Albany's Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y. (Our Savior New American School)) averaged 24.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 4.7 apg en route to being named America East Player of the Week for the third time this season, while Boston University's Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) and Vermont's Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) share week 10 Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards were announced on Monday (January 15).
Wilson notched the third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Great Danes' 65-61 victory at UMBC. The 6-1 guard netted the go-ahead free throws with 31.2 seconds remaining to secure the victory. Wilson followed that up with 31 points, including 20 in second half, in an 82-73 win against Maine. He made consecutive 3-pointers to put his team ahead, 68-64, with less than eight minutes left. Wilson closed out the week with 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in a road loss at Vermont. He became the school’s all-time scorer with 1,861 points, breaking a record that had stood since 1959.
Lowe averaged 15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 spg and 2.0 apg as he led Boston U. to a perfect 3-0 week in conference play. The 6-2 guard was the team-leading scorer in all three games as he tied his career high with seven rebounds in each outing. Lowe's lay up with just over two minutes remaining in the second half gave Boston U. the lead for good against Maine.
Trapani averaged 14.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg as the Catamounts improved to a league-best 4-0 in conference play. The 6-7 forward matched a career-high with 25 points in a road victory against UMBC after going 6-for-6 from the floor in the second half and tacking on six boards and two blocks in only 27 minutes of action. Against Albany Trapani was solid with nine points, seven rebounds and three steals, as he also hit a three early in the second half that broke a 41-41 tie and gave the Catamounts the lead for good.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
AE Jumps Three Spots In RPI Report
The Collegiate Basketball News RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) Report was released on Monday (Jan. 8) and America East jumped three spots to the 20th-ranked league in the nation. Vermont moved up 23 spots and currently sit as the conference's highest ranked team at 97.
? As a conference, the league ranks 20th in the country, which is seven spots higher than last season's final RPI of 27, and 10th among other mid-major leagues. Most notably, America East ranks ahead of the MAAC (25th overall/15th among mid-majors) and the Ohio Valley (27th/17th).
? Six of nine America East members boast higher RPIs than they finished with a season ago.
? Four America East members have made significant jumps in the RPI compared to the 2005-06 campaign. See the list below that compares last year's final RPI with this year's current RPI and the number of spots each school has moved up.
School 2005-06 2006-07 Increase
Vermont 212 97 +115
Stony Brook 310 213 +97
UMBC 297 203 +94
Hartford 268 190 +78
Cats Find a Way, Remain Purr-fect
The only thing more impressive than Vermont's (12-5, 4-0 America East) perfect start to conference play is the variety of ways the Catamounts have been able to win. UVM boasts a league-high +8.0 rebounding margin in conference games and is limiting league foes to 19.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, but all three wins on the week featured a different leading scorer for the Catamounts and and a unique key to victory.
? UVM needed a three-pointer at the buzzer by Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) to defeat New Hampshire on Tuesday, 62-60, at Lundholm Gymnasium. The three was the first of Blakely's career as Vermont came back from a 15-point second-half deficit to record the win. The Catamounts, who were led by Mike Trimboli's (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s School) 13 points, turned the ball over a season-low six times.
? Vermont shot a conference season-high 60.4 percent from the field to cruise to an 83-63 win at UMBC on Thursday. Freshman Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) poured in 25 points to lead the Catamounts to victory.
? UVM's most impressive win on the week came on Saturday as the Catamounts defeated defending conference champion Albany, 75-66, in front of a sellout crowd of 3,266 at Patrick Gym. Vermont held the Great Danes to 1-for-11 shooting from three-point range, while this time Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) led UVM in scoring with 19 points.
Wilson Becomes Top Dog
Albany's Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) became the school’s all-time leading scorer on a driving one-hander in the lane with 18:55 remaining against Vermont on Saturday. Wilson, who has 1,861 points, eclipsed a mark held by Gary Holway for nearly 48 years.
Catamounts, Terriers Go 3-0
In a week that featured 12 league games, Vermont (12-5, 4-0 America East) and Boston University (6-10, 3-1) each tallied a flawless 3-0 mark in conference play to secure spots atop the league standings. The Catamounts remain the conference's only unbeaten squad, while the Terriers are tied for second in the America East standings with Hartford (9-7, 3-1).
AE-TV Schedule Continues
Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Tom Herrion (color analyst) will call the action live from Alfond Arena on Tuesday night as the Maine Black Bears play host to the UMBC Retrievers in an America East Television game at 7 p.m. The action can be seen live on NESN and MASN with streaming video available through America East Zone on the conference's website www.AmericaEast.com.
Tale of Two Halves
Despite being 1-4 in America East play, Maine has held halftime leads in all five conference games this season. The Black Bears are outscoring league foes by 3.4 ppg in the first half, while being outscored by 6.0 ppg in the second half. The only league game in which Maine has tallied more points than its opponent in the second half is also the only conference game the Black Bears have won.
One's Not Enough
Three of the top four individual scoring performances on the week were not enough to lead those respective teams to victories. On Saturday, Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) poured in a career-high 34 points at Vermont, but the Great Danes fell to the Catamounts, 75-66. New Hampshire's Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) went an improbable 11-for-11 from the field, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, en route to 31 points, but the Wildcats lost to Vermont, 62-60. Likewise, Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./St. Thomas More Prep) tallied 29 points with six three pointers in Maine's loss to Boston University 65-63.
Non-Conference Slate Nears End
Five of the league's nine teams have already completed the regular-season non-conference portion of their 2006-07 schedules. Vermont (8-5), Binghamton (7-5), Stony Brook (5-7), UMBC (4-9) and Boston University (3-9) have all wrapped up their non-league slates, while Albany (7-5), Hartford (6-6), Maine (5-7) and New Hampshire (3-9) all have one regular-season non-conference tilt remaining. Below is a list of the non-league games that remain.
Regular-Season Non-Conference Games
J 16 New Hampshire at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
J 31 Hartford at Boston College, 7 p.m. (NESN)
F 17 Albany at ESPN BracketBusters, TBA
F 17 Maine at ESPN BracketBusters, TBA
Conference Climb
With just four regular-season non-conference games remaining, America East squads have sailed past last year's non-conference win total. America East teams are currently 48-61 (.440) in 2006-07, compared to just 33-69 (.324) a season ago. The conference is on pace to register 50 regular-season non-conference victories this campaign, which would be the most since the league recorded 52 in 1994-95 when there were also nine teams in the league.
Above .500
Four league teams are currently .500 or better in non-conference play on the 2006-07 season. Last season, only Albany (8-8) posted a non-conference mark of .500 or better.
Road Warriors
The biggest component to America East's non-conference success this season has been the ability of league teams to win on the road. Conference teams have combined to win 29 non-conference road games in 2006-07, compared to just nine a season ago. The most notable road victory to date was Vermont's victory at #14 Boston College, but the overall road successes of the league could loom large when the league's automatic qualifier is seeded for the NCAA Tournament and for other postseason candidates as well.
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/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.
Championship Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets for the 2007 America East Men's Basketball Championship on March 2-4 at Boston University's Agganis Arena are on sale now. To purchase tickets visit www.AmericaEast.com.
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).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Albany Great Danes
Albany (10-7, 3-2 America East) has the same overall record after 17 games for the second straight year... The Great Danes are allowing 61.9 points in their wins as opposed to a 79.7 average in their losses... Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) became the school’s all-time leading scorer on a driving one-hander in the lane with 18:55 remaining against Vermont on Jan. 13... Wilson, who has 1,861 points, eclipsed a mark held by Gary Holway for nearly 48 years... Holway, who is now 75 years old and still playing in 3-on-3 tournaments, totaled 1,851 points from 1955-59... Wilson owns a six-game, double-figure scoring streak, and is averaging 21.3 ppg in that stretch... He posted the third-highest single-game total of his career with 31 points against Maine on Jan. 11, the seventh time he has toppled the 30-point mark as a collegian... Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) recorded the third-best scoring mark in UAlbany’s Division I history with 34 points against Vermont on Jan. 13... Siggers, who had 22 points at halftime, and extended his double-digit scoring streak to five straight, made 14-of-24 from the floor... Brian Lillis (Urbandale, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling) struck for 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks in an 82-73 win against Maine... The Great Danes scored 80 or more points for the ninth time in conference regular-season play since joining the league in 2001-02, plus shot a season-best 53.8 percent from the field... Lillis, a 6-5 junior, has become the 21st player in school history to reach the 100-career steal mark... Jimmie Covington (Chicago, Ill. /Morgan Park) equaled career-highs in points (7) and minutes played (24) in a 65-61 win at UMBC on Jan. 9... UAlbany has won 11 of its last 12 home dates at SEFCU Arena... The Great Danes are averaging 2,975 fans at home, nearly 1,000 ahead of last year’s pace.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (8-9, 1-4 America East) dropped all three games on the week and has now lost five of its last seven games after toppling Miami on December 20... After averaging more than 73 ppg during a seven-game stretch, the Bearcats have been held to 56 ppg in their last three - all losses... During the week, Binghamton's guards shot just 33 percent from the floor, including 25 percent from beyond the arc (17-for-67)... As a team, the Bearcats converted just 55 percent from the free throw line... Freshman forward Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Secondary Railway Technical School) averaged 7.0 rpg during the week and stands sixth in the conference for the season... Binghamton still has four players averaging double-figure points and is scoring 69.3 ppg... Despite having students on campus for only three of eight home games, Binghamton still ranks second in the America East in attendance with a 2,926 average.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (6-10, 3-1 America East) is on a three-game win streak after posting wins against Maine (65-63), Binghamton (61-49) and New Hampshire (53-29) last week... The Terriers’ win over Maine on Jan. 9 marked head coach Dennis Wolff’s 100th career win in Case Gym... He now has a 101-36 record (.737) there... Maine held a 36-33 halftime lead, but freshman Corey Lowe’s (Newton, Mass./Newton North) lay up at 17:31 in the second half gave Boston U. the lead for good, 41-39... Four Terriers scored in double figures for the second straight game... Lowe led Boston U. with 17 points, followed by freshman Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont./Iroquois Ridge) and senior Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Notre Dame) each with 13, and redshirt freshman Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who added 11... Brittain totaled six rebounds and a career-high four assists... In the win over Binghamton, Boston U., the top scoring defense in the conference coming into the game, held the Bearcats, the top scoring offense in the league, to a season-low in 49 points... Binghamton is the seventh team the Terriers have held to its lowest point total of the year this season... The Terriers shot 50.0 percent from the floor (14-for-28) and from three (6-for-12) in the first half... Peterkin tallied his second career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds... The senior was also active on the defensive end, blocking three shots and drawing multiple charges... The back-to-back wins to start the week were the first consecutive victories for the Terriers this year... In the third victory of the weekend against New Hampshire, Boston U. never trailed and the game was tied only once, 2-2, at 17:28 in the first half... The Wildcats’ 29 points were the fewest by a Terrier opponent since Hartford’s 22 on Jan. 6, 2005... The Boston U. defense limited UNH’s two top scorers to five points apiece... The Wildcats scored 13 points in the first half; the last time a Boston U. opponent scored 13 in a period was on March 5, 2005, when Maine recovered to win 47-45 in the first round of the America East Tournament... In last Saturday’s win over UNH, Boston U. played its best field goal defense of the year, limiting the Wildcats to 21.3 pct shooting ? the lowest by a Terrier opponent since the Hartford Hawks shot 16.7 pct on Jan. 6, 2005... The Terriers also out-rebounded UNH 46-28... The Terriers travel to Stony Brook to play the Seawolves at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (9-7 overall, 3-1 America East) split games against New Hampshire and Stony Brook last week, dropping a 72-59 decision to the Wildcats before rebounding for a 50-47 win over the Seawolves... Sophomore Jaret Von Rosenberg (Mission, Texas/Sharyland/Collin County) scored a career- and game-high 21 points against Stony Brook as the Hawks erased an 11-point second half deficit... Von Rosenberg scored 18 points in the second half, including 13 of Hartford's final 15 points of the game... Senior Bo Taylor (Reston, Va./Paul VI Catholic/Bishop O'Connell/South Lakes) also finished in double figures with 13 points... Hartford's five starters accounted for all 50 points... Freshman Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) led the Hawks with 16 points at New Hampshire... The Wildcats hit a season-high 14 three-pointers and shot 52 percent for the game, including 48 percent from three-point range... Taylor also finished in double figures after sitting for most of the first half with foul trouble, going 7-of-7 from the floor for all of his 14 points in the second half... Taylor leads the team in scoring at 14.5 ppg while Zeglinski is also averaging double figures (12.9 ppg)... Sophomore Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 rpg... Hartford will play three games this week beginning Monday, January 15 at home against Binghamton at 7 p.m... The Hawks will then play road games at UMBC on Thursday, January 18 at 7 p.m. and then at Albany on Sunday, January 21 at 2 p.m.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (6-11, 1-4 America East) was 1-2 on the week... Maine dropped games at Boston University and Albany before earning its first conference win of the season on Saturday at home against Binghamton... Chris Bruff (Bloomfield, Conn./Northwest Catholic) was outstanding on the week for Maine... He averaged 17.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg... Bruff shot 61.1 percent from the floor on the week... Bruff recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Binghamton... Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) had 29 points at Boston University... He moved into seventh place on Maine's all-time scoring list on the week and currently has 1401 career points... Reed also moved into fifth place all alone on the America East career three-point leaders list with 280... He also moved to 12th place on Maine's all-time rebounds list with 651... Despite being 1-4 in America East play, the Black Bears have held the lead at halftime of all five conference games...The Black Bears have led at the half in 11 of their 17 games this season... Maine has shot 52.7 percent in the first half of their conference games this season, including 57.7 percent in the first half at Boston University... Maine has held double digit leads in two of five America East games this season... Maine shot 51.1 percent on Saturday against Binghamton... It is the fourth time this season that the Black Bears have shot 50 percent or better from the field.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (6-11, 2-2 America East) dropped home decisions to conference heavyweights Albany (65-61) and Vermont (83-63) in the span of three days last week... Junior guard Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) continued his brilliant play in the game versus the Great Danes, as he led all scorers with 24 points and he was named UMBC’s Marlow Sports America East Player of the Game... He hit a long three-point field goal with 51 seconds left to tie the game at 61-all... After a pair of free throws by Albany, sophomore guard Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) had a good look, but missed a 24-footer with eight seconds left... Hodges scored 10 points versus Vermont and has tied a career high with eight-straight games in double figures... The 83 points allowed versus Vermont was the first time the Retrievers have allowed 80+ points since a 95-82 win against Navy on Jan. 3, 2006... Sophomore guard Thomas Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) scored a career-high 23 points versus the Catamounts... He has scored in double figures in four-straight games, is averaging 15.0 ppg and has hit 25-of-43 shots from the floor (58.1 percent) in four league contests... Greene posted his third career double-figure assist game as he recorded 10 of UMBC’s 11 assists versus Vermont... UMBC has dropped four-straight at home (1-5) and has suffered more home losses than all of the 2005-06 season... The Retrievers have a busy week, with games at Maine and Boston University and a home game in between versus Hartford... UMBC is looking to win its third-straight road game (at Maine) for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (5-12, 2-3 America East) recorded a 1-2 week... UNH sophomore Tyrece Gibb (Brockton, Mass./Thayer Academy) notched a career-high 21 points to propel the Wildcats past the University of Hartford, 72-59, to garner their first victory of the season at Lundholm Gymnasium on January 11... Senior co-captain Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter) delivered 10 first half points en route to scoring 15 on the night, including seven points at the charity stripe... UNH freshman forward Dan McGeary (Newton, Mass./Roxbury Latin) posted a solid outing by chipping in 13 points and a career-high six assists off the bench... Senior co-captain Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) added nine points and six rebounds, while junior forward Brandon Odom (Dorchester, Mass./Thayer Academy) started his first game of the season and posted seven points and three rebounds in the win... UNH shot a season-high 52 percent from the floor and also shot a season-high 14 three-pointers, shooting at a 48.3 percent clip before falling to Vermont 62-60 on January 9... Janev posted a career-high 31 points as he registered 11-of-11 from the field, while hitting 5-of-5 from the three-point land... Jermaine Anderson notched 12 points in the loss... UNH rounded out the week with a tough 53-29 loss to the Boston University Terriers... The last time UNH scored under 30 points came in a contest against Providence College during the 1990-91 campaign when the Wildcats compiled just 27 points... Janev and Anderson both posted five points apiece in the loss... UNH takes the road on Tuesday (Jan. 16) with a visit to Dartmouth before traveling to Vestal New York to take on the Binghamton Bearcats on Thursday (Jan.18)... UNH returns home on Sunday (Jan. 21) to host Stony Brook at 1 p.m.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (6-10, 1-3 America East) went 1-1 on the week... In the 67-55 win over Binghamton on Tuesday, the Seawolves clamped down on the Bearcats, forcing 20 turnovers and turning them into 17 points... Stony Brook closed out its game on a 13-5 run to claim their first conference victory of the season... Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) netted a game-high 21 points, including 15 points the first half to lead the way for Stony Brook... Mike Popoko (Baltimore, Md./The McDonough School) scored in double-figures for the fifth-straight game as he pumped in 11 points and a team-high eight boards... Solomon Bamiro (Central Islip, N.Y./Central Islip) was terrific off the bench as he tallied a career-high 14 points and added four boards and a pair of steals... On Saturday afternoon, SB traveled to Hartford and dropped a 50-47 decision to the Hawks... The Seawolves led at halftime for the fourth-consecutive game, only to have Hartford rally from a nine-point deficit in the second half... Ten different Seawolves scored in the game in head coach Steve Pikiell’s return to the state of Connecticut... The Seawolves started the game off strong, forcing five Hawk turnovers and grabbing a 13-4 lead just over six minutes into the game... The Seawolves forced nine turnovers in the first half and held the Hawks to just 22 percent shooting (6-of-27) and 1-of-11 from downtown... The Seawolves went into the locker with a 25-16 advantage... Down by three with 14 seconds left in the game, Lucas' three-pointer as time expired rimmed out as the Hawks claimed the victory... Lucas, was the lone Seawolf to score in double figures as he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds... Kyle Wright (Hartford, Conn./Brewster Academy) recorded eight points and seven rebounds and Popoko finished with six points and eight boards... The Seawolves have three gamese in the next week, starting with in-state rival Albany on Monday evening in the State Capital... The Seawolves also host Boston University on Thursday and travel north to square off against New Hampshire on Sunday.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (12-5, 4-0 America East) went 3-0 on the week with all three wins coming against America East foes... The Catamounts defeated New Hampshire and UMBC on the road, before downing Albany at home on Saturday... Vermont has won seven straight and nine of its last 10 overall... Against UNH, freshman Marqus Blakely (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) beat the buzzer with his first career three-pointer to lead UVM to a come from behind victory in a game that saw the Catamounts trail by as many as 15 in the second half... Vermont then rolled to an 83-63 win at UMBC behind 25 points from freshman Joe Trapani (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand), for its biggest victory since downing Maine 79-48 on February 15 of last season... UVM wrapped up the busy week with a home win over the reigning America East Champions, as the Cats took down Albany 75-66 in front of a sellout crowd of 3,266 at Patrick Gym... Sophomore Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) poured in a career-high 19 off the bench, including 14 in the second half... Vermont shot 59 percent combined in the two wins over UMBC and Albany... The Catamounts are only one win shy of their 2005-06 total... Vermont is tied for the most road/neutral wins in the nation with eight... Vermont has now won 31 of the last 39 against teams from the state of New York... The Catamounts host Maine this week on Thursday and then travel to play Binghamton on Sunday.