAlbany and UConn staged a memorable battle in the 2006 NCAA Tournament’s first round at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center... UAlbany will meet the eighth opponent in its history ranked in the national top 25 in Connecticut (AP, #21).
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (1-1, 0-0 America East) evened its record with a road win at Niagara. In that game, junior guard Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Far Rockaway/Howard JC) scored a game-high 24 points, pulled down nine rebounds and added three assists in 27 minutes of action... Junior guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) and senior guard Troy Hailey (Hyattsville, Md./Montrose Christian) added 15 and 12 points respectively... Senior forward Duane James (Miami, Fla./S. Florida International/Miami Dade JC) contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench... Binghamton’s bench outscored the Purple Eagles 38-4... After struggling from the perimete in the team’s opener, the Bearcats nailed 8-of-20 from three-point range. That percentage 40 percent was actually higher than the team’s percentage from inside the arc (36 percent)... After reversing a loss to Niagara from last season, Binghamton will attempt to gain revenge when Mt. St. Mary’s visits the Events Center for Binghamton’s home opener Monday night... After that, the Bearcats will renew acquaintances with Cornell - the closest Division I program in terms of geographic location. Cornell hasn’t played Binghamton since the late 1980s, when Binghamton was still a Division III program. Head coach Al Walker coached at Cornell for three seasons (1993-96).
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (1-2, 0-0 America East) split a pair of games this past week, defeating Harvard (1-1) 78-74 before falling to Rider (1-1) 66-60... In the game against the Crimson, Boston U. hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 28 seconds of the game to pull out the team’s first win of the season... Boston U. had a nine-point lead with 4:02 remaining in the game, 71-62, after the Terriers forced a Harvard turnover on an inbounds play, and senior Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Notre Dame) converted a three-point play after being fouled on a lay up. But Harvard went on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to cut Boston U.’s lead to two, 71-69 with 1:23 remaining. Redshirt freshman Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) hit a pair of free throws at 28 seconds, 73-69. The Crimson’s Drew Housman matched those with two of his own followed by a pair of freshman Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) freebies with 16 seconds left to keep Boston U.’s lead at four, 75-71. Harvard’s Brad Unger hit a jumper with five seconds remaining. Morris and Housman each went one-for-two at the line to keep the Terriers ahead two, 76-74, with four seconds left, but red-shirt sophomore Ibrahim Konate (Bamako, Mali/Worcester Academy) coolly sunk a pair of free throws with one second remaining to seal the win for Boston U. after being fouled in a scrum for a rebound... Four Terriers (Lowe, Morris, freshman Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine/Deering) and Peterkin all scored in double figures for Boston U... Overall the Terriers made 13-of-14 free throws (92.9 percent) as a team... Against Rider, Lowe (13), Morris (13) and Peterkin (12) all scored in double figures... That was Boston U’s third straight loss to the Broncs... The two teams were back and forth for much of the game... There were four ties in the first five minutes before Boston U. went on a 14-5 run in the first half... The Terriers went cold offensively in the last five minutes of the game, not scoring a basket from 4:53 to 00:49... Boston U. returns to action on Nov. 21 at Northeastern at 7 p.m... Please note that is a time change from the published schedule.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (0-3, 0-0 America East) dropped a pair of games last week at Towson University and Army. The Hawks fell 78-64 at Towson despite making a school record 12 three-pointers and getting a career-high 15 points from freshman Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan)... At Army, Hartford couldn’t overcome poor shooting stretches in each half and lost 62-53... Senior Alex Zimnickas (Toronto, Ontario/Bishop Allen Academy/Love Christian Center) scored a career-high 16 points in the defeat to lead the Hawks... Senior Bo Taylor (Reston, Va./Bishop O’Connell/Paul VI Catholic/South Lakes) leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game. He has finished in double figures in each contest thus far and had a season-high eight rebounds at Towson... Sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin County) leads the team in both rebounding (4.7 rpg) and assists (3.0 apg)... Hartford will host Dartmouth College in its home opener on Saturday, November 25 at 2 p.m. The game will also be the home debut of first-year head coach Dan Leibovitz.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (1-3, 0-0 America East) went 1-2 on the week... The Black Bears dropped a pair of games in the College Basketball Experience Classic to Detroit and Idaho State, before rebounding for a 79-60 win over St. Francis on Saturday.... Against St. Francis, senior standout Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) scored a season-high 30 points... It is the fourth time in his career that he has poured in 30 or more points in a game.... He was 8-of-11 from behind the three-point arc... The eight three-point field goals were a career high... He had previously drained seven in a game on four different occasions... Reed also had nine rebounds in the game... Reed moves to 13th place on Maine’s all-time scoring list with 1,227 career points... Rookie Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine/Bangor) scored a career-high 24 points on Tuesday, November 14 against Idaho State in the CBE Classic... Socoby was 8-of-10 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from three-point range... It is the most points scored by a Maine freshman since Reed scored 30 during his rookie season... Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif./Nevada Union/Yuba City CC) was 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game on Saturday at St. Francis... Sheets leads Maine from the line this season, having converted 10-of-11 shots... The Black Bears play their home opener this week when they host the College of St. Joseph on Wednesday night... Maine will then host Robert Morris University on Sunday.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (1-2, 0-0 America East) snapped a nine-game road losing streak with a 56-49 win over host Hampton in the Pirates’ home opener on Saturday... Senior guard Chris Pugh (Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill) shook off a one-of-10 shooting effort in Tuesday’s loss vs. Loyola to post career highs in scoring (21 pts.) and rebounds (10) vs. Hampton... He also recorded four steals and his first career double-double... UMBC held Hampton to 27.3 percent shooting and allowed less than 50 points in a game for the first time since a 42-40 loss at Stony Brook on Feb. 5, 2005, a span of 36 games... Sophomore guard Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) added 11 points, while junior forward Chris Seaborn (Philadelphia, Pa./Bartram/New Mexico JC) was a perfect four-of-four from the field and scored six of his eight points in UMBC’s critical game-ending surge... Sophomore wing Thomas Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) earned his first career start vs. Hampton and contributed seven rebounds and a game-high five assists... UMBC’s 69-56 loss to Loyola in the home opener on Tuesday was highlighted by a crowd of 3,052 at the RAC Arena, the seventh-largest in school history... The Retrievers trailed by three points, at 43-40 with 10:33 to play, but Loyola hit 21 of 24 second-half free throws to extend the margin late in the game... Senior forward Mike Housman (Great Falls, Va./Langley) led UMBC with 16 points and eight rebounds... UMBC has scored 56 points in each of its first three games... The Retrievers will meet first-time opponents Lafayette (Tues., MASN-TV) and Michigan (Sat., ESPN360) in action this week.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (0-3, 0-0 America East) is still in search of its first win after posting an 0-2 record for the week... Junior forward Mike Christensen averaged 13.0 ppg, including a career-high 22 points in a 70-69 overtime loss to Franklin Pierce on Monday... Senior co-captain Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) leads the team in points, averaging 12.7 per game, while also compiling a team-high 19 rebounds (6.3 rpg)... Saturday’s contest against the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State University marked the return of senior co-captain Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter) who netted a game-high 18 points and tallied three steals in a 73-66 loss. Freshman forward Radar Onguetou (Yaound?, Cameroon/New Hampton School) collected a career-high 11 points with four rebounds, while sophomore guard Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass./Thayer Academy) posted nine points and three assists against CCSU. The Wildcats return to action this week with a visit to Robert Morris University on Tuesday (Nov. 21) and to Quinnipiac University on Sunday (Nov. 26).
Stony Brook Seawolves
The Seawolves (2-2, 0-0 America East) went 1-2 on the week as the Seawolves picked up arguably the biggest win in program history at Penn State on Friday evening. On Monday night, the Cornell Big Red got the best of the Seawolves as Cornell won, 76-72... Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) tied a career-high in points with 24, 15 of which came in the first half. Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) added 22 in the loss... In State College, the combination of Lucas and Beauford was lethal as the two combined for 43 of Stony Brook’s 59 points... Emanuel Neto (Luanda Angola/San Jacinto) was a force in the paint in the game as he had seven points, seven rebounds, and four blocks... The story of the game was Stony Brook’s defense, which forced the Nittany Lions into 21 turnovers and turned them into 23 points... Penn State was just 5-26 (19 percent) from downtown in the game and shot 35 percent from the field overall in the contest... Mike Popoko (Baltimore, Md./The McDonogh School) played the first home game of his senior year and pumped in 20 points in front of the home crowd as Stony Brook dropped a 87-76 decision to Navy... Navy, who shot 58 percent from the floor and was 15 of 20 from behind the arc, held Beauford to 13 points in the game... Lucas also finished with 20 points in the game. Stony Brook is next to action on Saturday, November 25, at Columbia. Tip off is slated for 2 p.m.
Vermont Catamounts
The Catamounts (2-2, 0-0 America East) went 1-1 on the week... Vermont shocked #14 Boston College on the road on Monday night, winning convincingly 77-63... The reigning America East Rookie of the Year, Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s) led the Catamounts with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds to give UVM only its second-ever victory over a ranked opponent... Senior Chris Holm (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) posted his first double-double of the year in the contest with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) added 13 and eight... The Catamounts out-rebounded the bigger Boston College squad 48-39 and held the Eagles to 30.2 percent shooting for the game... Vermont’s only other win over a ranked opponent came in 2005 when the Cats defeated #11 Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Championship... Vermont opened the home portion of its schedule with a 59-46 loss to Drexel on Saturday... Trapani led all scorers with 13 and he added a career-high nine boards in the loss... Holm had his third straight double-digit rebounding performance with a game-high 10... 12 different Catamounts have seen action in the first half in three of Vermont’s four games this season... Vermont is shooting 50 percent from three in its two wins (13-26), but only 21 percent (6-29) in its two losses... UVM travels to play at Michigan State and Wagner this week, as seven of its first eight games are on the road.