Maine's Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) and New Hampshire's Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter) share America East Player of the Week accolades, while Hartford's Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) has been named America East Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. The awards were announced on Monday (January 22).
Reed averaged 18.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 2.5 apg to lead the Black Bears to two victories on the week. The 6-2 guard scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds as Maine defeated UMBC. He followed that up with 18 points and nine rebounds against conference-leading Vermont. Reed dropped in 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in the second half alone against the Catamounts and drained a three-point field goal with just 41 seconds remaining in the game that gave the Black Bears the victory. He was 4-of-5 from three-point range in the second half.
Anderson paced the Wildcats to three wins on the week as he averaged 16.7 ppg, 5.3 apg and 3.3 rpg. He connected on 23-of-25 from the charity stripe (92.0 percent), including a 7-of-7 effort in the final 36 seconds of play to lift UNH past Dartmouth. Anderson’s clutch shooting also proved to be the difference maker in the Binghamton game as the senior guard shot 8-of-8 to fend of the Bearcats, making four straight in the final minute. Anderson has posted 50 points in three games, shooting at a 41.1 percent clip (14-of-34).
Zeglinski averaged 16.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg in three games last week. He led the team in scoring against Binghamton (16 points) and UMBC (19 points) and added 14 at Albany. Zeglinski hit four treys against both Binghamton and Albany and had a career-high five at UMBC.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Former Rookie of the Year Shines
Albany's Jon Iati (York, Pa./York Catholic), the 2003-04 America East Rookie of the Year, put together impressive back-to-back outings on the week. The 5-9 guard averaged 18.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg, while shooting 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from beyond the arc. Iati erupted for 20 points, including 15 in the first half, in a 66-61 victory over Stony Brook on Jan. 15. Despite a hyperextended left elbow, he totaled 16 points, with a season-high five rebounds and three assists in an 80-67 win against Hartford. The back-to-back, double-figure scoring games were the first for Iati since Nov. 26 & 29, 2005.
O-Pete
Boston University's Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Notre Dame) played the best game of his career to lead the Terriers past UMBC on Sunday. The 6-8 senior poured in a career-high 19 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds with four blocks. Peterkin averaged a double-double for the week (14.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg).
Close Competition
With just under half of the 2006-07 regular-season conference slate completed, the competition around America East has been very close. Thirty-one league games are in the books with 19 of those outings being decided by 10 points or less and 14 by five points or less. No one has been in more close conference contests than Binghamton. The Bearcats are 1-4 in league games decided by five points or less, including four in a row. Binghamton's last four outings have been decided by a total of 14 points. Boston University (2-2), Hartford (3-1) and Maine (2-2) have all played in four conference games decided by six points or less.
AE Jumps Three Spots In RPI Report
The Collegiate Basketball News RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) Report was released on Monday (Jan. 22) and America East held its spot as the 20th-ranked league in the nation. Albany moved up 21 spots to 113, while Vermont dropped 18 positions to 115 as the two flip-flopped as the conference's top ranked teams.
? 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 (26th overall/16th 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 212 115 +97
Stony Brook 310 227 +83
UMBC 297 210 +87
Hartford 268 211 +57
AE-TV Schedule Continues
Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Ron Perry (color analyst) will call the action live from Case Gymnasium on Wednesday night as the Boston University Terriers play host to the Albany Great Danes in an America East Basketball Presented by Boston Herald television game at 8 p.m. The action can be seen live on NESN and Time Warner Cable (Albany, N.Y.) with streaming video available through America East Zone on the conference's website www.AmericaEast.com.
Non-Conference Slate Nears end
Six 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), New Hampshire (4-9) and Boston University (3-9) have all wrapped up their non-league slates, while Albany (7-5), Hartford (6-6) and Maine (5-7) 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 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 three regular-season non-conference games remaining, America East squads have sailed past last year's non-conference win total. America East teams are currently 49-61 (.445) 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 (12-7, 5-2 America East) moved into second place in the conference standings with a pair of wins at home last week... The Great Danes have won 13 of their last 14 games at SEFCU Arena... UAlbany owns its best 19-game record at the NCAA Division I level... The Great Danes tied a season-high with 12 three-point field goals, including nine in the first half, in an 80-67 win against Hartford on Jan. 21... UAlbany reached the 80-point mark in America East regular-season play for the 10th time since joining the league... The Great Danes held an opponent under 40-percent shooting for the fourth time this season in a 66-61 triumph over Stony Brook on Jan. 15... Jon Iati (York, Pa./York Catholic) put together consecutive double-figure scoring efforts for the first time since Nov. 26 and 29, 2005... Iati had 20 points, including 15 in the first half, versus Stony Brook... The 5-9 junior added 16 points and a season-high five rebounds against Hartford... Iati also played his most minutes (34) since Nov. 29, 2005 at nationally-ranked UCLA... Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Our Savior New American School) was honored prior to last Monday’s game against Stony Brook for becoming the school’s career scoring leader... Wilson, who now has 1,891 points, totaled 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists versus Hartford... Wilson has scored 20-plus on 41 occasions as a collegian... Brent Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) snapped a four-game scoring slump with 14 of his 18 points in the first half against Hartford, plus he made five 3-pointers ... Jimmie Covington (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park) had seven of his career-high 11 points in the opening five minutes of the final period versus Stony Brook... Jason Siggers (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) had his six-game, double-digit scoring streak halted on Jan. 21... Siggers averaged 18.2 ppg and shot 50.6 percent from the floor in that stretch... The Great Danes are allowing 62.2 ppg in their 12 victories, while opponents are shooting 39.9 percent.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (9-11, 2-6 America East) dropped two of three games during the week and has now lost five of its last six... Four of the team's six conference losses have come by five or fewer points, including both defeats last week... At Hartford, junior point guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) knocked off the Hawks on a deja vu play... For the second-straight season, Gordon produced a layup at the buzzer to beat Hartford 57-55... For the week, Gordon averaged 12.7 ppg, 3.7 spg and 3.3 apg and was selected as the team's America East Player of the Game twice... Junior guard Richard Forbes (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Far Rockaway/Howard JC) averaged 12.7 ppg and earned his first start of the season in the loss to Vermont. Forbes netted 17 against the Catamounts and was selected as the AE Player of the Game... Sophomore guard Dwayne Jackson (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) also got the start against Vermont and responded with a career-high 13 points... Binghamton gets its longest layoff since conference play began with a week off before playing at UMBC on Sunday... With the students back from break, Binghamton drew a season-high 3,941 for the Vermont game, raising the team's season average to 3,012 - best in the nine-team conference.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (7-11, 4-2 America East) split its games last week, losing 68-62 to Stony Brook in overtime on Jan. 18 before coming from behind to claim a 59-53 victory at home against UMBC on Jan. 21... Against the Seawolves, the Terriers played in their fourth overtime game of the season, the most in the America East this season, and lost for the fourth time... Freshman guard Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) led the Terriers with 20 points and eight rebounds... Boston U. held a slim 49-47 lead with eight seconds left in regulation, but Stony Brook hit a buzzer-beater in the lane to send the game into overtime... The Seawolves strung together a 10-2 run to begin overtime and take a 59-54 lead with 1:21 on the clock. Boston U. got as close as three, 61-58, on a three pointer by redshirt freshman guard Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) with 41 seconds left, but SBU shot 7-for-8 from the free throw to seal the win... In the win over UMBC, senior forward Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Notre Dame) tallied his third career double-double, tying his career highs in points (19) and rebounds (14) to lead the Terriers... Morris and freshman forward Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont./Iroquois Ridge) posted 13 points and 10 points, respectively... Boston U. trailed nearly the entire game after briefly holding a one-point lead in the opening minutes... Morris hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 42 with 7:28 to go in the game before he hit a jumper to tie the game at 46 with 4:27... Peterkin pulled down a key offensive rebound which was kicked out to senior guard Brian Macon (Boynton Beach, Fla.), who drained a three to put Boston U. ahead for the first time since 16:53... The Terriers played good defense to protect their slim lead, getting four blocks from three different players in the next 30 seconds... Morris and Brittain combined to go 6-for-6 from the line to secure the win... Boston U. hosts Albany on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. in Case Gym... The game will be televised locally on NESN.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (9-10, 3-4 America East) dropped three games last week, including two games by a combined seven points... The Hawks have now lost four of their last five conference games after starting the season 2-0... The week began with a 57-55 loss against Binghamton in which Mike Gordon scored the game-winning layup at the buzzer... The finish was similar to last season's game at Chase Arena, when Gordon stole the ball on the final play of the game and went coast to coast to beat the buzzer with a layup in a 57-55 win... After trailing the entire game at UMBC, Hartford pulled to within two points with 3:36 to play and looked poised the take the lead... However, the Hawks went 1-of-5 from the floor and committed two turnovers in the final three minutes and lost by a final score of 73-68... Albany took control early in an 80-67 win, using a 17-3 run to jump out to an 11-point lead... After the Hawks cut the deficit to two with nine unanswered points, the Great Danes ripped off another run (18-3) to effectively put the game out of reach. Hartford trailed by double digits the entire second half despite a career-high 28 points from senior Bo Taylor (Reston, Va./Paul VI Catholic/Bishop O'Connell/South Lakes)... Freshman Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) led the Hawks against Binghamton (16 points) and UMBC (19 points) and averaged 16.3 ppg for the week... Michael Turner (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic/West Valley) scored a career-high 19 points and added nine rebounds in the loss at UMBC... Hartford will host two games this week, welcoming Vermont to town on Thursday, January 25 and Maine on Saturday, January 27. The game against Maine will be televised live on NESN at 7 p.m.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (8-11, 3-4 America East) won a pair of games on the week to extend its winning streak to three games... Maine defeated UMBC 70-56 at home and followed that up with a 69-64 victory at Vermont... The Black Bears shot 50 percent from the floor on the week and 50 percent from three-point range...Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More) led Maine with 18 points in each game... He also averaged 7.5 rpg... Reed drained a three-point field goal at Vermont with 41 seconds remaining that gave the Black Bears the victory... Maine has led at the half in six of seven conference games... The lone game that it did not have the lead was at Vermont, but they overcame the halftime deficit to defeat the Catamounts... The Black Bears have shot 50 percent of better in the first half of all seven conference games... Maine is shooting 47.2 percent in America East games this season... Reed and Jon Sheets (Grass Valley, Calif./Nevada Union/Yuba City CC) have combined to hit 104 three-point field goals on the season... Sheets has 53 while Reed has 51... Rookie Mark Socoby (Houlton, Maine/Bangor) had a perfect week shooting the ball... He was 4-of-4 from the floor, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the line... Olli Ahvenniemi (Vaasa, Finland/Vaasan Lyseon Lukio) had a season-high five blocks against UMBC... He moved into third place on Maine's all-time blocks list and currently has 133 career blocks... Maine committed a season-low seven turnovers at Vermont.
UMBC Retrievers
After a double-digit loss at Maine (70-57) on Tuesday, UMBC (7-13, 3-4 America East) played a pair of nail-biters versus Hartford and at Boston University on Thursday and Saturday... The Retrievers edged the Hawks, 73-68, but ran out of gas and fell to the Terriers, 59-53... For the first time this season, five Retrievers scored in double figures in a win over Hartford... Junior guard Brian Hodges (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) started for the first time since Nov. 25 (12 games) and led the balanced attack with 20 points... But it was senior guard Chris Pugh (Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill) who earned Marlow Sports America East Player of the Game honors with 15 points on five-of-eight shooting from behind the arc... Pugh also became the 11th player in school history to amass 250 assists... UMBC never trailed in the game, but could not shake the pesky Hawks as the two teams combined to hit 20 of 43 from behind the arc... Freshman forward Justin Fry (New Bloomfield, Pa./West Perry) posted a season high with 14 points, including a field goal and two crucial free throws down the stretch... Senior forward Mike Housman (Great Falls, Va./Langley) garnered a career-best 11 rebounds versus the Hawks, then broke out of a scoring slump with a 16-point effort versus Boston University... Housman, whose career-high 24 point game occurred versus the Terriers last season, had not scored in double figures in eight-straight games... Hodges scored in double figures for the 11th-straight game with 11 points, but was just 4-of-16 from the field... The Retrievers led the Terriers, 36-26 early in the second half, but missed 15 of their next 16 field goal attempts and allowed 12 second-half Boston U. offensive rebounds... UMBC will have its second set of back-to-back home games this week as the Retrievers welcome UNH on Thursday, then start the second half of the league season versus Binghamton on Sunday... New Hampshire is 3-0 at the RAC Arena, the lone league opponent that is undefeated at UMBC.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (8-12, 4-3 America East) posted a perfect 3-0 week, including two-straight road victories in three days... The Wildcats began the week with a 65-61 win over the Dartmouth Big Green as senior co-captain Jermaine Anderson (Beverly, Mass./Phillips Exeter) calmly drained seven-straight foul shots in the final 36 seconds of play to help guide his team to the win... Freshman forward Radar Onguetou (Yaound?. Cameroon) just missed his first career double-double at Dartmouth (11 rebounds, nine points), while senior co-captain Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australia Institute of Sport) notched 15 points and six rebounds... The Wildcats defeated Binghamton, 75-72, to snap a three-game losing streak against the Bearcats... UNH was led by Anderson, who shot 8-of-8 at the charity stripe en route to scoring 15 points and dished out seven assists... Sophomore guard Tyrece Gibbs (Brockton, Mass.) delivered 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Wildcats... UNH most recently downed Stony Brook in its only home contest of the week, 69-56... Both teams struggled on offense in the first half of play as the score remained tied at 23 apiece before UNH exploded in the second half as the Wildcats posted a season-high 46 second half points... Anderson and Gibbs combined for 26 second half points... Gibbs tallied a career-high 22 points along with six rebounds as he won his fourth America East Player of the Game for the season... For the week, Anderson shot 23-of-25 from the charity stripe (92 percent), including a stretch of 21-straight makes for the captain... As a team, UNH shot a season-high 56.5 percent (26-of-46) in the win over Binghamton on January 18... UNH has won five of its last seven games and currently rides a season-high three game winning streak... UNH returns back to action on Thursday (Jan. 25) with a visit to UMBC for a 7p.m. tip-off before returning home to face Albany on Sunday (Jan. 28) at 1 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium.
Stony Brook Seawolves
The Seawolves (7-12, 2-5 America East) went 1-2 on the week... On Monday evening, SB dropped a 66-61 loss to Albany... Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon/George Washington) kept the Seawolves in the game as he netted seven of his 17 points as part of a 17-4 Stony Brook run that cut the Great Danes lead to four late in the game... Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) came off the bench to score 15 points to go along with five boards while Solomon Bamiro (Central Islip, N.Y./Central Islip) was terrific off the bench as he went 6-of-8 from the floor for 12 points... The Seawolves picked up their second conference victory of the season in a 68-62 overtime thriller against Boston University on Thursday... Beauford had five of his 18 points in overtime while Bamiro added 15 points for Stony Brook... Lucas took a foul-line jumper with 2 seconds left and the ball bounced on both sides of the rim before falling through at the buzzer for his first points of the game... The Seawolves scored the first seven points of the overtime and led 59-51 with 1:21 to play and never looked back... In an afternoon tilt in New Hampshire, the Wildcats bested the Seawolves, 69-56, on Sunday... Lucas was the lone Seawolf in double figures as he tallied 18 points. Manu Neto (Luanda, Angola/San Jacinto) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and add six points and two blocks, while Bamiro recorded eight points and five rebounds... UNH was paced by 63 percent shooting in the second half en route to the victory... The Seawolves return home for a pair of contests against conference-foes Maine and Vermont.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (13-6, 5-1 America East) split a pair of contests last week, falling to Maine at home 69-64 and then downing Binghamton on the road, 65-61... The Catamounts had a seven-game winning streak snapped against the Black Bears... Vermont was led by sophomore Colin McIntosh (Milton, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) with 18 points off the bench... After holding their two previous opponents (UMBC and Albany) to hit only 2-of-24 from three, the Catamounts saw Maine go 9-for-19 from behind the arc... The loss was the first for the Catamounts since it took overtime for Harvard to defeat UVM 84-76 on December 17... On Sunday Vermont won a hard-fought contest over Binghamton on the road, while playing without two starters... Junior Kyle Cieplicki (Shelburne, Vt./Rice) hit a huge three with 30.8 seconds left and the Cats held on... Freshman Nick Vier (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Bergen Catholic) had a career-high 12 points in his first career start, while senior Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Rep./Walsingham Acad.) added a season-high 12 as well... With a 9-3 record away from home, the Catamounts are tied for national lead in road/neutral victories with Jackson State... The victory matches the Catamounts win total from all of last season... Vermont has now won 32 of its last 40 against teams from the state of New York and are 5-0 against Empire State squads this season... The Catamounts entered the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 last week at number 25... UVM continues its road swing at Hartford on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Stony Brook on Sunday (2 p.m.) this week.